October 8, 2015
Miles today: 59.5
Total Miles So Far: 223.5
Morning
Mouse Mountain gets busy early this morning. I guess many of the residents have jobs, because there is lots of activity and cars running about even before daylight. I may have wanted to sleep a little later this morning, but there is no sleeping in when car headlights are lighting up the tent walls every few minutes.
I’m up, and packing up camp by daylight. The cashier I met at Publix yesterday – turns out her name is Cathy – and her husband, drop by the campsite for a few minutes on her way to work. We chat about my trip and route I am planning. Her husband (Chuck?) is dubious about the roads I have planned. “I wouldn’t be riding a bike on that road – good luck to you” are his parting words as they drive off.
By 8:00 AM I’m ready to roll
The first bit of the ride is not bad. Yes – there is plenty of traffic – this is rush hour near Orlando – but the road is wide and has a good bike lane. Taking advice from people who have ridden the route before me, I avoid the busy Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, and instead route myself though some new housing developments.
Avalon Road
After about 12 miles I find myself turning onCounty Road 545 – known in these parts as Avalon Road. It starts out OK, but after a few miles it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t going to be a fun ride. This part of the world is undergoing a huge development boom. Avalon Road has new housing projects being built along it every few miles. The road is typical of rural Florida – one lane each direction, no shoulder, grass berms. And it is carrying construction traffic – dump trucks, cement mixers and construction material carriers roll past me in a near constant parade. The only good thing I can say – I am really glad I decided to cut yesterday’s ride short, otherwise I would have ridden this horror at the end of a long and already difficult day. At least I am fresh this morning – that is a little better.
Hills
To add a new twist to this ride, the road is no longer nice and flat. Instead the road begins to develop some rolling hills. I would totally appreciate this under different circumstances – rolling hills are a lot of fun to ride. But with traffic on a narrow road, it means I now need to slowly climb hills with no sight lines over the top. The big trucks either line up behind me, or worse, try to pass when they can’t see what’s coming the other direction.
Another Route?
This road is part of the official Adventure Cycling Route through this area. By the time I get here, I am in no place to find another way through. I have 11 miles to ride on this road, and no choice but to tough it out. But I must say – this is possibly the most unpleasant 11 miles I have ever ridden. This road would be a really nice ride if it was a rural country lane – which it probably was when the ACA originally mapped the route some years ago. But not anymore.
I would strongly recommend to anybody planning to ride the Florida Connector Route that they find an alternate way through to Winter Garden. I’ve looked at the maps, and I’m not sure how to do it, but I would not ride this stretch of Avalon Road again. Maybe on a Sunday morning when the construction is not active it would be better, but even then I’d be very wary of it.
The Power Of Chocolate Milk
After a grueling hour of Avalon road I finally reach it’s intersection with Colonial Drive near Winter Garden. There is a convenience store on the corner and I pull for a break. I’m hungry, but I think I’m close to a town so I don’t want a convenience store hot dog. I’m hot and I’m tired. Some of the long distance cyclists I talk to on Bent Rider OnLine have told me how much they like chocolate milk on a long, hot ride. I’ve never tried it, but for some reason, right now, it just seems like a good idea. So I buy a bottle a take a sip. Wow! This is So Good! Almost immediately I start to feel better and stronger. I go back inside for another bottle.
Chocolate milk may be the perfect food for a hot, tired ride. Hydrates and nourishes and doesn’t bother the stomach. I’ll definitely be drinking more of this in the future!
The Road Ahead
As I sit outside drinking the second bottle of chocolate milk, another cyclist turns into the parking lot. He’s a typical roadie, out for a day-ride in the neighborhood. He’s coming from the direction I am heading, so I take the opportunity to query him about the road ahead. The news is good – he reports low traffic and wide streets are coming up. He tells me came up the same way I had in the morning – and he agrees Avalon Road is pretty awful. We chat for a few more minutes – he had some questions about the trike and the tour. I give him a card, and then we both head out on our separate ways. I wonder if he will look at the web site?
Afternoon
As soon as I turn off of Avalon Road, the ride starts to improve. The construction traffic is gone!
