The weather had turned cooler and it was a great time to visit Nevada and ride with her in the hills of Clermont. Yes there are hills in Central Florida and as a previous Hill Slug I visit this area once or twice a year to climb the hills and visit with Nevada.
On Friday afternoon we visited a quaint town called Winter Garden.( by car) Of course it had a coffee shop, a bike shop and as a theater that reminded me of the movie theater in Back to the Future.
A penny-farthing
The guy who worked at the shop said that all the staff rode these. There was another one in the shop.
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On Saturday we started or ride from Nevada's houe and out near Waterfront Park. Just to get cycle out of Nevada's development we had to climb 250 feet! Our first climb of the day was Sugarloaf Mountain from the backside from Route 561A. The grade is not as steep as the front but still another 250 ft climb.
Along the way we encountered urban sprawl. They are going to develop the area and make it harder for cyclists to enjoy.
This is going to be the entrance/exit to the Florida Turnpike
This is the front way up Sugarloaf Mountain from Route 561
This guy in the photo was Luke who we met and chatted with at the top of Sugarloaf at the water station
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| This is Harry |
This is the water station provided by a local resident at the top of Sugarloaf
I talked with Harry a bit. Nevada donated some money for the water I consumed there and we were off again. Today was hill day so we headed to South Buckhill Road.
From here we headed towards the town of Montverde where there is a local coffee shop called The Coffee Shop of Horrors that charges for coffee by donation only. Of course there are suggested donations and I happily donated for a good cup of brew.
Everything in the shop has a horror theme.
The bathroom paper holder!
I just couldn't pass up taking the photo below.
I don't think this needs any explanation. What I don't understand is why there is only a woman in the picture!!
The coffee shop was our last stop before heading home. We ended up with 36 miles and over 3200 ft of climbing. Not bad for a day's ride.
Nevada had heard there was a new bike shop in town so we decided to check it out after the ride. ( by car)
We were amazed at this bike shop. It had a number of expensive bikes including the Willet brand, Pinarello's and some others. One bike we saw was $22,000!! It was only 11 pounds and had carbon wheels costing $10,000 and Super Campy Record 11. Sweet bike. I didn't want to take a photo of it because it belonged to someone. This is one of 13 bikes that this owner possesses. Do you think he likes cycling and has some extra cash??
What was particular to this bike shop is that it actually has five separate business within the shop. I can only remember four of them. The first was their coffee shop.
One of these coffee machines costs $10,000! It is computerized ( see middle photo) and it creates a combination of a pour over and french press coffee. Amazing!!
The finished product
The other businesses beside the bike shop itself and the coffee shop are the training studio where you can come, bring your bike and train on a kinetic trainer with music. After your training session you can get a massage and hot tub/cold whirlpool. I have never seen a cold whirlpool but I stuck my hand in the water and it was very cold.
It's like no other bike shop I have ever seen. It has only been open six months but is in the perfect location on the bike trail surrounding the lake where triathletes train. Good luck to the owners. I hope that it succeeds.
On Sunday we were pressed for time as I was leaving mid day so we went cycled back to The Wall and climbed the front side this time and turned around at the top and cycled back to the start. We ended up with 23 miles and 1,535 ft of climbing.
It was a perfect weekend. Thanks to Nevada for allowing me to stay with her and have another great experience in Clermont.
Always enjoy your blogs.
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