Florida Connector and afew questions

[Tandem Tom]

Well, this is my first post here and I just joined ACA last week.
My wife and I will be riding in Florida in February from Fort Myers on the ACA Florida Connector and then going south to Key West.
Would anyone have any info regarding this route? I have orderd the maps but would like to hear some first hand info.
Thanks,

[John Nettles]

Welcome to ACA and cycle touring!

It would help if you gave a little more info, i.e. are you going northeast up to St. Augustine following the Florida Connector (FC) and then south on the Atlantic Coast (AC) route to Key West and you want info regarding camping or hotels, traffic, dogs, best beaches for seeing space aliens, etc.  Really vague questions tend not to answered.

A few years ago, my wife and I did the Key Largo to Key West portion of the AC, then took ferry to Ft. Myers then northeast on the FC.  We went in late March.  For us, it was unseasonably cool but luckily, no rain.  Depending on when the maps were last printed, I would highly encourage you to double check the addendum for the maps and still verify any required services, i.e. the motel in Metropolis is still open.  There were several times when motels or cafés were closed and not on the addendum.  This is very unusual for ACA to not have fairly accurate addendum but it was in our case.  I still recommend the maps.  We enjoyed the trip until I got ill and we had t bail in Wachula, FL.

Prices on the Keys are higher than on the mainland, maybe by 15%-20%.  My wife really enjoyed the Hemingway House in Key West (she loves cats).  I have done a modified AC route but it was way back in '87 so most info is not relevant anymore.

[tonythomson]

Hi welcome.  When deciding on your route I would recommend that you take a look at Trails to Rails as Florida has some brilliant long distant trails that I always try to incorporate in any travels in Florida.
Eg
Van Fleet to Withlacoochee and West Orange
There are other long distant trails that maybe others can Highlight such as the Sun Trail or is it the Sunshine Trail.

Post a rough idea of what you want to do.
Good luck

[Tandem Tom]

Thanks for the replies.
John,
The plan is to start on Sannibal Island, where my brother live and we can leave a car. Sinnce I do not have the ACA maps yet all I know is we will be heading west to east then pick up the Atlantic Coast route.

[Chancewag]

I jumped on the forum hoping to find a thread about this route, sweet! I am planning to do the Atlantic Coast section seven route in two weeks. The plan is to start from St. Augustine and head south to the keys, then take the ferry to Ft. Meyers to join the Florida connector route and end in Orlando.

I will be traveling by myself for 80% of the journey, and plan on strapping my sleeping bag, tent and stove to my rack and heading off. My only concern will be the camping arrangements, or lack there of. Will I be able to find camp grounds along the way? And if I cannot find camp grounds, what are the chances of me finding a spot to pitch a tent without breaking any laws? I am planning on knocking on some doors and asking to pitch my tent wherever I can if it comes down to it.

I am a 20 year old who only wishes to escape the stresses of finals week at school and see the entire state that I live in. I am excited to test myself, and to see how this turns out. If everything goes smoothly, I can see myself making much larger trips across the country next.

[CMajernik]

You can always check the Crazy Guy On A Bike website to see if anyone has written a journal about a specific route.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/