41.1 mi / 11.5 mph / 137 ft. climbing
Home: Oscar Scherer State Park

Today felt a bit like a Groundhog Day repeat of yesterday. Continue northwest on US-41, cross a bridge early-on over a big river/bay (the Peace River this time, separating Punta Gorda from Port Charlotte), and then more US-41.

The difference was that once we were across the bridge, US-41 has a much more-reasonable bike lane, so despite riding through a literal 20 miles of suburban big-box stores and their parking lots, it felt reasonably comfortable. And once again, across these two days of major-highway bike-lane riding, the rare bits where the bike lane disappeared or got strange just served to highlight the rare consistency of Florida’s approach to bike infrastructure.

We could have remained on US-41 and ended up on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, but that would likely be a bit too chilly for us, so halfway through the day’s ride we took the opportunity to turn off onto more-minor roads and trails. The North Port Connector Trail was a quiet revelation, and after a mile on its pine-edged corridor, we pulled off into the grass for lunch. With the undergrowth forming a wind block in front of us, and the sun shining on our backs, it felt like a perfectly-comfortable day (now heading north for the first time in months, the sun is tanning our backs through our shirts, and I can finally get good lighting when taking photos of Rett riding in front of me!)

The North Port Connector Trail “connects” to the highly-regarded Legacy Trail of Sarasota, but much of that connection is currently on roads. It was a rare chance for us to ride on near-empty roads in Florida, and while the state’s bike lanes and sidewalks have been a great way to make the busy highways comfortable, quiet country roads are something we have clearly been missing.

Our final four miles were on the Legacy Trail-proper (which was seeing far more usage than the Connector Trail), and it took us right in the back door of Oscar Scherer State Park (a place my parents have camped, and then taken their bikes out onto the trail). It was a nice bit of luck that the cancelled reservation I had snapped up just happened to be the closest site to the trail, except that I still needed to continue on for a mile to the “front door” and its entrance booth on the other side of the park to complete the check-in process (at least Rett could stay, and take her shower). At our 3:30pm arrival, the temperature was already down to 62℉, so we have definitely escaped the heat of the Keys!