Gator Blog: Day 4 The 2006-2007 Tour

"That'll be $6 to share your meal."

So said the waiter last night at the Red Rose Tea Room at the Ramada Inn in Plant City.

So Lauren D. (Boulder) and Todd S. (Lexington) ponied up the extra money to share a large plate of spaghetti. Swank restaurant notwithstanding, I suppose it's easy to get just a little sarcastic over unwarranted charges.

Little did the poor server know that he would become the butt of all our jokes today.

"Hey Todd, you wanna split a burrito? That'll be six bucks."

And so the jokes continued as we pedaled from Plant City, around Lakeland, and then onto the fabulous Van Fleet State Trail, a wide paved multi-use path running north-south through the Green Swamp in the middle of the state.

From the sounds of things early in the morning, everyone was looking forward to an easy day. But just put a bunch of cyclists together, and in no time flat someone throws down the gauntlet.

And so we were off once more, sweat dripping off our brows, sun continuing its bronzing effect on our exposed skin.

This being a Sunday, traffic was virtually nil (except around churches...but more on that later). We all made great time around Lakeland, took our first break at the intersection with US 98, and then headed east on Rock Ridge Road for the bike path.

The path itself was awesome. It's so nice to unplug and just ride without a thought (except for keeping an eye out for gators, snakes, and giant tortoises, that is). Ten miles of pure cycling bliss...that's what it was, and with a tailwind on that section, no one complained.

The route today actually is a bit strange, as it has all four directions in it (thus guaranteeing some headwind stretches), but ulimately dives north and west toward the intersection of FL Rt 50 and I-75 east of Brooksville. A "short" day (97.5 miles) had everyone thinking "easy day." It's amazing how anything even minutely less than 100 is seen as "just another ride."

But I digress.

Shortly after exiting the bike path we had our second provider of joke fodder in 24 hours. Last year the crew had set up lunch on the spacious lawn of a rural Missionary Baptist Church. But this year our Day 4 landed on Sunday, meaning the building was filled with parishioners.

The crew had everything set up on the far side of the acreage of this church, when all of a sudden two men carrying huge Bibles (with the big gold letters on it) came out to evict them.

In the Name of the Lord, I presume.

I know...we were just dropping in, we were all sweaty, and we hadn't asked permission. But the swift eviction these men handed down just did not speak well of the Christian name this church professed.

So the crew packed everything up and drove down the road to an orange grove a short distance hence, whereupon they fixed burritos. And there was no charge for sharing.

Between the $6 jokes and numerous putdowns of our rural "Christian" friends, we rode on...down quaint Tuscanooga Road, through Center Point, and on to Webster for the afternoon rest stop.

Where the love bugs were out in force.

Nothing like a bunch of smelly cyclists to stir up a swarm of pesky insects. I suppose that was all well and good, because they caused us to not linger long. And so we were off for the final leg, a series of quick turns that took us up and over I-75, past the Florida National Cemetery, and over the Withlacoochee River.

And then the final punch home: 9 miles on the Withlacoochee State Trail, yet another of Florida's incredible bike paths. More or less shielded from the wind by dense forest, we made quick time of it and arrived at our destination earlier than we have yet on this trip.

Four days...408 miles...abundant sunshine. We wouldn't split it with you for $6, or $6000. You'll just have to come experience it for yourself next year.

Nick "Happy 2007!" Gerlich