The Elusive Florida Backroad

"No no no

Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot"

~ Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi lyrics

Catching a Sunrise

Joni Mitchell's song ran through my head this morning as I watched the sunrise then left home for an early morning cruise on Bessie. A few years ago I could leave my comfortable subdivision and in five minutes tops be cruising a cool, moss-draped oak tree shaded backroad surrounded by the fragrant smell of orange blossoms. This morning I realized it was a good twenty minutes before traffic thinned then disappeared.

I love Central Florida because of the wide open spaces; the close (but not too close) proximity to the metropolitan areas of Orlando and Tampa as well as easy access to the beaches of either coast. The Florida backroads I've known and loved for the past three decades are becoming as elusive as the Florida panther; hard to find and on the endangered list. 

The secondary roads have become major thoroughfares as more and more track houses are built along SR27 in either direction. I used to travel from Haines City to Clermont on SR27  and see nothing but orange groves. Almost all of the grove owners have succumbed to the lure of developers money who put up track homes, sell them for no money down to unsuspecting young buyers who will not be able to afford the balloon payment five years from now. SR 27 between I4 and Clermont is crowded with new subdivisions, strip plazas, chain restaurants, and goliath-like apartment complexes. Scenic Byway 17 from Lake Wales past Frostproof is one of my favorite rides. The orange groves are still in tact, packed red clay roads run through the groves off 17. The road runs along The Ridge - actual elevation! - created millions of years ago when tectonic plates shifted and gave the flat Florida land a nudge of elevation.

Mammoth Grove Road

This morning I headed out Mammoth Grove Road and as it's name suggests, the asphalt is lined on either side with mature orange groves. Within the frequent copse of towering oaks, Spanish moss festooning the limbs as the morning sun peeps through, I notice a few estate size homes have been built, but they are horse people so the grounds are gorgeous! The backroads around Ocala is a feast for the eyes; miles of well-kept wooden fences, green pastures where obscenely expensive thoroughbreds graze lazily, stately outbuildings and grand homes. I turned off Mammoth Grove to Camp Mack Rd; multiple curves wind through the grove and cut through wide open pasture land that stretches to the horizon. At the end of Camp Mack Rd., is a funky fishing enclave called...Camp Mack. Old Florida at it's finest and a great place to hang out on the weekend for music, fish fry and an airboat ride.

Polk County Florida is home to 554 named lakes which means you don't go more than a block or two before encountering a lake. Our neighbor, Lake County has over a 1,000 named lakes. Lake County is my 'go to' destination for a nice, meandering, pastoral backroads ride to lunch. Lakefront is also prime real estate for developers unfortunately. 

I managed to clock 100 miles this morning, with 80 miles being pristine backroad riding. I love SR19 which runs almost through the center of the state a little to the west. The little towns of Palatka and Salt Springs which is smack-dab in the Ocala National Forest. There are still good backroads between Lakeland and Dade City then on towards Brooksville. I've traveled to the North Coast many times and the topography is so different up there; tall pine trees, and actual cliffs (albeit SMALL cliffs) up along 319. If you haven't been to Sopchoppy, Florida...well, you just haven't been around! Especially for the Worm Grutin Festival. You can pretty much have the East Coast as far as two-wheeled travel is concerned. Although north of Jacksonville is Yulee and Fernandina Beach...probably my favorite beach area in all of the Sunshine State. The ride down to the Everglades on SR29 is pleasant and takes you through the Panther Preserve. 

Perhaps we need a preservation society for the Florida backroads? Carve out a giant slice of the central part of the state and say, 'STOP! No more developers allowed!' Is it progress or greed that makes my beloved backroads harder and harder to find?

"‘Cause every turn reveals some other road
And I’m a traveller, oh, I’m a traveller

My heartbeat’s rhythm is a lonesome sound
Just like the rubber turning on the ground
Always lost and nowhere bound"

~ Chris Stapleton, Traveller lyrics

Debi Tolbert Duggar is the author of 'Riding Soul-O'

Available at Bessieandme.com or online wherever books are sold