Southeast - Cycling on A1A in Ft. Lauderdale

I am going down to Ft. Lauderdale in February and will be staying off Las Olas not too far off of A1A.
Can I ride north up A1A for 20-30 miles? Is A1A a cycling friendly street?
My other option is to leave my bike at home and run the Broward Half Marathon on Sun Feb 18. I would rather cycle for 4 days rather than just run for 2 hours but I am not sure where to cycle. Being from Chicago, any place I ride down there in Feb is better than riding the trainer in my basement!!

Kenal0

I live by downtown, extremely close to Las Olas, and A1A is the only route I ride. It's plenty bike friendly. There are bike lanes for much of it, and the car lanes are wide where there are no bike lanes. Many cyclists use this route so (hypothetically) the drivers should be used to bikes in this area - especially where the road is close to the beach. You'll see a ton of riders from solo to groups of 30 if you go out early on a weekend morning. Consider going south to the 17th St Causeway then doubling back for the South Florida version of a short climb, which will give you a nice view of the Port, intracoastal and everything else.

My rides are usually 25-40 miles roundtrip but I've often gone north 25 miles from Las Olas, and like it enough to keep it as my main route. Still pay attention to the cars - the tourists and retirees don't know where they're going - and there's often a lot of debris in the bike lanes (sand, rocks, glass, junk). You'll enjoy the view.

Funny you mention Chicago, as my g/f and I are planning to move there in '07, hoping to live fairly close in, and I'm looking forward to riding along the lake, etc.

Message me if you want more info. Enjoy.

Thanks for the info. My parents have a house just west of A1A off Las Olas so I will bring my BikeFriday down to ride for 3-4 days. When you get ready to move up here, just switch to the Great Lakes regional group and you will find a nice group of guys that ride organized rides together all summer.
I ride the lakefront 2-3 times per week in the summer, talk about nuts!! Walkers, runners, rollerbladers and cyclists all on the same 6 ft wide path. Here is some pics from my moring ride
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=228552

Kenal0

I ride A1A from South Beach Park (near 17th street) up to the Palm Beach Inlet and back all the time. By the time I get back to Hollywood, it's 105-110 miles.

Plenty bike friendly EXCEPT for a mile or two of A1A just North of Lighthouse Point where there's no bike lane or shoulder...seems the rich landowners annexed that part of public property to make their yards bigger. Being rich, they seem to have gotten away with it. Get through that section and you're fine.

Anyway, it's a good route. Watch out for door openings in North/South Beach Park in Ft. Laud., as well as pedestrians jaywalking and bikes going the wrong way.

Hope you like crosswinds....

I ride A1A in Pompano Beach / Ft Lauderdale last week. You will find lots and lots of riders. Sme solo and some packs. The bike lane is nice and wide and I found pretty much all the cars were courteous and used to seeing riders. The winds were pretty heavy off of the ocean but not unmanageable at all. Don't think I would want to ride a disc wheel there though :)

I just wanted to chime in to say that I didn't find A1A from Fort Lauderdale north to be a great ride. Yes, there are a lot of roadies, and there is a bike lane almost the entire route from Fort Lauderdale to the north (and apparently all the way to West Palm Beach), but if you're not familiar with south FL, keep in mind that this is one of the most over-developed areas in the country and calibrate your ride expectations accordingly. I generally don't enjoy riding with cars and trucks whizzing past me, and I found that during the middle of the day on a weekday the stream of traffic was fairly constant. The ride gets nicer as you go north, and perhaps it gets more "remote" after Delmar Beach, where I turned back, but I was definitely disappointed by the volume of traffic and lack of scenic vistas (almost all of the good views are blocked by real estate developments!).

