A Horror Story

It's March 19, 1982 and Ozzie Osbourne and his band are in their tour bus driving from Knoxville to Orlando where they are scheduled to play the next day.

After driving most of the night, they stop at Flying Baron Estates airport in Leesburg to fix a broken air conditioning unit. Entertainment Coaches of America, from whom they have leased the bus, owns this property surrounded by large homes with private aircraft.

Without permission, tour bus driver and private pilot Andrew Aycock "borrows" a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza and takes a couple of rides around the airport.

On his second tour he convinces Randy Rhoads, Ozzie's lead guitarist, and makeup artist Rachel Youngblood to go along. For fun, Aycock decides to "buzz" the tour bus to wake up the rest of the group who are sleeping. He makes two close passes but on the third pass the plane clips the top of the tour bus, breaking the wing and sending it spiraling into a nearby mansion where it explodes and kills all three on board.

Flying Baron Estates

Flying Baron Estates is sandwiched between Lake Denham and Hwy 44. If you go south on Whitney Road at Hwy 44 following the signs to the Paquette Tractor Museum you will get about as close as you can to the airstrip but you won't see much apart from an entrance to Entertainment Coaches of America on Casteen Road. The airport has a one mile long hard runway suitable for executive jets.

Entertainment Coaches of America

Entertainment Coaches of America specialize in making tour buses for entertainers. They may have as many as 200 buses available for lease. They are discrete about their prominent clientele who jet in and out although Willie Nelson and Yanni are known to be among them.

An Extremely Brief History of Milk in Florida

Writing last month's article about the Pine Ridge Dairy made me realize that Florida is not known for milk production. Citrus, sugar and cattle yes, but not milk.

Back around 1900 Floridians didn't put milk in coffee or consume much milk at all. In Leesburg if you wanted milk you'd stop the "dairy on foot" which was a farmer walking his cow down the street and buy a quart of raw milk. It would be warm and creamy, neither pasteurized nor homogenized.

The Dairy on Foot

Milk consumption did go up in the early 1900s because northern snowbirds from big cities liked milk with their tea, coffee, cereal, rice pudding and creamy desserts. But that was a pain in the ass because a dairy cow kept producing 7 gallons of milk a day in the summer whether the farmer wanted it or not.

Cooling milk after Pasteurization

Real demand for milk started around 1920 when it was shown that children who drank milk regularly were better developed, healthier and stronger so the state got involved in the marketing and development of a Florida dairy industry and introduced milk into schools.

Next time you are cycling in Leesburg make sure you don't run into that farmer with his cow!

Pine Ridge Dairy Farm

If you've been on the club ride around Spring Lake to Fruitland Park then at the end of Cut Off Road you will have turned left on Pine Ridge Dairy Road. Twenty years ago if you had turned right instead of left it would have led you to the Pine Ridge Dairy Farm.

Pine Ridge Dairy Farm 2010

For over 50 years, Bernice Ellen Jeffcoat tended herds of Holsteins on her nearly 1,000 acre farm passing long days from early morning milking to evening roundups. It was a tough but noble life which got tougher with the consolidation of the dairy industry. But Bernice loved the land and her cattle and although losing money she hung on until the end. When she passed away in 2006 at the age of 81 the farm was still her home.

Pine Ridge Village 2024

Later on The Villages was able to purchase a tract of the farm which it has named Pine Ridge Village and I remember the construction of Moyer Loop in 2015. Of course the loop was strictly prohibited to non construction traffic at the time but one day Dave Rooney posted a ride around it on Strava, he may have been the first. Since then we've all cycled around the loop many times. The next time around the loop, just west of Webster Way, you will pass right through the site of the Pine Ridge Dairy barn and may sense the aura of the cattle that were milked there for 50 years.

Click here for Strava route information.

The Fruitland Park Casino

Casino, is an interesting word. It conjures up images of the lavish, pretentious and luxurious gambling emporiums in places like Monaco or Las Vegas but it can also mean a place for social activities.

The Fruitland Park Casino

The Fruitland Park Casino was of the latter variety and was built in 1914 by George Clark on the property of his Gardenia Hotel. The wood frame building had a metal roof, a long wide porch, low eaves, and a breezeway. Inside it had a large stage, and ladies' and men's dressing rooms, each with their own bathroom. The Casino also featured amenities such as running water, electric lights, and steam heat. Many dances, plays and other social events were held there and it also served as a meeting place for clubs and civic organizations like the Fruitland Park Chamber of Commerce. During the World Wars, women and school children met there to knit mufflers, sweaters, and socks for servicemen.

