The Sugarloaf Mountain Ride

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Start (or end) in Apopka, FL which is a few miles northwest of Orlando. From there head northwest on US 441 and look for when it meets County Road (CR) 448 and take a left (head west) on CR 448. Take 448 until it runs into CR 561 and take a left (head south) all the way till it intersects with CR 455 at Howey Height. Take a left (head east) on 455 and it will turn south east and pass Sugarloaf Mountain (on the right). Stay on 455 for 10 miles and it will bring you into Montverde Junction. At some point around here Rt 455 and Old Rt 50 merge and you want to take Old CR 50 under the Ronald Reagan Turnpike and continue south east into Killarney. Stay on CR 50 as it now head east and brings you into Winter Garden, FL and your route's end point (or starting point).

The Sugarloaf Mountain Ride is a favorite among central Florida Motorcyclists. With it's hilly inclines, and tight corners, Sugarloaf Mountain offers a dramatic change of landscape from the normally flat terrain of Florida. The trip began as a standard drive out of Orlando, northbound on Florida state road 441. As we distanced ourselves from the city traffic I noticed more people riding motorcycles and exchanging friendly waves. The scenery becomes more wooded and sparsely populated once you get to the northern side of Lake Apopka, but the real ride begins on Old Country Road 561 -which is situated on the western side of the lake. This road and Old Country Road 455 make a nice loop around Sugarloaf Mountain, complete with winding curves and rather steep inclines for Florida. Atop the Mountain you can look to the east and see Lake Apopka, as well as the Orlando skyline on the distant horizon. To see more pictures on this motorcycle ride, see a web page by the contributor (Sam).

Depending on how many side roads you decide to venture down on this route you will encounter some interesting pavement -or lack thereof. The main route is flawless and very well maintained, but there are several spurs that decrease in quality and wind up dead ending or turning to sand. The traffic around the mountain was practically non existent, which gave us freedom to open the throttle from time to time and enjoy the curves!

Since this is more of a country ride, you won't find too many stops along the way, but at the top of the mountain where most people stop and enjoy the view there is a house with a water cooler near the road offering free refreshments to thirsty riders!

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather .

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