Our bike ride starts at the Astatula Post Office. Now I can here the question already, where or what is Astatula, well it's a little town that is on the shores of Little Lake Harris in Lake County on hwy 561 just east of Leesburg. I tell people that it's like riding the Van Fleet Trail and you're looking for the curve, don't blink or you'll miss it. Our ride takes us down Hwy 561 to Lane Park Rd. and through what riders in the area refer to as the Little Pyrenees back to Hwy 19 into Tavares, a gorgeous little community on Lake Dora stopping at Wooten Park. From there we continue out Lake Shore drive, 7 miles of shore line to Mt. Dora. (watch out for the Gators) Now for those of you who like antiques you will absolutely love Mt.Dora. This town is antique, one store after another nothing but antiques with old fashion sidewalk cafes' and restaurants, it's a great place to go and spend the weekend. When we finish in Mt.Dora we exit out the South East corner past Gilbert Park and ride Hwy 48 back to 561 and the Astatula Post Office. The ride takes in about 10 miles of nothing but shore line around Lake Dora and another 19 miles of back country roads with very little traffic, a beautiful 29 miles.Something you may want to consider if your thinking of riding in this area is that Mt. Dora will be Hosting there 35th Mt. Dora Bike Festival the second week in October and they generally end up with up to 1500 riders. If your looking for someplace to stay try the Lakeside Inn a little expensive but hey your right on the Lake.
