Yeah, I have read up on all the Florida Touring posts and realize all the dangers, but my crew and I are stuck on going anyways. It should be 3 of us total and we would mainly like to stick to the coast as much as possible (thinking it would mean slower traffic and be near the beach!)
The idea is to stay away from major roads as much as possible and stack up on reflective material... and water... and sun screen
We are from MS so heat and humidity is nothing new
Here is our route so far:
https://bit.ly/jXTWFp
We will be heading out on the 13th of June. Somewhere south of Tampa (Sarasota probably)
Only time constraint is getting to Kennedy in time for the shuttle launch on the 28th.

Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated!
Constructive criticism only please

The route through the everglades will be long (looks like about 80 miles). Do you plan to cover that distance in one day? Carry lots of water and perhaps something to replace lost electrolytes (e.g., Gatorade). If you cannot clear the distance in one day, where do you plan to spend the night?

Going to try and set camp near the beginning and end of the everglades so that we can hit it in a whole day. We will be camping with hammocks so that should help with finding places to stay. Not too worried about that tho, I've camped in some pretty sketchy areas in the past.

Good idea with the Gatorade

Going to be couchsurfing for all the urban areas

I use a hammock on my tours and hikes. Note that Florida State Parks typically don't allow hammocks -- nothing can be tied to trees (despite fact that tree straps don't hurt trees). You may find hammocking difficult in south Florida, and from my brief drives through the Everglades I noted a lack of good hammock hanging trees. My point is simply be prepared to sleep on the ground in some spots, and be sure your mosquito netting will work if you have to go to the ground. May also be difficult, in spots, to find good hammock areas in the keys. About FL State Parks:

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=25811

Yikes, looks like I will be bringing a mat as well.
Hopefully we will be stealthy enough to get by with hanging, but worst comes to worst I'll give this setup a try:


Going to stock up on deet and maybe a few mosquito candles for us to split amongst us... Camped near the Mississippi River in mid August once (bad idea). My Hennessey was a lifesaver!
As far as ground camping I'll have to test out the velcro flap to make sure it keeps the swarm out

You should really try to avoid coming across the state on 41. This is one dangerous road. 2 lanes, undivided, with not much shoulder. Lots of semi's slowing traffic. People trying to pass multiple vehicles stacked up behing semi's. Alligator Alley/I-75 is a much better alternative. 4 lanes divided by concrete barrier and a nice wide shoulder. The only problem you might have would be law enforcement. I have bicycled on
interstates (although not Alligator Alley) many times without incident, but this is South Florida, and the cops here are a little uptight. The general rule, as I know it, is that if there is no alternate route, then you can proceed on the interstate. If you decide on Alligator Alley, and you get stopped by police, you might want to tell them that you are going no further south than Ft. Laud. If you tell them that you are going to the keys, then 41 would be an alternate route, and they would probably deny access to Alligator Alley. Another possible route would be to ride through Arcadia(you could camp at Peace River Campground) , work your way southeast on county roads to Moorehaven(Fisheating Creek Campground), then on to South Bay and south on 27. Hwy 27 is 4 lane divided with nice shoulder.
If you are still determined to come across on 41, there are a couple of campgrounds between hwy 29(the road to Everglades City), and Miami. Check with Everglades National Park for the details. Also on this route, there will be plenty of trees, so a hammock will not be a problem. Stealth camping will not be a problem either,as you will be in the middle of nowhere. Also, if you are into art, there is a well known, black and white landscape photographer, Clyde Butcher who lives and has a gallery along 41. Well worth the stop. And if Clyde is there at the time, he might even let you pitch on his property. He is very approachable. He has the only private residence in Big Cypress National Preserve.
Last but not least, are the mosquitos and no-see-ums. I don't think you realize what you are in store for. You will be in the middle of a huge swamp, in June, during the rainy season. I will say a prayer for you. Here's a couple of suggestions from a lifelong florida-boy who has spent a lot of time in the Everglades. Buy something better then 'Off". Look for a high concentration of DEET, 60% or better. Have long pants and long sleeves. Columbia makes great lightweight outdoor clothing. Get one of those net hoods that protect your head and neck. No-see-ums bite your scalp, eyelids, and the inside of your ears, they are worse than mosquitos to me. Mosquito coils are somewhat effective, but you have to use a lot of them. Set up camp at least 2 hours before sun-down, when they are at their worst.
Good Luck

I agree with D.B. Cooper's advice on US27 as an alternative to I-75 or 41, but be sure to avoid the segment of Krome Ave/997 that splits off west of Miami Lakes, it's even more treacherous than 41.

The map does not seem to work for me, so I don't know what you've got in mind for the areas near me...

A lot of good advice so far.
As far as bugs go, we will probably try everything we can to keep the little buggers away.
Going to try this:
https://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCam...free.html#Chem
As well as high concentrated deet, and setting up camp before they get bad.

