Day 6. I never promised you a Winter Garden

March 9, 2025

When staying in a hotel, shouldn’t there be a quorum that all the guests exhibit a modicum of decorum? They shouldn’t be screaming at one another with sound traveling through walls, slamming doors, and running through the halls. And why are the pillows nothing like home they’re just linen bags filled with small pieces of foam. They hardly provide any head support and are way too soft for anything I report.

There was hardly anybody on the road at 6:42 so I left the hotel I mean, seriously, what else was I gonna do?

The hour before sunset it felt like the middle of the night, but I successfully navigated using my Cygolite headlight

The trail out of Brooksville is somewhat complete; for 13 miles you don’t have to ride on the street.

13 miles done I diverted to the road 4 foot wide shoulder with a rumble strip and a light traffic load. I picked up the South Lake Trail at mile 26 after riding through Groveland on streets made of bricks.

Halfway through my ride in quite the grand manner I cycled triumphantly through the triathlon start banner

At the bottom of this hill, if you don’t brake, you’re likely to wind up in the lake

At Killarney station, I lifted my bike onto the work stand. I then lubed my chain which dirtied my hands.

With my hands dirty from chain lube, in all their filthy glory, a cyclist rolls up to me and says, “Hey are you a tourist? What’s your story?” The way I understood it what he implied was his interest not in my life story, but in my ride. We talked about my journey and also about bikes some foods that I preferred and some that he likes. Based on what he told me, he had strong moral fiber, and I thanked him when he said he’d become a YouTube subscriber.

To get to this location I had to cycle across, a roundabout so that I could take a picture of the building and Spanish moss

“I beg your pardon, I never promised you a Winter Garden”

50 miles in the town of Winter Garden is very cute and the trail goes through the middle of town to boot.

A section of the trail the community has painted the fence. There are a ton of paintings. This attraction is immense.

With 70 miles done in the sun and the heat, plus my butt hurting I just wanted to get off of my seat. So I beat feets to get to Springhill suites. I did a load of laundry to get my clothes clean since they were soiled with dirt, sweat, and sunscreen. I then walked to dinner so I could patronize Red Robin and get a hamburger and garlic fries.

Rain in the forecast tomorrow, but don’t you fret I have a good rain jacket so I won’t get completely wet. My original plan for 87 miles tomorrow I think it was an overreach so instead, I’m gonna cut out the detour to Titusville and go 57 to New Smyrna Beach.

Today's ride: 79 miles (127 km)
Total: 442 miles (711 km)

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