Original walls and windows in the lobby of the new library

Activities continued, and The Casino was declared a Florida Heritage site in 2015 but in 2017 the ancient structure was deemed unsound and it was razed to the ground. The City of Fruitland Park has now built a new library on the site where windows and parts of the exterior walls and flooring from The Casino were used in the construction of the entrance lobby.

The new Fruitland Park library

George Clark may have been ahead of his time if we consider The Fruitland Park Casino to be an omen for The Villages of the future. It had a recreation center - The Casino - and many social and cultural activities for 100 years prior to The Villages providing similar amenities in the adjacent Village of Pine Ridge in Fruitland Park.

Click here for Strava route information

Floral City - Boom to Bust and Back Again

Around 1800, Seminole Indians were settled in the area we now know as Floral City. But following the Seminole Wars the 1842 Armed Occupation Act gave 160 acres to any man who lived on it, kept a gun and ammunition, and farmed 5 acres for 5 years. The legislation effectively encouraged settlers to move in and the Seminoles to move out.

Picking Oranges - Ferris Groves circa 1900

By the late 1800's, Floral City was exporting citrus, sugar cane and timber. Harvests were shipped to northern markets by steamboat via the 5 mile long Orange State Canal which was dug in 1884 and connected Lake Tsala Apopka to the Withlacoochee river.

Steamer on the Orange State Canal circa 1890

In 1893 the railroad arrived and with it phosphate deposits were found causing a boom which by 1900 had attracted around 10,000 miners. It made Floral City one of the largest towns in Florida with hotels and an infrastructure to support the community. But things slowed down with the great winter freezes of 1894/95.The citrus industry wouldn't recover for 20 years. Another setback followed when the phosphate mines went south - to Bartow.

Ferris Groves on Hwy 41 1955

Citrus recovered when "Doc" Ferris, who had bought Duval Island during the land boom planted orange trees instead of building the golf course he had originally planned. He covered 350 acres with 31,000 trees, built a packing house, and nearly everyone in Floral City worked for him through the great depression and the war years. All went well until the Christmas deep freeze of 1989 which wiped out the groves for the last time.

The Shamrock Inn 2024

Today, the railroad is gone and the old road bed is now the Withlacoochee State Trail which we ride on. East Orange Avenue, Floral City's main street, has many beautiful old homes and the Shamrock Inn is always good for lunch. Continue east on East Orange and you will cross the Orange State Canal when you ride over the bridge to Duval Island.

For route information and more pictures click here

Bugg Spring

Legend has it that around the year 1900 nine year old Billy Bugg, his mule and wagon fell into this spring one morning while he was getting water. Billy drowned but his name lives on.

Bugg Spring 1929 - photo: Florida Memory

Bugg Spring lies between Lake Denham and Hwy 470 about a mile east of Dabney Recreation Center. It's a second category spring producing about 5.5 million gallons of water per day and flows into Lake Denham near Helena Run. It has a large 400 feet wide steep sided pool and is very deep at 175 feet.

Bugg Spring

It would be a wonderful club ride destination if the the Naval Undersea Warfare Center hadn't purchased the property in 2011. The springs huge volume of deep, quiet and still water has an ambient noise level below sea state zero and the navy uses it for the calibration of submarine noise and surface ship tactical towed sonar arrays. Among other things. 

Among other things? Well some time ago I was enjoying a coffee and donut at the Brownwood Dunkin while chatting to one of our members who it turned out was a submarine chaser when he was in the Navy. I mentioned Bugg Spring and he seemed to think that in quiet water like that they'd also be locating and listening to ships and submarines in the Atlantic. 

Bugg Spring Road

So, believe it or not, you can't just stop by and visit but you can get an authorization to see the facility here. Tell them you'd like to see the manatee and alligators, good luck.

While Bugg Spring is not a top secret naval facility, if you do not see me out on my bike for a while after the publication of this article you probably shouldn't ask too many questions.

For route information and more pictures click here

Why is it called Carney Island?

Being the unofficial SLBC resident historian I am often asked "why is Carney Island called Carney Island when there is no Island?" Well, it's proper name is Carney Island Recreation and Conservation Area. So think of it as an island recreation and conservation area named after John Carney. And, by the way, there are two islands.