Going to try to Avoid 41... well most of 41 (at least west coast, last time I was in FL I remember traffic sucking from around Fort Myers to Naples).
I'm an art major so I'm kinda thinking checking out Clyde Butcher's place along 41 might be worth it as well. Plus my main touring buddy is about as stupid as I am... So far we have a good amount of space in our panniers to add (hopefully) plenty of bug repellent/mosquito coils n such.

We are going to play it by ear most of the time. If the no-see-ums and traffic are really bothering us we will probably just steer clear of 41 and head across Alligator Alley then south (avoiding Krome Ave/997) to 1 through the keys.

Back up we are planing to stick to A1A. As far as I can tell it is a pretty popular route for cyclists touring FL.
A bit cautious with the whole Miami urban area. How are cyclists treated around that part? Any good roads other than A1A? Going to couch surf through here, but any good hammocking locations just in case?

Still haven't decided on a route back to our car from Kennedy Space Port

If you come across on the Alley, Flamingo and Hiatus roads are about as good as you will get going south. They have decent shoulders, and even sidewalks/bikepaths for a lot of their lengths. Mostly semi-rural, at least until you get to the Dade-Broward counties line. After that it goes into residential that might be a little sketchy. Or, you can go to A1A, then south, but this would be quite a bit out of the way if your destination is the Keys. A1A does have a designated bike lane for most of it's length,
but cyclists get very little respect from autos. On another thread, I recently posted
a half dozen hit-and-run newspaper articles in the Miami area. I would definitely wear a helmet. If you go this route, A1A ends at South Beach, then you have to figure out how to get to Florida City. This I can't help you with, other than to say that US1 is always
congested, has very narrow lanes, and has little or no shoulder.
If you take 41 over, once you get across, you are only 20 miles from Florida City. And you are west and south of all the congestion of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. That would save you a lot of time, and cut out long stretch of high-stress riding. Besides, you will probably be taking A1A when you head back north anyway, so it's not like your going to miss anything.

Used to live in Florida and my grandfather still does. He weekly sends me news paper clippings from all the cyclists vs cars incidents. He even sent me 20$ to buy a road id. It seems like it's madness down in south Florida but just means take your time and be aware of your surroundings.

Goodluck!

Ok, now the map is working for me... I see that you're taking Loop Rd. and a section of unpaved access road south of 41 paralleling Krome, that's an excellent choice if your wheels are up to it. I've ridden quite a few of the levees/access roads on tires as narrow as 32mm without problems, just be aware that some of the levees are washboards.

Loop Rd. was particularly rough last time I was there even on a MTB with front suspension, but it's a very cool route and well worth the effort. The mosquitoes there will be insane in the summer, but I think you've been adequately warned about that.

Another thing you might encounter on the levee road is deer flies. They're pretty bad in the summer, but usually only in areas closely bordered by the marsh. I don't know if there's anything you can do to keep them away, other than to keep moving.

As for the more urban areas on the northbound leg, Old Cutler road is a good choice, or you can take the Dixie Hwy busway from Homestead to Kendall Drive. The busway is more urban, but it's more direct and there will only be bus traffic. Either way, you'll get through the gritty urban areas pretty quickly.

One more suggestion - your route leaves A1A in Lake Worth, but I'd stay on it into Palm Beach and cross over the bridge at Royal Poinciana into downtown West Palm Beach.

Ok, got my popcorn and am ready to read your trip report, both good and bad!

Last year we visited the keys, and being the nature lover I am, I wanted to drive back through part of the Everglades since I have never seen it. I was thinking tropical flora and fauna will be cool and entertaining. After about 30 minutes of seeing the same dull scenery I realized Everglades is not a place I would find enjoyable as a bicycle tourist. I found it to be tediously repetitious and lacking in variety--monotonous. Have you used Google Street View on that route through the Everglades yet?

I live in Naples,Florida and tour all over south/Florida as well as from Naples to Indiana. So here's my two cents:
1. Sarasota to Pine Level campground/Pine Level,Fl. 780 to 70...........40 mi. Camping free
2. Pine Level to Caloosahatchee Regional park/Alva. 70-31-78/River Road..........50mi. Great campground
3. Calooshatchee to Roland Martin Marine/Campground/Clewistion.78-29-78-27-720-27....57mi. Don't take 80...
4. Clewiston to Markam County Park/Weston,Fl. 27-I 75 access road...63mi...

You can take 41 if you don't mine the traffic. You have a decent shoulder/except a short portion of Fort Myers/from Sarasota to 29/Everglade City. You can camp around there and do the rest of 41 Sunday am..

The Everglades has plenty of variety, you just have to get out of your car to experience it.

ok

BEAR PATROL would like to THANK everyone for their input.................BP