Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Riding The Pugsley To Pelican Island Refuge



For the life of me, I can't understand why more people don't come to this place.

Florida has been paved over, so here's an inspiring peak back at this state before the developers and subdivision builders got their paws on the land. So, one of my favorite bike rides is to hop on the Surly Pugsley fattie single-speeder and pedal from Vero to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, America's first wildlife refuge created by President Teddy Roosevelt.






 
To get there, hook up with the Jungle Trail. It's an old dirt road that used to be a main artery for the citrus industry transporters to move their oranges and grapefruits along the Indian River.

Now the crabs like hanging out here.





If you're wondering why the Jungle Trail surface is unusually smooth for a dirt road, I found out this morning when I saw this thing coming at me.


The Pelican Island refuge draws about 110,000 people a year -- a mere one-eighth of the 880,000 visitors a year at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge across the state on Sanibel Island.

It's sad that the local chamber and elected officials don't do more to toot the horn of the amazing Pelican Island haven.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

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