Around 1870 Captain John L. Carney had seen that wild sour Seville oranges planted by Spanish explorers were still growing after a couple of centuries which led him to believe it would be a good location for citrus groves. In '74 he bought 400 acres of property on Lake Weir which consisted of most of Hammock Peninsula and two islands to the south, Orange Island and Lemon Island.

1883 map by T.M Shackleford showing peninsula and islands

Carney's business was successful and his groves on the Hammock Peninsula still exist but the island groves have long been abandoned. Over the years the Lake Weir water level has fallen and the islands now resemble hammocks in wetlands and maps no longer name them. However the southernmost tip of what today we'd call the peninsula is still identified as Lemon Point.

Peninsula and Islands - 1973 water levels

Where the road in the park ends there are trails which will give you access to Lemon Point and the two islands which are identifiable. I rode these trails after a dry period on 35mm gravel tires and while there can be areas of loose sand you can easily skirt them by riding on grass. It is well worth visiting.

For route info and more pictures click here.

Micanopy

The last time I rode up to Micanopy was before Covid with Hugh Caggiano. We started at the Fellowship Community Church on Hwy 27 where the church secretary said cyclists often start out and that she'd keep an eye on the car for us. Then we took an interesting 34 mile scenic route through horse farm country to Micanopy where we had lunch at Coffee & Cream.

The Old Florida Cafe

Named after the Seminole Chief Micanopy the town has an interesting history. In the late 1800's the adjacent 23,000 acre Payne's Prairie was flooded when the Alachua Sink became plugged following a storm. For about 20 years it was known as Lake Alachua and had regular steamboat service to local communities and Micanopy where you can see the anchor from the Chacala.

The Old Hotel and Saloon - banned on Saturday nights.

Since then its main commerce has been agricultural. The owner of the restaurant had lived in Micanopy all her life and she told me when she was a girl her parents wouldn't let her go "downtown" on Saturdays because many of the itinerant farm workers would be tearing it up at the local hotel and saloon.

More recently Micanopy is better known for being the location of the movie Doc Hollywood which starred Michael J. Fox as a doctor who crashed his car there and got sentenced to community service. Fortunately there was an attractive girl on hand - who'd have thought it?

The Flemington Country Store

On the way back we stopped at the historic and colorful Flemington Country Store - not to be missed!

For route information and more pictures:

A Weekend in New York City

In 1968 I was 22 and lived and raced bikes in Toronto, Canada. We had a decent core of 30-40 riders mostly made up of European expats who'd turn out for road races every couple of weeks.

Late that summer on a Saturday I drove to New York City for a race the following day put on by the German Bicycle Club of New York. It was about 105 miles around Central Park with a field of over 100.

A jersey with front pockets - don't see those any more!

The race started off at a decent pace with a few breaks that were brought back but my problem was my front tire had started to roll off the rim after a couple of laps. I'd glued on my best Dunlop #3 tires but the front one had started to roll off the base tape not the rim - the perils of tubular tires! I knew that if I stopped to change the tire it would be tough to get back into the bunch so asked around and luckily found a rider whose girlfriend was by the course. He rode ahead of me to tell her and I got the front wheel off her bike - what a save - a quick change and I was soon back in the peloton.

Most of the race, not having any team mates I rode conservatively staying close enough to the front so I wouldn't miss any serious breaks.

Eventually with a couple of laps to go two riders broke away, they took a good lead and looked strong. I asked around for help to chase them down but no one came with me. I caught them and knew that if we worked together we'd have the race sewn up. But they didn't see it that way and soon went out the back door. Someone said later they'd been intimidated by my Brit accent!

There I was alone for a couple of laps with about 13 miles to go so I just put my head down and time trialed to the finish praying I wouldn't get caught. I remember seeing the finish line, looking back and there was no one in sight and someone in the crowd said "he knows he's got it". I guess I was smiling. I'd been my club junior champion and had some success in previous races but this was the biggest race I'd ever win.

I won a beautiful German stein trophy which I still have, two pairs of tubular tires, a GBCNY jersey and a $40 gift certificate for the local bike store.

Afterward, when I returned the borrowed wheel I gave the gift certificate to the couple who'd loaned me the wheel. Then I put my bike back on the car and drove the 470 miles back to Toronto.

My 1968 Racing License

Writing this article has brought back memories. Two or three weeks before the race Mike Barry, a strong rider and Britannia C.C. team mate, had suggested we ride to Buffalo for a weekend to stay with some friends from the Buffalo Cycling Club. It was over 100 miles each way in two days and hard. Looking back, I think his plan may have been to make sure I'd be in good shape for the race. It's never occurred to me before and I wish it wasn't too late to ask him. 

