I am a long-time cyclist and became very frustrated with the walkers and golf carts. I would drive about 20 minutes to the Santos Trail in Ocala. They have a fabulous 16-mile paved path and many miles of mountain bike trails. Worth the drive.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Horn
 

People have always moved over when I ring my bike bell, or cart horn…as the case may be. Then etiquette is that you wave when you go by and say, “Thanks,”. Always works, and I’ve never had a problem.

At this point it’s probably off topic, but there is also a bike rack at Sumter Landing in front of TooJays as you enter the shopping district on Canal.

There is also one at the Sumter Landing Winn Dixie, and the Creekside Primary Care at Sumter Landing.

I am a biker and a runner. The Villages is great for both. The multi modal paths are fine for biking. I bike at a decent clip but if a cart/carts are behind me I hug the shoulder and wave the carts on when it looks safe for them to pass. I always get a wave, thank you and friendly smile. As to anyone who even mentions passing a biker in a cart while another cart is on coming, well, that's just stupidity.

yes, there are racks at the town squares to secure your bikes.

Bike Racks
 

I frequently ride to and secure my bike at Sumter Landing. There is a very nice little rack tucked in alongside Panera Bread and another on the Southeast corner of the square. I almost never have trouble finding a space. In my opinion, the racks are generally under utilized.

If you ride on the main roads be sure to be prayed up

I agree. We just moved here and bike a lot. We tend to ride south of 44 since we live very near the Chitty Chatty Bridge and there is too much golf cart traffic going to the golf courses in the morning when riding North. We have one of the largest Bike groups in the country here, the Sumter Bike group, and when i ride with them we usually ride outside of the Villages where its nice and open, flat, and very little traffic. You will find the bike paths South of 44 more than enough to ride but i don't know of any mountain bike trails here in the Villages. You probably need to go outside for that. Running is no problem. I will say i generally don't ride on the roads unless i'm with the bike group for safety. Just like any road in any town you need to be careful. Finally, i have a high end road bike and sometimes the golf carts are going too slow in front of me and generally they pull over and let me pass. Hope this helps.

[QUOTE=MX rider;2028791]My wife and I are coming down for a lifestyle visit on Dec 30th. We're bringing our mountain bikes, We love to ride to where we're going and it's great exercise.
Do they have a place where you can lock them up near the squares?

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE].

If your priorities are being able to walk, run and mountain bike you might consider buying a house close to the Santos trail. Santos trail is located several miles north of the Villages off of hwy 441 south of the town of Belleview. No golf carts are allowed on the trails and there's a paved walking trail as well as unpaved "mountain" trails for different skill levels. You would have to drive to the nearest town square which would be Spanish Springs.

To answer your original question, Yes, they have bike racks in the squares.....did this ever go off track.....

Turnabout is fair play

I think you need the NEW sections- plenty of paths there
 

Also we have "rails to trails" bike paths - thru sumter and lake county - great for biking.. as well as several mountain bike / hiking paths out of county ..

Don't worry ... if you don't run into him there are plenty more out there.

Ditto!