On a positive note, I was very happy with the Trek bike shop in Fort Lauderdale, which rents quality road bikes for $30(alum.)-40(carbon)/day. Had I known, I would've brought my shoes/pedals. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

I just wanted to chime in to say that I didn't find A1A from Fort Lauderdale north to be a great ride. Yes, there are a lot of roadies, and there is a bike lane almost the entire route from Fort Lauderdale to the north (and apparently all the way to West Palm Beach), but if you're not familiar with south FL, keep in mind that this is one of the most over-developed areas in the country and calibrate your ride expectations accordingly. I generally don't enjoy riding with cars and trucks whizzing past me, and I found that during the middle of the day on a weekday the stream of traffic was fairly constant. The ride gets nicer as you go north, and perhaps it gets more "remote" after Delmar Beach, where I turned back, but I was definitely disappointed by the volume of traffic and lack of scenic vistas (almost all of the good views are blocked by real estate developments!).

On a positive note, I was very happy with the Trek bike shop in Fort Lauderdale, which rents quality road bikes for $30(alum.)-40(carbon)/day. Had I known, I would've brought my shoes/pedals. Staff was very friendly and helpful.
Did you mean Delray Beach? South of Delray, in the Boca area, there is little to see. Get north of Boynton Beach, and there are great ocean views as you get heading toward West Palm Beach.

Another good option for visiting cyclists who want to get away from our endless traffic - take the Tri-rail commuter train to the northernmost stop in West Palm Beach, then make your way to A1A and ride north towards Stuart. The traffic will be lighter, and the scenery better.

I ride A1A 5 - 6 times a week. I find that north of the Hillsbourogh inlet up to West Palm Beach to be a little safer for us cyclist. The area in Ft Lauderdale just seems that the drivers are more aggressive towards us.

Oops, I did mean Delray Beach. I will heed the advice and bike further north next time I'm in the area. I also meant to mention that I got verbally harassed by two different cars full of males (I'm a dude), but perhaps that comes with the territory.

Oops, I did mean Delray Beach. I will heed the advice and bike further north next time I'm in the area. I also meant to mention that I got verbally harassed by two different cars full of males (I'm a dude), but perhaps that comes with the territory.

What shop did you rent from? The one I usually rent from is no longer renting. I am scrambling right now.

What shop did you rent from? The one I usually rent from is no longer renting. I am scrambling right now.

Did you try Richwagen's in Delray? They had a fairly reasonable rate for road bikes.

Did you try Richwagen's in Delray? They had a fairly reasonable rate for road bikes.

No, just called them. All set for next Saturday. Thanks.

Glad to help, have fun!

On a positive note, I was very happy with the Trek bike shop in Fort Lauderdale, which rents quality road bikes for $30(alum.)-40(carbon)/day. Had I known, I would've brought my shoes/pedals. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

That shop is nice and new. The guys there are good.

The roads down there suck. Really want to stay north of Deerfield Beach. Basically the Hillsborough Inlet bridge. You can ride along the Ocean for about 30-40 miles up to the tip of Palm Beach Island and back for a total around 65-70 miles. It's my normal route as I live right off A1A in Boca.

Did you try Richwagen's in Delray? They had a fairly reasonable rate for road bikes.


No, just called them. All set for next Saturday. Thanks.


Glad to help, have fun!

A very good week. Nice well maintained Jamis Ventura Race bike, with the exception of the flat that I got within the first mile I rode. Ironically, ended up riding some miles that morning with a mechanic from the shop. I registered my complaint. Got 175 miles in early morning rides (except for last Sunday's late afternoon ride due to the cold) riding from the parking lot at the beach at Briny Breezes to various spots in Palm Beach. Strong winds this past week.

Good shop, though probably a bit expensive. Definitely would use them again (if I don't get my wish of actually purchasing and storing a bike at my parent's house).

A very good week. Nice well maintained Jamis Ventura Race bike, with the exception of the flat that I got within the first mile I rode. Ironically, ended up riding some miles that morning with a mechanic from the shop. I registered my complaint. Got 175 miles in early morning rides (except for last Sunday's late afternoon ride due to the cold) riding from the parking lot at the beach at Briny Breezes to various spots in Palm Beach. Strong winds this past week.

Good shop, though probably a bit expensive. Definitely would use them again (if I don't get my wish of actually purchasing and storing a bike at my parent's house).

Sounds good. The winds were normal this past weekend. The sustained winds this weekend will be double last weekend's wind speeds. Cold front on it's way in.