Ma Barker House

After a life of crime Ma Barker and her son Fred decided to lay low and rented a vacation house on Lake Weir in Ocklawaha where they probably thought they'd never be found. Wrong, the FBI eventually found them and on January 16, 1935 after the longest gun battle in Bureau history, which put a couple of thousand rounds of ammunition into the house, the Barkers were dead. A lot has been written about the Barkers and a movie was made starring Shelley Winters which I am told may have stretched the truth a bit.. 

The Ma Barker house on Carney Island

The house stood on about seven acres on Lake Weir and the original owners sold the land and donated the house to Marion County who in 2016 floated it across Lake Weir to Carney Island. I'm not going to say much more because at mabarkerhouse.org you can get a detailed history of the house and the Ma Barker family. You can also sign up for the house tour which I enjoyed and includes a really interesting lecture on events of the period. Following the battle the exterior of the house was repaired but you'll still see plenty of patched bullet holes in the interior drywall!

In the house were 3 tommy guns - one with a 100 shell magazine, handguns, rifles, magazines, ammunition and bulletproof vests.

Before it was moved I remember riding out to Ocklawaha to see the house but as it was private property only got a glimpse of it through the bushes. Later, Fred Hemsley who owns the old gas station on Hwy 25 just north of Weirsdale told me there had been a 50th anniversary celebration of the gun battle in 1985. Unexpectedly, over forty thousand people turned up shutting down the highway for miles which at the time was part of Route 441 - chaos!

Kudos to Marilu Burden for reminding me to write about Ma Barker and inspiring me to do the tour.

SRO - Solo Rides Only

It's Sunday morning, John wants an article for the club newsletter tomorrow and I have no ideas. I glimpse something on TV about Alberto Anguzza, an Italian who became an internet phenom on his balcony by playing The Circle of Life on his trumpet during Covid. The next thing you know, Italians are on their balconies everywhere during the lockdown singing opera and the dolphins have returned to the canals of Venice. What was I doing while all this was happening?

Well, I'd been writing articles for Around The Villages at John's behest and I created Two Tired Tales, a blog, so they wouldn't be lost. And it was a period for me of SROs - Solo Rides Only.

I particularly remember one Sunday solo around Lake Harris to Tavares notable for an almost complete lack of traffic which made the misery miles of Hwy 27 and 441 almost a pleasure to ride. Everything was closed including the Yalaha Bakery. There wasn't a single car on the bridge across Little Lake Harris lake - imagine! I had lunch on a bench at the deserted Tavares train station - Gatorade and the PB&J sandwich I'd thought to take with me.

Another Sunday I rode to Treasure Island and the Haines Creek lock where there is a mobile home park close by called Bonfire Mobile Village - wrap your imagination around that!

Not too bad for someone who can't play trumpet or sing but I'm a great fan of opera and dolphins.

Route info

Postcards from France

Annonay - Les Freres Montgolfier

Last Wednesday (9/27) I rode about 20 miles north from Tain l'Hermitage on the Rhone, where we stay, mainly uphill to the town of Annonay in the Ardèche. This was the home of the aviation pioneer Montgolfier brothers and I specifically wanted to see their statue and the town square where on June 4th 1783 they first demonstrated their invention, the hot air balloon.

Interestingly, their balloon was not inflated as I had expected but had a fixed shape and was constructed of four linen sections with paper pasted inside to provide the form and make it airtight. The sections were joined together with 1,800 buttons and the exterior reinforced with a cord net.

The First Balloon

In order to heat the air for the balloon it was tethered over a smoldering fire and when eventually released it shot up to about 5000 feet and covered about 1.5 miles before the air inside cooled and it landed with little damage. Scientists and artists were on hand from the Paris Academies to document and illustrate the occasion.

The launch site today - Wednesday is market day!

Within 6 months the brothers had constructed a new much larger balloon with its own charcoal heat source and capable of carrying two passengers in a gallery around the bottom. Following tethered testing, on November 21st in its first free flight the brilliantly decorated balloon flew 5 miles over Paris at about 3000 feet. It had carried enough fuel to go four times this distance but when the pilots were obliged to use their jackets to quell flames from the burning fabric they decided they'd travelled far enough and landed after 25 minutes.

The Brilliantly decorated first free flight piloted balloon

After a coffee and "pain au chocolat" in a cafe overlooking the town square the ride back was relatively easy - a long downhill to the Rhone and a flat stretch along the ViaRhona bike path to Tain.

