likely winds/wind direction in late March/early April in Florida keys

[bobbiedobbs]

Planning on cycling from Florida City or Homestead to Key West and return in late March or early April. Any experience/advice on likely wind strength/conditions. Will be a factor in how many days I separately allocate for out and back.

Also, can you recommend a good starting point south of Miami (for instance Florida City?). Is there a bike path/lane the entire route and if not, safe riding?

I noticed lots of ride accounts - any recent or relatively recent recommendations?

Thx

[John Nettles]

Check out WeatherSpark.com as they have a great climate database for most places in the world.

Tailwinds, John

[canalligators]

John, that site is great!  It has all the climate data (not just wind) in an easy-to-read format.  Thanks!

[John Nettles]

Yeah, I really like it.  The only thing I would change is how on some charts (like wind direction), they use the "layered" approach.  I would prefer just a simple percentage chart as I have at times a hard time understanding it.

One thing I like is that you can drill down to the day and look at daily wind patterns, i.e. winds may be out of the NW between 1am and 8am but then swing around to the S between 9am and 3pm (riding time) before starting to swing back to the NW.  If you just read the "average" chart, it may show winds out of the NW most of the time but for riding purposes, it really is out of the S.

Tailwinds, John

[jcostanz]

I have biked several times from Key Largo to Key West and back.  I remember the winds almost completely at my back on the way to Key West and head winds back, so out of the East to North East.

I have left my car at the Keys Visitor Center or Key Largo Visitor Center with permission when I did the trips.

If you are cycling from the mainland, The two options  using Card Sound Road, lower traffic but no shoulder or bike lane,  and US1, higher traffic but with a bike lane/shoulder.

While in the Keys, There is a paved trail for alot of the distance but it switches sides of US1 several times, some without warning.  It also ends several times at the old bridges that are closed, even after just appearing on the opposite side of the road.   Note the 7 mile bridge does have a wide shoulder/bike lane but is not divided between traffic and cyclists.  I have biked it 2 round trips on a recumbent trike without issue due to width of the trike.   

[wallybeagle]

Did you use ACA maps, other resources, or bike the Overseas Heritage Trail?

[John Nettles]

Check out WeatherSpark.com for a great climate database.  Just remember that these are averages so nothing is guaranteed. 

Tailwinds, John

[jcostanz]

On the 2 trips I did solo, I started from the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce, as they allowed me to park for several days.  My first bike trip thru the keys was with Bubba's Pampered Cycling, and it was a mostly camping and several of the campgrounds have closed or stopped allowing tents. 
Other than in Key West there were no other options then following US1, and looking for the overseas trail on the side of the road.  Most times I didn't bother crossing the road to the opposite side to ride the trail as often it seemed to be closed at the next bridge crossing. 
For planning I used Google Maps but in car mode as it has issues bicycle routing(cannot find a route around 7 mile bridge and sends one to Fort Myers for the ferry ride to Key West(387 miles instead of 100).
 Finding reasonable accommodations is very tricky through the keys from late December thru April.

[wallybeagle]

 It's unfortunate that some campgrounds are reserved solely for RV's without space for tents.  I'm wondering if AC MAPS direct  cyclists on the Heritage trail on their Atlantic coast Key's section.
I used ACA maps on my C to C trip this last summer and found them invaluable.

[jcostanz]

I just looked at the map updates and they do talk about the trail but stare thet it switches sides of the road and sometimes it looks like a sidewalk.  As the trail is right next to route 1 there are no real directions to change the route to folliw the trail.

Also included are notes about the campground rules changes.

I have noticed on many of my other trips that alot of campgrounds have removed tent camping options or have made them so expensive that motels become competitive and eastern states have made state park campgrounds very costly for travelers.  New York is a classic example. 2 night minimum stay 15 dollar plus reservation fee 35 to 45 per night. And no walkups for the last 2 years.