Day 4 - Good Neighbor and Withlacochee Trails.

March 16, 2023

Today we left the hotel at 9 am and carpooled to the Good Neighbor Trail in Brooksville where the temperature was 58 and the winds were a headwind out of the N/NE at 10 mph. We started riding about 10:00 am after a few group photos.

All riders rode the length of the Good Neighbor Trail (10.1 miles) and then onto the Withlacoochee Trail. We all rode north for about 5 miles until we reached the Lake Townsen Preserve where the water/snack stop was staffed by Randy from Trek of Spring Hill. Some riders made this their turn around point, while others continued about 7.5 miles more to Floral City.

Some riders went to Ferris Groves and enjoyed an orange or strawberry milkshake and other Florida treats such as a strawberry parfait. I had the strawberry parfait.

By the time we reached Floral City it was about 12:30 pm (lunch time) so a few riders had lunch at the Shamrock Inn. The food was good, but the wait was too long as staffing was short. When it became apparent how long the wait would be, most of the group headed back to Brooksville and had lunch at the Coney Island or ice cream at Frosty Franks. Since I had lunch in Floral City, I had my dessert from Frosty Franks at the end of the ride.

It is worth noting the wind managed to change directions and was now once again a headwind from SE at 8 miles per hour and the temperature was now near 80. I rode back with Dave, John, Balt and Joyce and we were all pretty tired when we reached Brooksville. I rode about 46.5 miles.

Once back at the hotel, the evening started outside near the pool and we moved indoors when the sun went down and it cooled off. We shared wine, beer, more scotch/whiskey and pizza. Van purchased the pizza and I had convinced him that most people had eaten dinner, and we only needed two pizzas. It was probably some of the worst advice I gave all week as the pizza disappeared quickly.

As the night neared the end, one of my rider friends (Balt) told me that I should be proud of organizing the event. He said that I needed to enjoy the success, because as humans we tend to beat ourselves up when we do things wrong or make a mistake, and we forget to enjoy the wins. It made me stop and think and realize just how lucky I am to have such great friends!! I am not quite sure when the next 2018 C2C Reunion will be, but one thing I am sure of, it will be a great time!

Everyone acting just a little goofy during the photo taking.

And one photo with everyone giving the “John Shafer” thumbs up.

Randy from Trek Spring Hill, and my friend, set up the snacks and water for today, He waited until everyone came through on the way back as well.

Out on a dock along the Withlacoochee River with Linda, me, Janet and Sue.

Julie took this photo of a group of us on the same dock from the prior photo.

Rita, Nick and Joyce enjoying orange and strawberry milkshakes at Ferris Groves in Floral City.

Day 3 - Starkey Park & Crews Lake

March 15, 2023

Today’s ride was supposed to start at 9am, however it became apparent at 8am that plans were going to have to change. It was about 49 degrees and raining. After about a ½ hour of me deliberating on what to do, we opted to start after lunch. The rain finally stopped around noon and the temperature was about 59 degrees when we finally started.

We rode along the Starkey Trail, through Starkey Park and then onto the Suncoast Trail. It was so cold and windy in the morning, that most of the riders over-dressed when we started riding and had to shed layers of clothes about 35 minutes into the ride as soon as we entered Starkey Park. A few riders opted for a shorter ride and turned around when we reached the intersection with the Suncoast Trail.

The “local” gator was lounging as we passed his favorite watering hole. Shortly after that, one rider, Clark, got a flat. Then we were on to a short loop through Crews Lake Wilderness Park before heading back.

As we passed one road crossing, the riders could see a “ghost bike.” It is a bike that is painted white to signify that a cyclist was killed where it is placed. Last November 1st, a 79-year-old woman was struck by a van as she attempted to cross the new intersection. Just this past week-end a memorial ride was held in her honor.

On the way back, I received a text that Clark had a second flat. A husband of one of the riders (Amy) picked him up and took him back to the hotel. He took his bike to a local shop and they found a sliver of glass embedded in his tire. Not five minutes later I had a flat. I had all the tools and a spare tube, but waited for Ray G to change the tube out. Neither he or Janet could find anything in the tire. I couldn’t find any green sealant anywhere on the tube but at the stem. The background is that I just had new tires and new self-sealing tubes put on my bike just before the start of this ride. It was frustrating.

On the way back, Ray says to me “I have to stop at this one railing to pick up a jacket I left there this morning.” I thought no way will it still be there. He told me I need to have faith – and sure enough, it was still there five hours later! Ray and I were the last two people to pull into Starkey Market (about 6:15 pm) where the rest of the riders had been enjoying liquid refreshments. Sue bought me a beer and about as quickly as I could drink it, we were off to the hotel. I rode 46 miles this day,

It was late, so after showers, I talked Janet into going to Carrabba’s for dinner. We were in and out within 45 minutes and made it back to the hotel by 9pm. A few riders were enjoying wine in the lobby and reminiscing about the days adventure.

The start of the ride at 1pm when the sun was out and the temperature was almost 60 degrees. You can see the flags blowing with a north wind - the direction we would be headed.

Just inside Starkey Park where the riders shed layers of clothes. I was ok as I only had on a sleeveless windbreaker.

A few of the riders as they passed the “planets” while riding in Starkey Park.

The “local” gator at their favorite sunning area.

A “ghost” bike is seen as we passed this section of the trail.

One set of the riders today as they prepared to head back to the hotel.

Another group of riders: Julie, Clark, Janet, Rita, Dave, Linda, Amy L and Amy R.

On the boardwalk at Crews Lake with Frances, Eddy, me and Joe.

Ray and Janet taking out the flat tube while looking for what could have caused the flat.

Ray’s jacket along the side of the trail, exactly where he left it five hours earlier!