Allan Broadribb

Ride Details

P.S. There is a hot air balloon festival in Annonay held annually in June.

Postcards from France

Last year I told John I'd write a couple of articles under the banner Postcards from France but he seemed to think that might be a bit spicy - too bad - we're back in France and it's what you're getting anyway.

If you're riding a bike in France and the traffic light turns red then ride around the cars to the light because there's a 5 meter zone for bicycles at the front and you get your own traffic light low on the pole so you don't get a crick in your neck looking up at the big one. Stops bikes getting stuck between cars all over the place and cars will actually move over to make it easy for you to get to the front!

In urban areas the postman delivers your mail on an official yellow LaPoste electric bike which is really cool. Good way for the postman to stay in shape too,

On the French roads there are two highway signs that may cause you some confusion "Toutes  Directions" and "Autres Directions" which basically translate as "Somewhere" and "Elsewhere". Ask anyone and they will tell you clearly what is meant but don't ask anyone else or the clarity will fade. These signs have been a source of much amusement for natives and tourists alike and many differing opinions have been published. Unfortunately GPS navigation systems have made them meaningless - as if they weren't already - but fear not they still exist and remain a great conversation starter. Or, you can talk to your cars' navigation system but it's not as much fun. 

Au-revoir

Allan Broadribb 

Check out my favorite ride in France 

or my cycling blog Two Tired Tales

Sears Craftsman Homes

Time check - it's 100 years ago, 1923. The biggest community in the area, Leesburg (pop: 2500), next Wildwood (pop: 800). Other communities like Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Oxford and Weirsdale were smaller but all had railroad depots and a post office.

People also had Sears catalogues to order stuff shipped by post or rail. Probably not as quick as Amazon but interestingly, in addition to run of the mill household items, you could also buy your house from Sears (pow! - take that Amazon) in kit form and it would arrive on a railroad flat car complete with assembly instructions (shades of Ikea).

Craftsman Homes in Coleman and Wildwood

The Sears Craftsman Ready-Cut House package, first offered about 1912, included plans, specifications, and detailed assembly instructions, along with pre-cut and factory-fitted lumber which was stamped with the Sears name and numbered on the ends to correspond to the floor plans. One order included everything - nails and screws, paint and roof shingles, windows and doors, woodwork, staircases, mantelpieces and even the kitchen sink. Sears also provided finance making it easy for over 75000 American families to buy a home.

A popular small home you could buy for less than $1,000 was "The Crafton" Like The Villages they gave their many designs different names.

As you ride your bike around the older areas of our local communities it is easy to recognize Sears Craftsman homes if they haven't been overly modified. The architecture is typified by a front porch with a roof supported by heavy wooden tapered columns on brick piers.

Tour de France - go see it.

So, a few years ago in France - 2018 to be precise - we're in Tain l'Hermitage. I lean my bike against the wall of the bike store across the street from our apartment and wander in to borrow a pump. Coming out I see a wiry old (probably my age!) guy looking at my bike, he's seen the "I support Lance Armstrong" sticker and says he kinda liked him too. I tell him I'm thinking of riding Alpe d'Huez and Croix de Fer for a 3,000m day. He said that would be hard but the toughest climb he'd ever had was the Col de la Bonnette in the Tour. "In the Tour?", I say. He tells me he rode in the TDF twice in the 1970's which was before teams had luxury buses and only the stars stayed in hotels while the rest showered and slept on cots in school gyms. I enjoy our chat, return the pump and the store owner tells me the guy still rides and like me they enjoy his stories. I haven't seen him since, wish I could remember his name, I'd like to hear more and maybe he'd ride with me.

Well the Tour is on TV right now if you want to see the race. But there's so much more that you won't see.

YOU WON'T SEE THE CARAVAN

It is one of the biggest parts of the Tour. Before every stage the caravan of sponsors floats will drive the course from start to finish. On a long stage it'll stretch more than 10 kilometers and by the end of the Tour they'll have thrown over 15 million items to the roadside fans - hats, t-shirts, musettes, key chains, cakes, water, candy, you name it. I still wear my Festina hat from 2015 while riding.

YOU WON'T SEE THE TEAMS ARRIVE FOR THE START

This'll happen after the caravan has passed. The start town center is closed off. There's tent studios set up for the media, journalists with their cameras and vans, a band thumping out music, souvenir stands, food trucks and thousands of fans but no riders. Then close to a mile of 22 team buses each followed by 6 cars covered with bicycles will arrive. Amazingly the buses are parked so the public can see the riders sign in and prepare for the days racing. Many riders will stop for selfies with fans on their way to the start area - so cool.

