Touring from St. Augustine, Florida?
 

I posted this on the Touring forum as well, but maybe the Southeast community will know more...

I got some advice that touring from St. Augustine FL toward Miami/Key West may be neither safe nor exciting. Because my brother lives in St. Augustine, I would still like to start there, and am looking for a short credit-card tour, 250 to 400 miles, one way. The Adventure Cycling web-site has three pre-mapped routes from St. Augustine: North toward Statesboro, GA; East toward Tallahassee, and Southwest toward Fort Myers Beach. So, please help me decide between these options, if you have any experience along these routes. THANKS, JP

East toward Tallahassee via Jacksonville is fairly boring until you get near the prison's you'll pass along the way on US-90. Might make you ride a little faster, :lol:. Other than that, not much to see except pine tress but you will be able to ride through the Osceola National Forest.

I've ridden that route to my In-Law's in Lake City and it's pretty uneventful, but a nice ride in the fall and winter. Lots of open area, but you can stop by the Olustee Civil War Battlefield. They do a re-enactment each year, the South still loses in the long run, but seems to win this deal every year.

If it was me, I would go up to Stateboro and wait until it gets a little cooler.

Florida info
 

Check out the many Journals : www.cgoab.com that have traveled A1A north and south. Also Google: A North American Bicycle Journey..

North Florida can be pretty, but I'd imagine it would get kind of boring after a few hundred miles. That's all personal preference, too, though. Going south will take you into more developed areas, so more traffic, but there will be more to see and do. You'll also see a more varied mix of terrain. Either one would be an enjoyable ride, they're both just a bit different.

I rode from JAX to Fort Myers last summer. Rather than take Adventure Cycling's interior Florida route I opted to stay on the coast.

I left Jacksonville at 3:00pm and took A1A down to St Augustine and stayed at a cheap motel. Next AM, I continued down A1A to Daytona....at the last bridge in Daytona, I crossed over to US1 and continued on to Cocoa Beach...it's a long bridge from US1 back to A1A and Cocoa Beach after the Cape Canaveral area. I stayed in Cocoa Beach. Next AM, I held on A1A to Fort Pierce, crossed back to US1 for a few blocks, then headed west on SR70 to Okeechobee. I stayed there. Next AM, I took SR78 to US29, after 2 miles of US29, I was back on SR78 to LaBelle. Continuing on SR78 until Alva, I crossed the river over to SR80 and into Ft Myers.

I'd suggest getting a FL Gazetteer and picking your route from there, if its new it'll have reliable info.

https://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DEL...Y-f3f%253AS%7E

And here is a link to a bikeflorida list of clubs, you should be able to contact them for advice as well.

http://www.bikeflorida.org/bicycle_clubs.htm