1/22/26
Hello from New Smyrna Beach—I’ve made it all the way to the Atlantic coast, woohoo!
There would be too many photos to post if I were to try to catch you up on all of it, though, so instead I’ll just focus now on the ride the day after the one from my last post. I biked along the path (specifically, the South Lake Trail, then the West Orange Trail) from my Warmshowers host Tom’s house to my new Warmshowers hosts Lee and Sharon.
For some bizarre reason, I awoke at 5:30 am, and couldn’t get back to sleep, although I didn’t actually arise until about 7:30. I lay in bed and checked the weather. Oof—34 degrees?? (1C) This is not what I thought bike touring in Florida was going to be.
I decided to wait until the temp hit 40 before I departed, and the timing worked well, since that happened around 10 am when I had planned to get on the road.
I backtracked along the same pretty trail I had come from Winter Garden.
Then, just on the other side of Winter Garden, I found a lovely park with beautiful light, foliage, and a few blossoms. I rested on one of the many benches for about half an hour, just soaking in the beauty and practicing gratitude for so many aspects of this journey and my life.
Then I got back on the trail.
All in all, I biked about 35 miles (56 km) and felt ready to rest when I arrived at Lee and Sharon’s place. They welcomed me warmly, and Lee even took me out to dinner at a new pan-Asian place in town, where I enjoyed some delicious eggplant and tofu (with enough leftovers for dinner the following night!)
I stayed two nights with these two, spending the middle day just resting and soaking up the sunshine at the nearby Wekiwa Springs State Park, just about a 20-minute bike ride away. I actually spent four hours simply basking in the sun at a secluded picnic table, watching a couple of beautiful butterflies flit about. (That is one thing I’ve noticed about the southeastern US, starting in Charleston and continuing throughout Florida—there are butterflies everywhere! Definitely more than I see in Oregon. It is delightful.)
Before I left the park, I did take a peek at the namesake spring pond. These are to be found all throughout the state of Florida, and they are really beautiful. I’ve been surprised to see people swimming in them, in barely warm outdoor temperatures, but I’ve been told that in the summer, these places are absolutely swarming with swimmers.
This bike tour so far has been challenging, at times trying, and at times lovely. Traveling this way is always an adventure.
Next up: Longwood to Lake Helen, then New Smyrna Beach!
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