Road Cycling - Road biking in Florida - how is it?

My wife insists we move away from the frozen tundra she calls Colorado to live near a beach somewhere in Florida. Anyone have experience in biking Florida year round? I sure would miss the hills but wouldn't complain if I could bike all winter on the flats.

Cannondale

There are actually quite a few people on BF that live in Florida so, I'm sure you'll get some good replies to your message.

I live in Miami and there are quite a few cyclists around, but I would say the road biking around here must suck compared to other places. Sure the weather is great (when its not sweltering) but S. Florida drivers aren't the most bike friendly people.

I would think you'd have better luck in other parts.

Dave

I am in Orlando. There are several bike paths and now through most of the city they have added bike lanes next to the main roads. It does get hot but you can ride all year. Orlando taxes and insurance is much cheaper then living next to the beach and the best part is you are within an hour from Daytona and 35 minutes from a beach. Check out the Orange county Florida web site or the City of Orlando web site. They say when they are done with the new bike lanes there will be over 100 miles of them throughout the city and the county. You can trade that snow shovel for short pants!

I like it down here! i do love hills and that is one thing that you willl have to give up. There are a lot of nice places to see and ride by. They only thing is that it is almost to hot to ride in the summer and yes you can ride all winter. The lowest it ever goes is in the mid 50 or so. Thats really right around dec. and jan.

Hope this helped some,

Jared

GIANTBIKES,

That's where we are headed in July. I wanted to see how it feels to be in Orlando when it's hot. If we survive we might move. But it's gonna be hard to give up 300 days of sunshine and hills for the flats.

Glad Orlando is coming around with trails and bike lanes. 100 miles worth of trails could keep me busy for a while.

Any tips for biking in 90 degrees and 80% ++ of humidity?

Cannondale

Just plenty of water. I have lived here just about my whole life so I dont have anything to compare it to. It gets hot but we always have wind and there is plenty of water. We also ride a lot at night. The night rides are fun and cooler. There is a town called Mt. Verd that is pretty close. They have a county trail built from an old rail road that when finished it going to be 30 miles. Right now it is 19 I believe. If you go to that town and instead of going on the trail hit the back roads there are miles of nice roads and believe it or not there are some pretty good hills out there. On any given weekend there are road bikes all over that area. Its a great ride on the back roads or the trails. If you end up thinking of Orlando as a place to move let me know and I can steer you in the right areas. I live in the Conway area of Orlando. Its a nice area of Orlando. Most people I grew up with and my two brothers and my sister still live within a mile from where we grew up.

GIANTBIKES,

What hills? I thought Florida was flat as a pancake. We are serious about the Orlando area so any advice you can pass along will be much appreciated. I thought if I HAD to move there then I would concentrate on time trials. I work a lot on hill climbs since that's what makes or breaks you out here. Thanks for the info. So it sounds like the Summers down there are your "off" season much like Winter is here.

Cannondale

We still ride a lot in the day time. Most of the night rides are because it is after work. If you were to move down here after a while you will see the summers arent near as bad as people think they are. Email me sometime and I will tell you the better areas.

All I can say, is to stay away from northeast florida....especially orange park! Theres a lot of rednecks and disgruntled drivers who would be delighted to ruin your cycling day. Central florida is probably a good bet with many backroads, etc.

And also, the best beaches are in southern florida. Enjoy!:D

Agreed. I think the beaches in Palm Beach and Broward Counties are the best on the East side. West coast has some nice beaches too, from what I remember, but I haven't been there in a long time. Stay away from the South Beach (Miami) unless you are looking for pretty people and not pretty beaches.

Dave

I live north of Orlando - Lake Mary/Longwood. I am also an avid cyclist.

Well, most roads do not have bike lanes. Riding along the major urban (if you can call sprawl urban) roads is not really a good idea and it certainly is not any fun.

In town there is a fair bit of traffic during the week and that makes riding rather less than enjoyeable. I do not ride out in the country during the week so I dunno about that. The trails are not crowded during the week so they are good then. Saturday morning is OK and Sunday morning is fine. Traffic tends to be light at least from my perspective. Even most of the rural roads have a fair amount of traffic. There just is not that much road net around here - but much better than Colorado and no more traffic than CO either. But it isn't like riding in the Midwest (OH, MI, IN etc). Those states have an amazing network of rural roads with very light traffic.

There are a number of bicycle trails in the area. The one I know the best goes from Apopka to the West Orange Trail Head. It is about 20 miles long. This trail is very popular and has been a big success. As a result, they are building more trails and there are plans to link them up. Things could be quite interesting for trail riders in a few years. I am not that fond of trails because people do not obey the traffic laws on them but these are reasonably civilized because there are signs that encourage somewhat rationale behavior.

There are 4 areas to think of

Kissimmee - this is south of Disney (Disney is south of town). There is some very nice rural riding down toward Lake Wales. The roads get a little roll to them. But you are pretty far from everyone else.

Oviedo - this is east of town. It is flat. There is some nice rural riding out by Lake Mills and Fort Christmas.

