When I decided to add outdoor cycling back into my regular exercise routine, I naturally began to search around for the best biking trails in the area. I just happened onto this organization (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy) without having ever heard of their work before. I’m astounded and appreciative that there are a lot of really creative people out in the world putting together some really interesting ideas that benefit humanity.
This Rails-to-Trails network stretches 3000 miles across the US, repurposing old railroad tracks into biking/hiking trails. Somehow, in my history loving imagination I think it would be a blast to bike that entire distance in segments over time. I don’t know that I can actually make that happen but it would be a challenging and worthwhile project that I would very much enjoy doing. We’ll have to see how that dream pans out.
Anyway, while on vacation at the beach last weekend, I took my bike along with the intention of finding some interesting trails to ride. The weather almost didn’t cooperate with me on that but I did manage to get in one short trail ride at Navarre Beach, between the beach and the Sound. My aunt and uncle owned a beach cabin in Navarre Beach when we were growing up so it wasn’t that I was totally unfamiliar with the area, just that I had never given a single thought to the fact that there is a bike path that runs from one end of the beach to the other, making for a nice 7.2 mile ride.
I rode it on a perfectly lovely, breezy end-of-summer day. I only encountered one other biking soul on that day. All in all, that ride enabled me to get an intimate view of the coastal life of a charming seaside town. Below I have posted some images of things that I encountered on the trail.