The West Orange Bicycle Trail
Just a few miles past the convenience store, I ride into the outskirts of Winter Garden, and then turn into a trail-head for the West Orange Bike Trail.
This is a 22 mile trail operated by the Orange County Parks & Recreation Department. Aaaahhhhh! Riding a bike trail after playing dodge the cement mixer all morning is a huge relief. It’s quiet, it’s shady, and there are no trucks! I can relax and think about the ride ahead.
Unfortunately I’m only on the trail for 5 brief miles, before turning north again on Old County Road 50. This road is a pleasant surprise – gently rolling hills, low traffic and a nice wide shoulder. I’m starting to feel soo much better as I cruise into the hill county of central Florida.
Mount Verde
The ride takes me into the town of Montverde. The most prominent thing in this little town is the Montverde Academy. It is a prestigious boarding school for grades 7-12. About 750 kids board there. The school sits on 125 well manicured acres.
Montverde also sports lots of upscale looking houses on golf courses. I’m just cruising through on the main road, and perhaps it’s different in the back streets. But it seems like this is a very nice town indeed.
Green Mountain Pizza
This seems like a nice town, and I’m getting darn hungry. Just as I’m wondering where I ought to go to find food, the Green Mountain Pizza appears on my left hand side. It’s clearly a sign, so I decide to stop for lunch.
It’s a new business – only about 5 months old. The proprietors are working hard to make it a success. There were lots of appetizing choices, but I decided to stick to the classics – three cheese slices and some diet soda to get me back into fighting form!
The food is really good, and the place is busy. The pizza slices are really big. I can only finish two of them – so I offer the third to a customer who is waiting in line. He accepts it gladly and we chat for a while.
The Green Mountain Scenic Byway
The road that I have been traveling since leaving Old Highway 50 is Florida State Road 455 – otherwise known as The Green Mountain Scenic Byway.
The rolling hills and winding roadway draws cyclists from around the world for competition, training, and touring. The Byway is one of the most popular cycling routes in Florida, and is the site of several internationally recognized triathlons each year. This is a fabulous cycling road!
After lunch, this hills grow steeper and the views get prettier. I climb a steep grade and find myself at the entrance to the Ferndale Preserve. This is a 192 acre preserve with 360 degree view of Lake Apopka and the Lake Wales Ridge from the hilltop. It’s a popular spot for nature lovers, offering lots of animal, native plants and endangered species.
This wonderful road eventually leads me into Astatula. I don’t notice much here – I expect to see a little town, but all I notice are some residential side streets. I did meet a few other cyclists here – but they passed me going up the steep hills like I was standing still, and I made no real effort to catch them on the downhills.
Mount Dora
7 or 8 miles of fabulous riding later, I arrive in Mount Dora. This little town sits along the eastern shore of Lake Dora. The town was originally settled in the 1840’s. Today, it’s a popular tourist destination – with a number of hotels, restaurants and B&B’s near it’s thriving down town.
I ride into down town, find a shady spot to park, grab a cold drink and start to figure out where I am going to stay the night. I pull up a list of nearby hotels and B&B’s and start calling. Oddly – many of them are full and cannot accommodate me this evening. That’s a little worrisome. But eventually I call The Adora Inn, and sure enough, they have a room I can take tonight! It’s only a few blocks away – so I pedal off to check it out.
The Adora Inn
The Adora Inn is a small Bed and Breakfast on Tremain Street, about 4 blocks from the old down town. The proprietors – Arther and John – have run the Inn for 10 years. They are terrific – they make me feel welcome, help me unload all my crap and drag it into a nice clean room, and even let me do my laundry in their basement!
I secure my bike in the parking lot – I can walk to dinner tonight. Next up is a nice hot shower and some clean clothes. I pull out all my electronic gadgets – the Garmin, my laptop and the batteries for my lights. They all get plugged in to charge up. Then I wander downstairs to talk to Arther (the innkeeper) and some of the other guests.
