Florida East Coast

[Digip]

I am interested in riding from somewhere around Miami north to St. Augustine along the coast in FLorida this spring. Adventure Cycling doesn't even go there in the guides! I know there is a lot of traffic but I had some questions I was hoping someone could answer.

Are most of the traffic problems below, say, Palm Beach or Ft. Lauderdale? is it a good ride north of Palm Beach County?

Anyone have any experience in this area?

Many Thanks,

Doug

[philipg]

I rode from Ft. Lauderdale to middle of nowhere N. Carolina in '99. I used a decent book/route called "Bicycling the Altantic Coast", I think. Still available from The Mountaineers I think, might be on ACA site in book section. I have the ride report at www.dataman.cc/philip if you want to check it out. Was my first tour and quite fun. Hotter than hell though. pG

[Lucky13]

An Adventure Cycling map does cover the stretch from Ormond Beach north thru Jacksonville.

Anyway...

A number of years ago, a friend and I followed the coast from Fort Lauderdale to St. Augustine as part of a longer tour. We rode on A1A as much as possible, with an occasional jump over to US 1. As I recall, we left Lauderdale in early April.

We had a wonderful trip with some very pleasant cycling. Traffic was there, of course, but not so heavy as in the November to February rush. Also, auto drivers along the coast seem "conditioned" to expect cyclists.

Without local knowledge, you may want to avoid the Miami area. A better starting point might be in Ft. Lauderdale...north of the shipping port. Just grab A1A and head north. Even in Broward and Palm Beach counties, I'd suggest that you stick to the coast road.

Camping options are limited here, and sleeping on the beach is discouraged and/or prohibited.

[Digip]

THanks guys!

I am planning to leave about the same time as you did, Lucky. about the end of March/early April. I have also decided to leave from Lauderdale too.
And thanks for the Link PHilip! I will read you log!

THanks again!

Doug