March 17, 2022
Beyond the canopy the sun shines
Tallahassee bike day
We're finally doing a bike ride today - yea!
It was a little foggy this morning so we had to wait until after 10 when the sun finally broke through the clouds and it began to warm up. Don had put together a loop that would take us along one of Tallahassee's canopy roads and out north of the interstate into the country.
There are 9 of these scenic drives throughout the area and all have huge live oak trees whose long branches dripping with Spanish moss reach out to touch each other above the roads. Very scenic!
The first part of our ride was on Highway 90 which runs in front of our campground. Although it is a 4-lane road, it also had a shoulder designated for bikes.
We stayed on that for a few miles where we found the first hills of the day. In fact, as we were zooming down one slope, we totally missed the street we needed to take. Oops! No matter, Don said there was another one not far ahead of us.
Once we turned onto the side road, we lost our nice shoulder but also lots of the traffic. That took us to Miccosukee Rd. which was the canopy road.
I enjoyed the ride, even with the huffing and puffing up the climbs. (note: Tallahassee is NOT flat!) We passed by some homes but much the time we were in deep woods - thick with oaks, sweet gums, pines and a scattering of magnolias. Here and there we'd spot a dogwood, now covered with small white flowers.
There were also small purple, pink, yellow and white wild flowers growing next to the pavement. The signs of spring were everywhere!
Traffic was moderate but drivers were courteous and waited patiently for a clear spot to pass. I expected honking and yelling as we were quite slow on the taller hills, but we never felt we needed to bail onto the side of the road. I think drivers are used to seeing cyclists out here.
After a few miles, we reached I-10 where we continued our way north. Traffic was even lighter here and the rolly polly road smoothed out a bit.
The woods weren't quite as thick in this area and it wasn't nearly as shady as the first part of the ride. The sun was hot where it wasn't blocked by the trees. But drivers could see us more easily.
Here and there the land had been cleared for horse farms or larger homes and we could see further. We could have taken this road all the way to the town of Miccosukee, but that would have made for a much longer ride than either of us wanted. Maybe another day.
Looping back on side roads to the east and south took us to Highway 90 which was only 2 lanes at first. But it still had a shoulder and before long, we were back at the park.
The rest of the day was spent resting our legs and relaxing on the patio. It had been a good ride - Don said we did nearly 1200 ft of climbing! Yikes! That's like going up a mountain pass. No wonder my leg muscles are tired! Hopefully this is one of many biking explorations of this area.
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2 years ago
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Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 1,090 miles (1,754 km)
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