by Roger Normand

Always be aware of your surroundings

There was nothing but blue sky, temps in the high seventies, light wind, and few other riders when I left for a late afternoon solo ride on the Legacy Trail.  It was easy to drift into deep contemplation while spinning easily.  Thankfully, my subconscious kicked in as my brain registered a unusual object ahead on the side of the trail at the 4.2 mile point of the Legacy Trail.
 
YIKES.  It’s a GATOR.  ONE BIG GATOR.  Just laying there on the shoulder, head tucked onto the trail.  I rode briskly by, ceding all the width of the trail possible, then stopped at what I hoped was a safe distance to take these pics.   I saw another cyclist approaching and flagged him to the far side and full stop.

The gator never moved, seemingly in his own deep reverie.  I’ve seen gators sunning along the shore of storm water ponds visible from the trail, but this is the first time I’ve seen one ON THE TRAIL.  They are WAY bigger up close than when viewed from a distance!!!!!!
 
I called the Sheriff’s office and they said they’d immediately dispatch an officer and wildlife trapper.
 
Riding on the trail keeps you safe from cars, trucks and motorcycles.  Nonetheless, always be aware of your surroundings.  Wildlife can be dangerous and unpredictable if spooked.

I’m always amazed at what I see along the trail.  Today, that was especially true.

Nevertheless, this gator must be commended for demonstrating good trail etiquette:  when stopping, always stay to the side of the trail.

by Carla Martin

Last summer, Bike Florida offered us the opportunity to make $2100 to put to good use on the trail or towards the trail extension by offering us the opportunity to work some of the rest stops for their recent week-long “Surf and Turf” event April 9-15th here in the Sarasota Area.  The plan was for cyclists to start in Arcadia, ride to Sarasota, south to Venice, then Englewood, finally returning to Arcadia.

 Being optimistic, we chose to do 7 rest stops in 2 days.  Tuesday, April 12: Siesta Key Beach, Jungle Gardens, and Ken Thompson Park.  On Wednesday, April 13: Blackburn Point Park, Venice Trail Depot, Maxine Barrett Park and Manasota Beach.

 After only one email from Rita Miotti, Volunteer Coordinator, our wonderful volunteers answered our call and readily volunteered to work these positions.  There was not a single no show for the event!

 We started early in those mornings, lugging water and food, then had fun making PB&J sandwiches, cutting fruit and caring for enthusiastic cyclists until early afternoon.  Then packed it all up before heading home.  Rita reported that she received so many compliments on how helpful and friendly the volunteers were and the rest stop experience in general.

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Tuesday evening, Max Corley presented our Power Point Talk about The Legacy Trail to an audience of about 100 riders in Robarts Arena.  We also had an opportunity to have an info table during this event.  Another one was held at the Venice Depot next morning after riders had the opportunity to experience riding The Trail first hand.

 Along with having fun working together and chatting with cyclists, Bike Florida’s event provided our organization with a $2,100 donation as well as numerous new memberships and revenues from the sale of FLT logo items.  We collected 276 new petition signatures, almost all from out of town.  In addition, our involvement created incredible new excitement about The Legacy Trail!

 Many Thanks again to Rita Miotti and our Wonderful Volunteers!

by Roger Normand

The Florida Greenways and Trails Council (FGTC) selected the The St. Johns River to the Sea Loop as the next regional trail for SUN Trail funds at an all-day conference in Tallahassee on March 30th.  This mostly rural trail, which crosses five counties in the upper east central portion of Florida around St Augustine, is now eligible for about $8 million per year in “Tier II” Sun Trail funds provided by the Florida Legislature in 2015 until the trail is completed.

The Capital City to Sea Trail, centered around Tallahassee and four counties, came in second place. The 280 mile South West Coastal Trail, which spans seven counties from St Pete through Sarasota (including the Legacy Trail) to Naples, came in third place among the seven finalist regional trails across Florida.

I went to Tallahassee on behalf of the Friends of The Legacy Trail as part of the team promoting the SW Coastal Trail.  Our entire team had worked very hard and was optimistic.  We had the most letters of endorsement from major community entities.

[See Letters of Endorsement ]

We were superbly represented.  Ray Chiaramonte, executive director of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, gave the SW Coastal Trail briefing slides highlighting the substantial safety, ecotourism, and economic development opportunities.  Dave Hutchinson, executive director of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization participated.  Here were the top regional transportation planners (usually synonymous with road builder) spending the  day pitching trail building to the FGTC!  Mark Cunningham, Sarasota County Deputy Administrator and, Paula Wiggins, the county Transportation Planning Manager gave a superb presentation about the Legacy Trail and ongoing efforts to extend it.

But as I listened to the individual presentations, my optimism about the superiority of the SW Coastal trail morphed into admiration for all that was being done building local and regional trails across the state.  The FGTC staff had scored all the trails nearly equally against 10 criteria – no help picking the single best.  Representatives for each regional trail gave convincing presentations on the merits of their regional trail.  We had the “A” team making our best case for selecting the SW Coastal Trail.  But by the end of the presentations, I wasn’t sure which single trail I would pick if I was on the FGTC.

So we came in third place in a state wide regional trail building competition.  That’s certainly something to be very proud of.  FDOT, which administers the SUN Trail funding and implementation, had told the FGTC they would recognize the top three regional trails for “Tier II” SUN Trail funding.  As the third place finisher, we are now on the FDOT radar should the St John or Capital Cities trail be unable to spend all the funds in a given year, a remote but not unheard of situation.  And The Legacy Trail will certainly be competitive for some of the annual $8 million “Tier III” funds for individual trail projects across the state.  FDOT will begin the “Tier III” selection process this summer.

After the deliberations were concluded, many of the FGTC members commented about how the outstanding trail building opportunities far exceeded the $25 million annual SUN Trail funding (the Coast to Coast trail from St Pete to Titusville gets “Tier I” $8 million per year).  Perhaps the next FGTC and others should consider taking this message back to the Legislature.

We have established important connections with key organizations, and who knows what dividends that offers in the future.