See You Later, Alligator

My morning began much like yesterday with breakfast on the porch. Both my aunt and uncle had early tee times so I was left to fend for myself. I did. Although, my aunt had set everything out for me so it wasn’t too difficult. She also left me a note with some bike route suggestions that I might want to take in today.

While I was on the porch enjoying my breakfast, Adrian (from down the road) stopped by. I first met Adrian yesterday. He has done a LOT of long cycle tours and has taken an interest in my adventure. I should’ve met him a few days ago as he’s been following my blog and stopped by Quest Air on Sunday as he was passing through on his way to Lakeland. I’m still not sure how it happened, but somehow we missed each other. Anyway, he stopped by this morning to suggest that I head over to Circle B Bar Reserve for some potential wildlife sightings – including alligators. Circle B was also one of the suggestions my aunt had made. I didn’t need to be told twice – although, I guess I was. The important thing is I now had a plan for the day.

Circle B Bar Reserve is only 14 km (8 miles) from where I’m staying at Schalamar Creek. With the sun shining, it looked like a beautiful day for a short ride and I was on the road before noon. By 12:30 I reached my destination.

With more than a few tree roots working their way onto the paths, the trails at Circle B Bar Reserve weren’t ideal for my road bike but I didn’t expect them to be. I briefly considered walking the trails but I opted to ride slowly instead. After all the time I’ve spent on my bike, I really don’t like walking.

I slowly cycled my way through the various trails, starting with the Shady Oak Trail which led to Alligator Alley. I’m happy to report that Alligator Alley lived up to its name and I finally had my first alligator sighting. Followed by a second, third, fourth, and more. Including one which was big. Very big. It wasn’t exactly close to the path so I couldn’t get a great photo but the fact that it looked huge from such a distance gave an good indication as to how big it really was.
Over the course of the next hour or so I saw several alligators, a few turtles, a couple of squirrels, and a whole lot of birds. I’d list the types of birds I saw, but … well, I don’t really know. But I took photos and they’re in the gallery.

With my animal sighting quota – and my SD card – filled, I decided to return to my home away from home. As usual I turned to Google to lead the way. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I could’ve gone back the same way in which I came but that would mean backtracking. Google had a couple of alternate routes so I went with one of those. Did I mention it seemed like a good idea at the time?

Things started off well enough before the road unexpectedly headed into a landfill. I thought this was more than a little odd but proceeded anyway. The controlled access gates probably should have been enough of a clue to make me stop and yet I continued. I continued down the road for about ten minutes before I was flagged down by an oncoming dump truck. I was informed I was on private property and would have to turn back. (thanks Google) Probably against my better judgment I decided to disregard the “suggestion” to turn back and continued down the road. I only made it another 0.5 kilometres before someone met me on the road. Once again I was told to turn back. This time I didn’t have a choice. (thanks Google)

Ten minutes later I was passing back through the controlled access gates and back on the main road. Much to my dismay, I would have to backtrack my way to Schalamar Creek. Sigh. (thanks Google). Thirty minutes after that I was “home”.

Despite the minor navigational issue, today was definitely a success. Another 40 kilometres (25 miles) on the books. Several alligator sightings. And one mild act of trespassing. Yup. Another good day.