The Heritage 441 Run to the Great Smoky Mountains
The Florida route...
Our adventure begins in Longwood, Florida. Actually, we're leaving from the Wekiva Springs area, in unincorporated Seminole County, just outside of Apopka. Our destination is somewhere near the Great Smoky Mountains. Most of the run will be on historic US441. Some of the route is 'borrowed' from a gentleman, kind enough to record his travels, on the (now pretty much defunct) Galaxieland site. Some remains untried and is still based on online research. Most is from personal experience as my wife and I planned on riding this for our 25th wedding anniversary in August.
We want to avoid Apopka, or rather, avoid the insanity on US441 through downtown Apopka. For this same reason, we will borrow the Historic DeSoto Trail route from the aforementioned source, to avoid the insanity through Gainesville. We know from firsthand experience what it's like. Once upon a time, we were on our way back home to Florida after visiting Ohio around Thanksgiving time. We were on I-75 somewhere near Valdosta, trying to get back into Florida, when traffic came to a standstill. We always heard reports that traffic became backed up for miles getting in to and out of Florida, both on I-75 and I-95, during the Holidays. Of course, since it never happened to us (until now), we never gave it a second thought. It took more than 15 minutes to travel the mile or less to the next exit.
We decided that if we got off at that exit and kept going East and South we would eventually make it to Florida. We eventually met up with US441 and decided that we would take it all the way home. The trip was mainly two lanes and little 'podunk' towns, the proverbial flashing light at the crossroads at the center of town, for hours. That was, until we made it near Gainesville. US441 goes right through the University of Florida (Go Gators) campus. We tried to get back to I-75 and found the reason why I-75 was so backed up. For miles and miles all we could see was cars, crawling in bumper to bumper congestion, trying to get where they were going. That was our first (and hopefully last) experience with US441 through Gainesville. Don't get me wrong, had our destination been Gainesville, it would have been perfect! We may find other parts of the journey to be much like these and may modify the plan accordingly. But for now...
Let's start by avoiding US441 through downtown Apopka. It's not that big a deal since it's only 4 lanes and a dozen or so traffic lights, but we have a back way from our house to Mt. Dora we like to use with a total of five traffic lights instead. Leaving the house, we take Wekiva Springs Rd to Welsh Rd to Rock Springs Rd to Kelly Park Rd to Round Lake Rd to State Route 46. SR46 kind of ends at US441 going into Mt. Dora. If you're there on the weekend and are into that kind of thing, Reninger's Antiques and Flea Market are just down the road on the right off of US441. We know because our son, Nicholas - Nick for short, used to work at the VacStop tearing down, cleaning, repairing and assembling vacuum cleaners for Rick, the owner, before the economy tanked. That same intersection is Lincoln Avenue and takes you Donnelly Street. A left takes you into downtown Mt. Dora, a right back out to US441. We normally just continue on SR46 through the light at old 441, then a down a block or two and take a right and then a left onto 5th Avenue which will take you right down to the shores of Lake Dora, our favorite (and now defunct) Sunshine Mountain bakery, our favorite outdoor bar overlooking Lake Dora, our favorite passenger train locomotive, Herbie, the Lakeside Inn and its view of Lake Dora, the (now defunct) Frosty Mug Icelandic Pub, etc., etc.
If you're really in a hurry, just continue on US441 through Tavares and on into Leesburg. If you're in no hurry and don't mind doing 35MPH for a piece, then Lakeshore Blvd out of Mt. Dora is the route for you. It follows the north shore of Lake Dora, with the railroad in the distance, all the way into Tavares where we catch US441 the rest of the way into Leesburg. We took this relaxing route on the way to Leesburg Bike Fest 2008, after stopping in Mt. Dora for lunch. We also came back that way and had dinner in Mt. Dora as well. Anyway... since this is the very first part of our trip, we'll continue on US441 through Tavares and Leesburg and to Lady Lake and Ocala. Also worth mentioning is Lake Griffin State Park heading north out of Leesburg on US441. Since Ocala and Gainesville are usually congested, the route the aforementioned gentlemen suggests takes I-75 from Wildwood to Ocala, then hops off at the US27 exit and heads northwest. To get there from Leesburg means going through downtown to catch SR44 going west. It intersects I-75 in Wildwood.
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We decided to stay on US441 into Ocala. Since it's roughly 30 miles to Leesburg and 60 miles to Ocala from our starting point (maybe one and two hours in the saddle, respectively) we'd probably stop around Ocala somewhere for a quick break, then continue on US27 northwest from there into Williston. We thought about strolling around Williston and checking out the antique shops.
Then we'd head north on US41 out of Williston. This would take us to High Springs, north of congested Gainesville and Ocala, where we merge back onto US441, a wonderful two lane stretch of highway, to Lake City, 26 miles away. This is where we'd cross under I-75, 150 miles into our journey. In another 15 minutes, we'd be through the downtown historic district and quickly north of I-10. Then we're headed to the Florida - Georgia border.
