Zephyrhills, FL Outdoor Activities

Pedal into the sun and shine on the Pinellas Trail with today's Groupon, which gets you a day-long bike rental from Sun West Cyclery. Sun West is a family-owned-and-operated bike shop that rents comfort bikes, a limited number of recumbents and road bikes, and absolutely no bikes outfitted with road spikes and oil dischargers.“Bicycles. They seem harmless…but are they? Mostly yes, they are harmless…if being LAZY is harmless.

As a former national-level figure skater and ISSA-certified personal trainer, Jessica knows what a full-body burn feels like. However, she didn't know that a stationary bike could replicate the feeling, until a fellow trainer encouraged her to climb aboard a RealRyder cycle. Jessica became a devotee after just two rides. Determined to share her newfound passion with others, she gathered a team of certified instructors, populated two studios with RealRyder ABF8 bikes, and opened their doors to prospective pedalers of all fitness levels.

Inside Ryde For Life, Jessica and her staff host 45- to 60-minute classes synced to each teacher's music playlist. They lead stationary teams atop RealRyder bikes, whose specialized frames allow riders to lean, bank, and steer as they would an on-road bike. In addition to pumping up cardiovascular systems, sessions engage the core, upper body, legs, and the scalp muscles that hold helmets in place.

With the 2011 season looming large, FC Tampa Bay will attempt to pass, tackle, and score its way to NASL glory at the club's new home at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg. Currently headed up by English coach and retired professional footballer Ricky Hill, the FC Tampa Bay team are chest-trapping, banana-kicking, and head-butting their way back into the world of black-and-white-spotted balls. Watch them take on the Puerto Rico Islanders, who are hungry to work their way up the 2011 standings, or root on the roster as the team guns for the fleet-footed Atlanta Silverbacks, slippery Carolina Railhawks, or northerly FC Edmonton. General-admission seats allow frenetic fans to observe the fantastic flairs of NASL soccer savants as they attempt to sneak the European pigskin between an opponent’s legs and through the goal zone. The $20 gift voucher can be put toward merchandise such as a jersey, a scarf, or an oversized foam yellow card.

When Brian McInerney reflects on the humble beginnings of Wheel Fun Rentals, he points to his childhood passion for bikes. "As far back as I can remember, I had a real love affair with bicycles," he recalls. During a trip to Italy in 1987, Brian's affinity for cycling blossomed into a full-fledged obsession when he spotted locals' transporter of choice, the surrey. Inspired, he began importing the Italian four-wheelers to a rental business in the U.S. that eventually expanded into Wheel Fun Rentals, now a nationwide web of shops that also loans out bikes, electric cars and mopeds, and man-powered watercraft. Atop bicycles and surreys built for solo riders or entire families, patrons embark on self-guided tours of major U.S. cities. Led by maps and lists of nearby sites of historical or cultural significance, riders zoom down bike paths and safe, lightly trafficked streets. Adventuresome athletes can also compete in activities such as surrey scavenger hunts and blindfold obstacle courses navigated via shouted instructions from a seeing teammate or exceptionally long rounds of trial and error.

Inspired by his own love of exotic cars, Joe Sabatini's Festivals of Speed has been parading a fleet of the world’s snazziest automobiles before crowds at several fancy Florida hotels and resorts for a full decade. His who’s who list of cars includes vintage and contemporary models from Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin, some so frighteningly aerodynamic that the wind refuses to blow on them. All rest in silent repose, waiting to be unleashed to qualified drivers through a special Ride and Drive program.

To complement the automotive elegance, the event planners have made arrangements for soft jazz, luxury lifestyle displays, and sumptuous snacks perfect for tossing to Bentleys as they hop up on their hind wheels. The festival also attracts speedy species of watercraft, aircraft, and custom motorcycles, as well as classic and restored cars submitted by local auto enthusiasts. Alongside its vehicle lineup, the festivals also showcase jewelry, fine art, real estate, and culinary gems to cater to all manner of luxury aficionado.

Inside Terror on the Lake's haunted confines, actors garbed in macabre outfits, detailed animatronics, and holographic projectors immerse visitors in a horrifying environment where scares lurk around every corner. Ghouls, ghosts, and madmen prowl the halls of the haunted house in search of fresh screams. The Buried Alive! simulator gives visitors a taste of being trapped inside a coffin that is being lowered into the ground. Zombies dead set on feasting on flesh stand poised to break through the grounds at the zombie-shooting gallery, where only the sharpness of players' sight can save them and their friends from becoming something's snack. The only safe area at Terror on the Lake is in the fortune teller's tent, defended by carved jack-o’-lanterns that keep monsters at bay by offering poor directions.