Exploring Sumter County by Bike

Thursday the 28th

Man, another cold night with temperatures in the thirties. I've been getting up at 6:30 AM to turn on the heat, then going back to bed for another half hour - the kids don't seem to mind a later get up. But still, when we go for our morning constitutional, I'm putting on my winter jacket and gloves.

Not much happening today, Tina has a hair appointment around noon and I'm going out for a long bike ride covering parts of Sumter and Lakes counties. One thing about being in a rural area that's different from urban areas, especially bigger urban areas, there are no bike lanes, or dedicated bike paths. In fact riding in the rural areas is extremely difficult as traffic can be very heavy at times, most roads are relatively narrow and there is no such thing as a paved shoulder. Frequently there is less than four inches outside the fog line which means you get really good at riding in a straight line, no meandering allowed.

I started off riding west on US 48 under I-75 before turning south just before the small community of Nobleton. Eventually I found myself in Webster where the big cattle auctions are held every week. This is primarily cattle country after all. From Webster I rode northwest to Center Hill (population 250) where I stopped at a small convenience store for lunch. From Center Hill it was on to Okahumpka, another small community. When I was looking at the map to set my route it appeared that I would be riding through a countryside strewn with lakes, yet I never saw anything bigger than a small cattle watering hole. Most of the scenery resembled areas of eastern Washington with lots of wide open fields with clumps of pine trees here and there. From Okahumpa it was on to Sumterville. From Sumterville, I rode south back to Bushnell.

By the time I got back, I'd covered 55 miles - wheewww! But it was a good ride, partly sunny and in the mid 60's. Time in the saddle less than four hours. Not bad for an old man, heheheh!!

Later that evening Tina went to Bingo and I played pool.

No photos today.