A whole bunch of riders enjoying liquid refreshments at Starkey Market - before I got there. Thanks Julie for the photo!

Day 2 - Courtney Campbell Causeway

March 14, 2023

We started the morning at 8:30am with a group picture of all the riders that came for the 5-year reunion. There were three people missing (Fred, Maggie and Nate) in the photo but they were there for the start of the ride. It was a brisk start with a temperature of 57, however it warmed up nicely to about 71 degrees - perfect riding weather.

We drove to a starting point in Clearwater, about 16 miles from the hotel. We followed the Duke Energy Trail, the Ream Wilson Trail and the Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail. We turned around at the Ben T Davis Beach. From there we took a slight detour into Safety Harbor for lunch at the Whistle Stop Bar. With a group of over 30 people, it took a while for all of our meals to arrive. Our group only had one waiter, but he did an amazing job. Unfortunately, the longer than anticipated lunch meant we headed back to the hotel during rush hour and had a tight window to get to Big Storm Brewery for our planned C2C Trivia Night. I rode just under 36 miles.

As back story, Bubba is the tour director responsible for our Coast to Coast (C2C) ride in 2018.

Because Bubba could not join us in Florida, we had planned a video call with him just prior to starting trivia. His sister, Grace, who lives locally asked if she could join us. She did and brought buffs for each of us as a gift from Bubba. It looked as if we would start the video call late, however, our technical guru Rita got us all set up on time. I texted Bubba and let him know we were ready to go and to log in. He texted me back and indicated he would be on in just a couple of minutes. About two minutes later I heard a commotion out front. Unbelievably, Bubba showed up in person!! Everyone was super surprised. Sue was the last one over to the brewery and I met her out front. I walked with her in and told her “We made it through another day.” Grace kind of distracted Sue so that Bubba could surprise Sue as well. It made for a perfect night. Later in the evening, Bubba explained to us that due to unforeseen circumstances, he really didn’t know until one week beforehand that he could attend.

We did play C2C trivia that included 24 questions. Examples were: “When we arrived in Concan, TX, who hung up their bicycle in a tree to help it dry out?” In California, which Interstate did we pedal on because there were no other road options?” The winning team, with 21 correct answers was Van, Georgie, Geepa, Tom, Audrey, and Dave G. Their team’s name was the “Speedos.” The second-place team with 20 correct answers was Frances, Eddy, Henry, Mark, Loren and Joe and their team’s name was “Geezer.” Every player won a prize with most of the prizes having a bicycle theme.

After the brewery event ended, six of us headed to Culvers for a scoop of ice cream. After a very long day, it just seemed about perfect. Then we walked into the hotel lobby and there were about 15 Coasters with Bubba having wine and cheese, so my day got a little longer. I am finally writing up my blog at 10:00 pm.

Group picture. Missing from the photo: Fred, Maggie and Nate. They did meet us at the trail start.

Sue’s husband Dan and I at the water top / snack break.

View from the Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail.

Mickey, me Janet, Gayle and Sue. Thanks for the photo Ellen!

At the brewery: in the foreground are prizes for trivia, in the back of the room are riders looking through photos from 2018.

Janet during trivia as she read the questions.

Day 1 - Tarpon Springs

March 13, 2023

The day started with pleasant temperatures around 65 and reached 80 by the end of the day. The day did however start with clouds and few raindrops here and there, but overall, we missed the big downpours that seemed to be everywhere around us. Hurray!

We bicycled into Tarpon Springs where the group split apart. I was part of a very small group of six that only rode about 28 miles. A second small group started later and they also did about 30 miles. I am trying to ease my wrist and hand back into a longer day on the bike and the others opted for less miles for a variety of reasons. The rest of the group did over 50 miles and cycled to Dunedin before they turned around.

Several of the group had lunch at Hella’s in Tarpon Springs. I had my first ever grilled octopus and it was great! Thanks to Joe for getting me to try it. When eating at Hella’s you must do their baklava, and I didn’t break that tradition! I need to work up to more miles eating like this!

One of the riders from 2018, Geepa, had come up with an idea to have a bourbon tasting night. Not everyone likes bourbon, so there was a mix of whiskey, bourbon and even one moonshine. In all, twelve of the riders brought different spirits to taste. The banana pudding moonshine was my favorite, and it was also the one with the least alcohol content. There ended up being twelve bottles – none were emptied by the end of the night. We do have to ride 36 miles tomorrow!

Part of the group at start of the ride from the hotel.

One of the first groups that the did the longer route today as they arrived back at the hotel. Nick, Al, Joyce, Rita, Margaret & Balt.

Another one of the longer rider groups: Fred, Janet, Dave, Sue and Mark.

The last three riders in today…and to be fair, they the started later this morning due to a previous scheduled appointment. Ellen, Sara and Gayle.

Some of the socializing with Van, Clark, Dave and Geepa (the mastermind of this evening).

Amy and I “showing off” our scars from surgery due to our broken wrists that happened last fall. We fell within two weeks of each other. I have to say that we both had good surgeons because you can hardly see the scars!

Day 0 - Rider Check In

March 12, 2023

It was a fun rider check-in day as friends from across the country traveled to Trinity, Florida for a 2018 Coast to Coast 5 Year reunion get together. Although Bubba has official reunion rides in which riders from all year’s gather together, this ride was conceived by Sue, for 2018 riders. In 2018, we had a very special group that have managed to stay in touch thanks to our senior rider, Sue (at almost 84 years young!). She had an idea two years ago to ask everyone to come to Florida for a five year reunion. We had two years to make this work…hopefully at the end of four days it will be a success.

27 of the original 44 riders are here. Including a few spouses and several support staff from 2018, there are 38 total riders. A few spouses that will not be riding are also with the group – why not come along to Florida and enjoy the weather, especially if you are from Minnesota.