It was a humid (for a change) morning in Lakewood Ranch when Mike and I decided to ride to Benderson Rowing Park. It is a 20 mile loop round trip with the pool waiting for us at the end of the trip.
Riding along Lakewood Ranch Road is beautiful in the morning since there is shade most of the way. Once we reach the end of Lakewood Ranch Road and turn on University Avenue, the riding gets a bit dicey. While there is a bike lane, University is quite busy, and the road takes us past the interchange with I-75. The University Town Center is in our view. We turn into the shopping center to ride on the road behind it to Nathan Benderson Park.
“Nathan Benderson Park is a recreational venue which provides the public access to several lakes for non-motorized boating, fishing, bird-watching and related activities.
Before the county purchased the property, the site had been an active shell excavation pit for road construction fill. One of a handful of sites in North America identified as having all the natural attributes that make up a premiere rowing facility, Nathan Benderson Park began hosting organized regatta competitions in 2009.”
It is a place for biking, skating, walking alone or with your dog, and enjoying the scenery. There are lots water birds.
The one thing the park needs is a good public bathroom. There are only port-o-potties available at one end of the park and it is about 3 ½ miles around the lake.
While we didn’t see any rowing competitions yesterday, we have seen them before and it is just a beautiful sight to watch.
From the park we rode to Honore Avenue to ride on a funny walking path that runs past older gardens. On the way back, we decided to stop for breakfast at a new place for us but is a very popular place in Lakewood Ranch.
The Country Pancake House is just a great breakfast place. They make fresh juices of all types (I had apple, carrot and celery and Mike had orange, pear, and mango. They were delicious. When we sat down, they gave us a taste of delicious corn bread (some of it with chocolate). Their menu is huge with at least 100 different pancakes, and 50 different types of French toast and waffles besides any kind of eggs dish. (Take a look at the menu here) We thought the fresh juices and the food was just great and recommend it highly. The only caveat is the portions are huge, so unless you are really hungry, you won’t make it through the whole breakfast. One review we read say they have pancakes the size of pizzas! They have a wall of fame for people who can eat one of their larger breakfasts. Not too many made the wall. The plate can defeat the strongest men and make them weep.
After breakfast, we rode home along Lakewood Ranch Road and happened to see this beautiful giant egret on the edge of a lake. It didn’t particularly like me riding by so I was able to get a picture of it flying off.
Finally, we finished the ride and got to the pool. Nice day!