Charleston S.C. to Titusville route help?
 

Hey all,
Im in need of some suggestions for a route from Charleston S.C. to Titusville (Sebaston Inlet really) F.L.

I was thinking about taking 17 south following beside 95 until I hit A1A (Buccaneer Trail) in Yulee
GA and taking that all the way down?

Is this a good idea? better roads? better sights? Things to see.... places to stay? Stealth camping?

thanks!
Joshua

500miles from my house to parents house Feb '09

How far into Charleston are you leaving from? 17 kind of sucks until you get past Summerville...

Aaron:)

I will be leaving from James Island so I would be taking 17/Savannah highway from almost downtown. Unless that is i move and I most likely will move to Johns Island so Main rd and 17.

I have no personal knowledge of the roads you mention north of Jacksonville, Fl. From Jacksonville south to Titusville, A1A or route 1 are possibilities.
This site has some information of the ACA East Coast routing that might be useful for your planning.
http://tsteven4.qwestoffice.net/
If you head further south past Titusville I can help you with routing.

A1A from Fernandina to Mayport is a nice ride. After the ferry ride across the St. Johns River, you'll have 4-lane divided urban riding south through Ponte Vedra Beach after which the high-speed/2-lane section to Vilano Beach can be scary (unless FDOT has installed bike lanes recently.) St. Augustine to Daytona is a good ride too. You'll have to ride inland on US1 from Port Orange to Titusville as A1A is co-located there. Note that A1A/SR3 through the Kennedy Space Center is not an option; it being open only to security-badged personnel.

I recently toured on Route 17 south from Charleston as far as Parris Island. The scariest road I have ever been on, including riding in DC and LA. Very narrow to no shoulder and very heavy traffic that comes within inches of you about once a minute. I survived but wouldn't do it again. It is pretty though and plenty of good stealth camping spots.

Went from Jacksonville to Ft Pierce, then across to Cape Coral in Oct.

On A1A in Jax Beach, you may be on the sidewalk for a bit...I had to because I was in rush hour traffic in the AM....(maybe 10 city blocks +/-)

On A1A, watch yourself just before Ponte Vedra as traffic going on and off Butler parkway is fast....not difficult, just be careful....

Stretch from Ponte Vedra to St Augustine is fine, with a wide shoulder. I had no problems there....no services, but there is a state park about halfway with rest rooms and water. Just before you get to St Augustine, watch to the right....there is a castle tower about half a block back from the road....at that point I was on a timetable to meet someone in St Augustine, so didn't explore that.

Riding thru St Augustine proper is a bit aggressive... As you come over the bridge from A1A into St Augustine lanes are tight, but traffic is not fast, and I did not have any problems Once you are thru downtown and have crossed back over the liftbridge back to the beach, the shoulders are fine for riding.....getting over the lift bridge requires you to be a bit agressive to make that left turn.

Daytona is not difficult, just lots of traffic....I went thru there just before "Bike Week".

When you get past Daytona and cross the bridge back to US 1, I found the shoulder was fine all the way to Melbourne.

Have a great ride!

Sidenote.....St Augustine micro-breweries are worth the stop!

Thanks for the help and the micro-breweries info :).... another question for the Savannah people can you ride over the Talmadge Bridge? I cant find any info if they allow bikes. I want to make this ride without any help from automobiles. I understand there isnt a bike lane but what about that emergency/ break down lane?
thanks again