Originally Posted by
walksomemore
I am doing the Florida Loop (Augustine to Lauderdale to Ft Myers and back to Augustine) in two weeks. I have Gatorskin 28c tires front and back on my Trek 520, and have been riding them for a few weeks while I dial in my bike. They seem very adequate for the job -- robust on rocks and bumps, not too hard, and good rolling. But I also have a B17 seat which is a pretty great ride.
This is a pavement ride but will go through several coastal cities and some smaller towns (and across the Everglades). So, I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with these on a long ride and who can advise me as well!
I did a Florida ride this past October. We (a group of five) rode from Sebring to Fort Meyers Beach where we took the ferry to Key West. We then rode north through the Keys to Key Largo where we turned west and rode across the Everglades to San Marcos Island. We then turned north and rode back to Sebring. It was seven days and about 540 miles. All but about 20 miles were on pavement.
The Florida roades were brutal on our tires. We had 19 flats between us, virtually all caused by road debris-mostly small glass shards and very small section of wire that come from vehicle tires. Three of the flats happened on dirt roads. The rode across the Everglades was especially hard on our tires.
I strongly suggest you carry PLENTY spare tubes, CO2 cartridges and extra patches. We each carried two spare tubes and three cartridges but we still had to buy tubes and cartridges along the way.
Enjoy Florida! We had a great time