The Revised Florida route...
Well, the best laid plans... We made it as far as US27 leaving Ocala when my head gasket blew, not quite two hours into the trip. At first, I noticed a drop in my idle speed while stopped at the traffic signal, just before turning onto US27. As I reached down to adjust the idle speed screw I noticed what looked like white smoke puffing out the left bank of mufflers. Oh Schmidt! By the next light my idle speed had dropped again and the temp light came on. My heart sank. I knew she'd bought it...
My poor Maggie was dying a slow death. I told Ann we had a problem and pointed at my exhaust. I took the lead and she followed me, confirming it was white smoke, but not yet a solid cloud. About that time my temp light came on again and I told her over the radio we may need to pull over. She asked how soon. I told her I wasn't sure and to start looking for a gas station. She found one next to the Town and Country Diner, thankfully.
We pulled in and discussed what happens next. Basically the plan is fill up the bikes, full up our stomachs at the diner, then head for home and see how far we get. So we filled up. Both bikes started and we rode the short distance through the diner parking lot, parked and went in for lunch, allowing my bike to cool. We stuffed ourselves, both ordering breakfast. The service and the food were excellent but our moods weren't the best when we left. I opened up my radiator cap, poured in one of the liter bottles of coolant I brought 'just in case', replaced the cap and tried to start her up.
She tried but wouldn't turn over - instant hydraulic lock - meaning at least one of the cylinders was full of coolant. My Maggie was dead and so, we thought, was our trip. We sat there on the curb staring at the bikes for a while. When we realized we were getting too hot sitting there in the sun and were going to be there quite a while longer, we decided to go back into the diner and call the kids. Ann told Courtney she was going to grant one of her wishes, she finally gets to drive her Dad's truck! She explained the situation and told her to throw the bike ramp in the bed and head our way.
Meanhwile, we sat and drank iced tea and discussed calling to cancel the trip reservations while we waited. I told Ann we may not want to do that. Most places had a 72 hour cancellation policy, some a week and another 45 days! We would lose all the money and deposits I had already paid. I'm not sure what she was thinking but she called the General Coffee State Park to cancel our reservations for the Hawk's Nest cabin that and the following night. They told her to call the Georgia State Parks office. She was surprised to hear they were more than happy to still charge us the full $214 for the no-show.
It was the typical, "What part of...", but I didn't say it. Instead I asked why couldn't we just take her Miata convertible instead and start a day later? I know the idea was to ride, but everything happens for a reason and we were already packed small and light. Small enough and light enough to adjust the wardrobe a bit for four wheels, not two, throw the packs in her trunk and leave Sunday morning. Sure, we'd miss a night at the cabin, but we were paying for it anyway. Why not get at least one night out of it?
Ann just about fell out of her chair! She was wondering who had kidnapped her husband and replaced him with me? She called to see if we could get our reservation back and was told they couldn't, but she could call the park itself to see if we could work something out. Well, after all was said and done, we actually saved $4 - the $100 deposit I had put down earlier against the $214 and $110 to re-reserve it for Sunday night. Okay we didn't really save any money, rather paid nearly double for a single night stay. It was worth it though because, as far as we could tell, we were the ONLY ones to spend the night at the park! But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Back at the diner we ordered dessert and pondered what else needed to change for us to still make the trip. The kids arrived about two hours after we called them. We met them in the parking lot and it looked as if they had moved in (to the truck). I immediately repositioned the truck for loading. We loaded Ann's Sportster first, then my Magna. Now the fun begins, strapping them in so they stay put. All in all, I think it took longer to strap them in than it did to get them on the truck. Ready for transport, we piled into the truck and headed for home.
We laughed and joked to pass the time on the long drive home. Everyone was surprised I was taking it so well and not my usual 'growly bear' self. When we finally did make it home, the kids were wondering what we were doing for dinner but Ann and I were still full from the diner. We settled on 'rewarding' them with some cash and sending them out for dinner. While they were gone Ann and I unloaded the bikes and got them put away just before the rain started Saturday night. We collapsed and discussed our plans for the following day.
We left even earlier Sunday morning than we had Saturday. While we originally planned to go US441 through Florida into Georgia, Ann wanted to skip that and just take I-75 to Valdosta and then across GA84 straight to Douglas. So we took the 429 out of Apopka, got onto the turnpike and took it up to I-75. From there Ann hauled our butts out of Florida before noon!
We were both happy to be back on track celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary!
Trip Pics and Things Remembered
Our departure from Longwood Florida!!! WooHoo!!! We managed to get everything stuffed into a leather pack and barrel bag each, sealed in plastic vacuum space saver bags. Our Frogg Toggs were packed for convenient access and I carried an extra barrel bag with tools, just in case. We had Nick snap the pics and got on the road...