Jocelyne and I were fortunate enough to see the Tour in 2015 and it was fantastic. We went with Pyrenees Multisport. Ian and Julie Wright, two Brits, will transport you to and from Toulouse airport and you'll stay in their large house where they'll serve you cyclist sized meals for breakfast and supper every day. You'll have seven days of great cycling in the Pyrenees and experience the Tour de France. It'll cost you about $1600 including a carbon bike - just take your clothes and Garmin.

IF YOU DON'T GO YOU WON'T STAND ON A MOUNTAIN eating hamburgers and hotdogs and know that the riders are coming because you can hear and see the helicopters below you!

Of course there are other tours you can take. I'm not paid to promote Pyrenees Multisport and they have had no input or knowledge of this article. It's just one reasonably priced option which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Coffee - my not so humble opinion

Club rides are great. I love destinations like cemeteries and gas stations or sometimes a nice tree to pee behind and a bottle of Gatorade. Well maybe it's not that bad but compared to a decent cup of coffee and a comfortable chair it's first runner up.

So here is my non comprehensive list of places I enjoy stopping for coffee which does not include gas stations or franchises like Starbucks, Panera Bread or Dunkin.

The Garden at B D Beans

Best Coffee House - B D Beans in Belleview. Sandwiched between a gas station and KFC this would be on my list of places least likely to survive providing it hadn't been there for nearly 25 years. An independent coffee shop in an old house where the coffee is good, the service is excellent, and you can sit outside in the garden at a table which even has a table cloth. But not just coffee, plenty of pastries and breakfast too.

Nephew Jacques in a comfortable chair at Sawgrass Grove

Most Comfortable Coffee - Golden Hills Coffee Roasters at Sawgrass Grove on Meggison Road. A decent latte and a really comfortable chair outside that I wouldn't be allowed to sit on at home in my cycling gear!

Best club ride coffee - The Standard Coffee Lounge in Brownwood has good coffee and a huge patio area with tables and chairs ideal for larger groups where not everyone is buying. Great for an end of ride social.

On a Sunnyside ride try Leesburg Library Coffee shop. It's Starbucks based and serves decent coffee. The best part is the Durand Garden across Main Street where there are tables and chairs and fountains to deaden traffic noise for a zen moment. Simply a pleasant relaxing spot.

Lunch at Coffee n' Cream - had a beer this time!

Micanopy - If you tour out of town from time to time then I'd recommend Coffee n' Cream in Micanopy for coffee and a light lunch. Pretty basic until you chat to the owner who was born and raised there and told me her parents never let her go "downtown" on the weekends because of the fights in the local saloon! An interesting town to visit, it's where they made the movie Doc Hollywood.

Latte art at Axum in Winter Garden

Winter Garden - convenient for riding in the Clermont Hills - has the second best coffee in Florida at the Axum Coffee Shop and the best latte art I've seen. Ask for a ceramic cup to see the latte art - they'll try to serve you coffee in a disposable cup when they're busy but tell them you rode 50 miles for their coffee and you'll get a real cup. Personally I try to avoid drinking good coffee out of a cardboard cup - yes I'm a coffee snob.

Mazzaro's Italian Market in St. Petersburg makes the best coffee I know of. I've bought their beans and made it at home but it's just not the same. Perhaps it's their coffee bar next to the pastry counter. The pâtissier told me they had 60 different pastries on the counter but he can make about 150, so you have to go back - a few times. Unfortunately it's not a good place to go on a bike as there is no secure place for it - and you'd need to leave it because what started as a small corner store has now expanded into an Italian theme park - perhaps I exaggerate.

Coffee at Home - I have a Breville Barista Espresso machine. I buy my roasted espresso beans wholesale from the Caracolillo Coffee Mill in Tampa. Fresh roasted delivered overnight and still much cheaper than anything decent you can buy locally. If you're in their area stop by and smell the beans roasting - aaaah! This family business founded by Anastasio Fernandez, a Spanish immigrant, has been roasting beans since 1936. Ask for a quick tour and you'll be shown their grandfathers original roasting machines still being used. And the aroma of freshly roasting coffee beans is to live for.

Please note, I have not received a board appointment or shares in any of these businesses nor even a free coffee as compensation for their mention in this article. It's just my not so humble opinion.