The Mount Dora Bicycle Festival
I learn from Arther that I have arrived in town on the eve of the 41st annual Mount Dora Bicycle Festival. This event is a huge fundraiser for local area charities. Several thousand cyclists from all over the country descend on Mount Dora for three days of biking and socializing. I’ve never heard of this event, and I had no idea it was going on! But it does explain why there were so many hotels with no vacancy when I tried to find a room earlier! All the other guests at The Adora Inn are participating in the rides over the weekend. Because the rides start early in the morning, the Inn is catering to them by preparing a special early morning breakfast (6AM). Perfect! I’ll be able to get a nice early start and still partake in the yummy breakfast.
Honky Tonk Freeway (part Deux)
Remember on Day 1, when I talked about this movie and the scenes that were shot on the Palmer Road Underpass at the I75 in Sarasota? Well, oddly enough, it turns out that most of the rest of the movie was actually shot here, in Mount Dora. They actually painted much of the town pink for the filming!
Dinner
The choices for Dinner in Mount Dora are many. For a town of only about 13,000 residents, there seem to be dozens of restaurants to choose from. Italian, English, Spanish, Mexican, Peruvian, upscale, downscale, ice cream parlors, steaks, seafood, vegetarian, wine bars, breweries. The place seems to have anything I might want.
I stroll about in downtown for a while and puruse the options. I finally settle on a place and head on in.
Mr. Cebiche
The place I choose for dinner is called Mr. Cebiche Peruvian Cuisine. The place is tucked away on the 2nd floor, off the hustle and bustle of the main road and tucked away in a gorgeous, clean and Peruvian inspired environment. The restaurant is decorated simply with Peruvian paintings. The owner and his wife run the place – he is in the kitchen preparing the food, and she works the front of the house serving.
They are both very friendly and welcoming as I come in. It’s still early, there are only a few other diners. They both take time to speak with my after I have been seated. They want to know if I have had Peruvian food before, and what kinds of things I like to eat. They naturally ask about my trip and what I am doing in Mount Dora, so we get to chatting about The Recumbent Gourmet and the stuff we are writing about.
Their menu is a mix of Peruvian fare. I am no Peruvian expert, but the hostess tells me that this is completely authentic stuff. They are both from Peru, where they operated a restaurant for many years before coming to Mount Dora.
There are a lot of enticing options, but I am attracted to the ceviches. I ended up ordering the Neptune Criollo.
It is absolutely delicious. Fresh, firm fish with the tangy bite of lime. The vegetables (corn and sweet potatoes) are the perfect accompaniment. This is a pretty unusual meal for me to order. I like ceviche well enough when it is offered to me, but I don’t recall ever having sought it out before. But on this night, in this place, it is just what I wanted. I was completely satisfied.
I really did not expect to find an outstanding restaurant here in central Florida. But Mr. Cebiche exceeds my expectations by a large margin. If I ever get the chance, I’ll be back here. I hope I can bring Nancy so she can check it out for herself – I’m pretty sure she would love it also.
The Wine Den
I wander around town for a while until I notice some cyclists parked in front of a wine bar. This is The Wine Den. I decide to stop and have a glass or two of Pinot Noir. I learn that the owners – Erik and Christine – play important roles organizing tomorrow’s bike festival. Christine has been out all day marking the routes, and Erik has just returned from picking up T-shirts and other swag to hand out to tomorrow’s riders. They both seem to be working really hard to make sure the events go well this weekend.
Not only do these folks know their wines – but they are fellow cycling enthusiasts! I love it! Erik spends some time talking to me about my planned route for tomorrow, and about the routes the folks in the festival will be riding. He makes some helpful suggestions for ways to improve my route to make it more scenic.
Given how great the cycling was on the way up here, I am certain there are a lot of fantastic rides in the local area. Next year the Mount Dora Bike Festival should be on my calendar for sure.
Getting Ready For Tomorrow
Well, it’s been an adventurous day. 65 miles of riding – including both the best and worst that this ride has to offer, a great dinner, some good wine and some nice conversations with new friends. Fatigue starts to drag on me, and I find my way back to The Adora Inn. It’s late – almost 9:00 PM! I’ve been going to bed at sundown in the campgrounds the last few days.
The nice, soft bed calls me to it. I read for a while, then roll over and begin to dream about what tomorrow will bring……