West of Town - 2 basic areas

Clermont. There are a number of hills around Clermont. Clermont has Citrus Tower. Northeast of Clermont is Mount Sugar Loaf (the area's tallest hill) and Buckhill Road. I believe Sugar Loaf hits about 12% for a very short stretch and averages 7% for about half a mile. There are some other hills nearly as tall but nothing quite like this. Clermont also has some of the more affordable housing. There is some nice rural riding south, west and north of Clermont.

Mount Dora/Eustis. Highly popular with retirees. It is northwest of Orlando and I think the area is more attractive than Clermont. Mount Dora has some nice rural riding to the north, east, and south. You might check out the Mount Dora Bicycle Festival - they might have a web site and have maps.

North - to get into the country, you need to be up towards Deltona. Problem is that sprawl has gone a long ways up that way. There are some nice roads but you have to get out to Seville, Barberville, and Cody's Corners to get out in the country. I would not suggest living in those communities - amenities are rather limited to put it mildly.

If I were chosing a place to live with bicycling being the only consideration, I would live out towards Clermont - maybe near the West Orange Trail or in Mount Dora.

Climate - in Orlando, you get a cool dry season: Nov-April. Temps go from 30 degrees for the lows (and that is really rare). Even the 40s are not that common. Highs are usually in the 70s or 60s.

And you have the hot humid season May-Oct. The forecast is a low of 70, a high of 95, humidity very high, afternoon thunderstorms and widely scattered hurricanes. Because of the high humidity, the temperature does not drop much until well after sundown. The local bike clubs do not schedule centuries during the hot humid season for obvious reasons. In this season, I tend to start my ride at 7 AM and try to get done before noon. It gets very hot.

Bike Clubs - the Florida Freewheelers is the biggest club in the area and they have everything from slow recreational riders to very fast recreational riders (ex racers). The Freewheelers have a web site and it has a fair number of maps. Go there and check out the maps. It should give you some idea of what the riding is like. There is also a group the goes out from Windermere Elementary every Sunday morning and rides very fast (often cruising in the high 20s and low 30s) and taking up the whole road and being more than a bit... well crazy. Lake Mary has a nice racing club called ORC - Orlando Road Club (they have a website). ORC tends to be fairly well disciplined on their rides.

Events.

Horrible Hundred - put on the the Freewheelers in Nov. Rides the Florida "mountains" near Clermont. The ride is very well done.

Mount Dora Bicycle Festival - 3 days in October. Rather expensive but well supported.

Rob Kish Century - he has one in May and one in November. Out by Daytona Beach. Can be well supported to virtually unsupported.

Space Coast Century - out by Cape Canaveral in the fall. Well done.

Fl Bicycle Festival (maybe I got the name wrong). 2 days, held down in Kissimee. Nice ride.

Cross Fl - starts near Canaveral and goes to just west of Brooksville. 160 miles (1 day) for hard core craziness. In May.

There are also some multiday tours in Florida. The Freewheelers put on the FL Bicycle Safari in the north part of the state in April. It has a 3 day and a 6 day version. Very well done.

There is a website that lists all of the rides offered in the region. You can find a link on the Freewheelers website.

I have not mentioned mountain biking. It is popular and there are a number of nice trails. I am a road cyclist so I dunno about it.

Sarasota checking in. West coast, 1 hr. south of Tampa. We've got a large contingent of cyclists in our area. Everything from Cat 1 racers, Ironman triathletes, to Fat Slow Guys just having fun. We've got some rides that can take you through 3 counties all along the coast, through some beautiful barrier islands with spectacular beaches and magnificent homes.

One of the benefits of riding along the coast vs. being in the Orlando area is the sea-breeze. It's usually 5-8 degrees cooler along the coast. Plus, there is a natural ThermoCline Zone just North of Tampa, and we're an average of 2 +/- degrees cooler.

Blue Hairs (Elderly) are always a concern on the roads, and half-backs (Winter Tourists) as well.

The only hills we have are bridges over the interstate or intercoastal waterway.

A lot of people from here go to St. Antonio, (just 1.5 hrs. North) to do some hill training.

Where to you live in CO? Wanna trade houses. The wife and I have been thinking of moving closer to the mtns.

L8R

Thanks Pat. Great info! I'll check out those sites you recommended.

Boulder, Colorado. Quite the Mecca for cyclists (all kinds). Great for all around biking. Got several nice canyon roads leading to some very nice climbs! Flats and rolling hills here in the valley. The wind isn't too bad but not much fun. You can ride "almost" year round here. Maybe March through October or November depending how brave you are and the weather. Seeing a good number of Florida license plates around town. Wondering why Floridians would move here? Long drive and a huge change.

I heard that Florida has the highest number of bike related deaths caused by motorists in the Nation. Is that true?

