Rollin’ Withlacoochee

Citrus County Chronicle, October 5, 2001
By JAN WITHERSPOON

Bicyclist shares his enthusiasm for the open trail

Ted Hardy knows the 46 miles of the Withlacoochee State Trail like most people know their back yard.

The trail has worn a path into Hardy’s life. At 67, he has been on the trail almost every day for the past six or seven years. He retired from Florida Power after almost 40 years and the trail is now an essential part of his life.

“If I miss a day, I feel like I’m doing something wrong,” he says. “If I can’t ride on rainy days, I’ll walk in the rain, but I’d rather ride.”

In the hot, humid summer months, Hardy is up and out the door before sunrise. “If you’re not off the trail by noon you’ll pay dearly for it,” he says. He’s back at it after the sun goes down to finish his day’s ride.

He started riding his bicycle on the trail after the original railroad tracks were pulled up and a layer of rock was put down. In that condition he found it too rough to ride, but as soon as five miles were paved, Hardy was on his way.

Originally Hardy started riding his bike for health reasons — he needed to lose weight, and he did, which affected his entire well-being. He lost 20 pounds, and started noticing he was feeling better.

He started out riding about 50 miles every day, sometimes even spending eight hours a day on the trail. “That takes a lot of time out of your day if you’ve got anything else to do,” he says. “Now I ride about 25 miles a day, which takes about two hours.”

Once cycling became a serious endeavor, Hardy went through several styles of bikes. In time, Hardy settled on a recumbent bike with its comfortable seat, rather than a saddle-style seat. The recumbent now has 24,000 miles on it, and most have been logged on the Withlacoochee State Trail.

Nowadays, Hardy can be seen on his purple recumbent bike riding the trail through the countryside with his red, white and blue American flag waving in the breeze behind his head.

Although Hardy has bicycled on many bike trails, including ones in Maine and Virginia, he says the Withlacoochee is among the best. In Maine, he went on a moose ride and saw one moose. On the Withlacoochee State Trail, he sees wildlife almost every day — foxes, tiny fawns with their white spots, turkeys and gopher tortoises.

“Being in the country is what makes this trail so good,” he says.

The trail is so good, in fact, that several stories about it have appeared in national magazines, bringing an influx of trail users from across the country. Hardy said he even met a woman on skates who had come from Hawaii to skate the trail.

This Sunday, about 850 bicyclists will descend on the trail for the annual Rails to Trails Bike Ride beginning between 7 and 9 a.m. Riders can register at the trailhead on North Apopka Avenue in Inverness. The fee of $20 includes a limited number of T-shirts, and food.

Proceeds from the ride will be used to make improvements to the trail. The trail runs 46 miles from Citrus Springs in Citrus County to Trilby in Hernando County. Rest stops along the way will provide bicyclists with food and drink. Rest stops will be at Citrus Springs, Floral City, Ridge Manor at State Road 50 and Lake Townsend Park in Istachatta.

Hardy and his grandchildren will volunteer at Istachatta, handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinks.

He has volunteered his time during the annual ride for the past four years, because he has the opportunity to ride every day. He wants others to enjoy their treks on the trail during the event.

“Bicyclists are nuts,” he says, “They’ll go anywhere to ride, they do lots of crazy things I guess when they get bit by the bug.”

See October 5, 2001 issue of Citrus County Chronicle for original article.