route from Jacksonville to Pensacola

[jill47]

Are there suggestions for getting from the Jacksonville Airport over to ACA maps and then to Pensacola? I am thinking of doing this and wonder how many days to allow for the ride.

[aggie]

ACA map of the Atlantic Coast, Section 6, has a spur that goes by the Jacksonville airport.  You could use this map to get to St. Augustine and connect to the Southern Tier.  You will then need section 6 and 7 of the ACA Southern Tier maps.  

If you want a more direct route I'm sure someone from Florida could tell you which roads to take to connect.  

Using the ACA maps it's about 50 miles to St. Augustine from the Jacksonville airport.  Then it's about 520 miles to Pensacola.  

[litespeed]

Well, I'm from Florida. I can vouch for US90 being a good bicycling route from US19 (just east of Tallahassee) to Pensacola. Plenty of shoulder and not much traffic. Since US90 parallels Interstate 10 I would guess it's probably also a good ride from Jacksonville. Interstate highways tend to take off the traffic.

Tallahasse is a college town and bicycle friendly - easy to cycle through.

Personally, I prefer US98 along the panhandle coast. It's much more scenic, has more facilities and is generally more pleasant but can be a hassle going through the towns, particularly Fort Walton Beach and Destin.

[geegee]

I second the US 98 route. I didn't find Fort Walton Beach and Destin to be a real problem.  The worst part was the 10 to 15 miles around Carabelle which had no shoulders.

Check out my route that I took earlier this year at http://www.bikemap.net/route/137115 and see if parts of it are helpful. I imagine you would be able to do your planned route in a week.

[billy50]

The panhandle coast is a scenic ride, but I disagree with 98 being a good road from Ft Walton Beach to Penscola.  Heavy traffic and no shoulders as I remember it.  Not enjoyable and one of the most dangerous stretches I encountered on the Southern Tier.  90 would be a safer route.  Good riding.