Our Sunday bike ride started with an ominous question — “Did you bring any bug spray?” — but turned out to be a blissful evening at Myakka River State Park.
There was just enough breeze to keep off the bugs, even when we stopped pedaling to enjoy the view.
My favorite Myakka views come in the evening. Sunlight slants through the trees and across the canopy road that is Park Drive.
For my wife and I, this bike trip offered a new twist on an old favorite. For more than 20 years, we used the main entrance to the state park off State Road 72. Now that we live in Manatee County, though, we use the north entrance, which is only open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
At first, I thought this schedule was too bad. Now I think it’s a good thing. It turns out that leaving your car and riding into Myakka River just might be the best way to go.
Traffic is light. Pedaling side by side is a cycling luxury. The north end is the prettiest part of the park.
Adorable cyclists
We stopped at the Clay Gully picnic area just inside the north entrance. Beautiful spot. We watched these sunburned teen-agers trying to maneuver their powerboat beneath low-hanging tree limbs. “Nice day, isn’t it?” one of them called from the river. “At least it’s starting to cool down.”
At the Birdwalk on Upper Myakka Lake, we ran into the Rietow girls — Madison, 10, Payton, 9, and Hailee, 6 — who could not have been more adorable.
Big smiles. Bright red hair. Lopsided bike helmets.
Their grandparents, Ron and Nancy Rietow, take them to the state park. They like to stop at Subway and make it a picnic. Ron was having a good weekend.
“I bought this trailer on Saturday,” he said. “It used to be, by the time we got seven bikes in, it was an ordeal. Now we’re good to go.”
My wife and I are ready to return, too. Next time, though, we’ll go before 5 p.m. That way we can pedal for craft beer and homemade chips at the Myakka Outpost.
‘Sarasota Or Bust!’
More cycling news here. Mike Gippert, former president of Friends of the Legacy Trail, wants me to pitch something that looks like politics but sounds like fun. “Sarasota Or Bust!”
At the north end of the Legacy Trail, which is south of Clark Road, there is something called a Support Photo Point. The idea is that you pose under a banner that says “Extend the Trail” and take a selfie with your friends. Posting and e-mailing that photo shows support for extending the Legacy Trail 8 miles north to downtown Sarasota.
Congressman Vern Buchanan has played along with this campaign. So can you. For more information, visit legacytrailfriends.org.