Cannondale

I moved from Orlando to Atlanta 10 years ago this month (I was born in Orlando). Orlando is hot as hell in the summer because it is inland and doesn't get the breezes you get along the coast. But riding the back roads was great. :thumbup:

And they do have a few minor hills there -- northwest of Orlando in the Mount Dora area and west of Orlando in the Clermont area. I remember them well.
When I first started cycling as an adult in the mid 80s (I'd been cycling for about 6 months) I rode to Clermont and back (55 miles total) in July. Thought I was going to die in the "extreme heat". I only had one water bottle and had to stop 3 times to refill it. But I conquered those hills. :D

It will be a HUGE change from Colorado. Only 3 seasons. VERY casual and laid-back. Hope you like it there. :beer:

Regarding the seasons down here, there are really only two ways to describe it.

Hot/Humid and Hotter/Rainy!

-or-

Tourists and Construction!

Vic is right. I remember that by the end of the summer I really looked forward to October and those "cold fronts" that would come through and cool things down for a few days.

Boca Raton in Palm Beach County responding here. Cycling is great on A1A. Miles and miles of flat coastline interrupted only by the occasional bridge. Lots of shaded parks with trails and benches for rest stops along the way. Sunrise riding is awesome and can be a very spiritual experience. Sometimes I'll wear a bathing suit under my clothes and I'll lock up the bike and jump in the ocean to cool off at Deerfield Pier. A1A is great riding road and goes up the entire state. Lots of A1A is lined with bike lanes. Some are better than others. Some shouldn't be bothered with at all. Going inland for commuting or fitness/rec riding pretty much sucks. Southeast Florida is overcongested and gridlocked with traffic. No picnic for riding and routes should be well planned.

Rainy season happens from Mid-May through October and has to be reckoned with too. Mornings are mostly pretty ok but by 11am, skies become threatening. We get some mean boomers down here.

Kathy

Cannondale ,
It's all relative . You have to remember that to a Floridian , anything below 70 degrees is FREEZING ! But for you , it would be a year round ride . :p

I live in the northern Florida panhandle region. During the last 4 years I have ridden 14,000+ miles, mostly in Florida. It is an absolutely great place to ride. We have some on the World's best beaches (check out almost any travel magazine)

It is true that the number of traffic accidents involving bicycles is high, however most I have researched occured at odd times. Several involved bikers riding at 10 PM or later, without lights, reflectors, helmuts or any safety equipment. Makes you think that the tough Florida drinking laws may have some people using bikes after a evening at the local bar.

I ride 12 months a year and log every ride for distance and temperature. I can get cold in northern Florida, but usually only for short periods. Winter daytime tempertures are usually in the 50'a and 60's with an occasional dip into the 30's or 40's.

You can find hills if you want them, but you will usually get a good workout due to the wind. The wind averages 10 to 15 mph most days and believe me 30 miles into the wind will tax most riders.

One of my favorite rides covers a 60 mile loop with the gulf on one side and the inland waterway on the other along a barrier island. If you get lucky you can watch the Blue Angels practice while you ride.

I don't find the drivers any more obnoxious here that anywhere else and I have ridden most parts of the US.

Try it, you will like it.

Yes, Florida does have quite a few bicycle fatalities. We also have the most pedestrian fatalities. I have seen quite a few roads around here with no pedestrian crossings or sidewalks. It is almost as if pedestrans are considered vermin.

But as has been posted, many people who get DUIs shift to riding bicycles. And they ride at night, without lights and while intoxicated. The results are predictable. And quite a few of our cycle fatalities are rookie riders who just do not know how to handle traffic yet. And FL roads and motorists can be unforgiving to the incompetent. I remember this poor lady got a nice road bike. A couple of friends of mine saw her killed when she veered in front of a large truck while riding on a 4 lane road (speed limit of 45 mph).

I would think that Florida would have fatality rates among club riders would be comparable to the rest of the nation. I belong to the Freewheelers and I can not recall of any fatalities among them in quite some time. We do get injuries but very few are bike/car accidents. And I do not hear of many fatalities in the "cycling community". I do read of bicycle fatalities in the paper relatively frequently, but it is almost always involving a very casual cyclist.

There was a guy killed at the Mount Dora Bicycle Festival some years back. The guy was singularly unlucky. He wasn't even on the road or the paved shoulder either. He had stopped and prudently gotten off of the road, I guess to read a map or something and a driver swung wide on the curve and killed him. I think they eventually charged the driver with a very minor driving infraction.

Cannondale,
Come on down! I don't live in Florida but in New Orleans. Every time we go to Florida, about once a year, my wife has to drag me home kicking and screaming. Yes, you will miss the hills, but when you are riding in shorts and jersey in February while your friends back in CO are freezing there butts off, you will be chuckling to yourself. Yes it gets hot and humid. You will trade heating bills for air conditioning bills. And if you haven't seen Florida beaches, you can't imagine.

Cycling is fine in heat. Surrounded by lakes and swamps, you won't find a more disgusting combination of heat and humidity than here in New Orleans. Florida is paradise by comparison. Even here, as long as you are moving you are making your own little 15-20 mph breeze. As someone said, just make sure you drink about one bottle per hour and you'll be fine. I just say, since I have been a regular cyclist I have a new appreciation for living someplace that I can ride year 'round.
Regards,
Raymond