Florida

[Cruiser]

Hi guys,

I'm brand new here. I live in Ireland and am visiting Florida and hiring a HD later this month. I'm on a pretty tight schedule 2 days in fort Lauderdale area then two days to get to Jacksonville a day there and two days to get back to Miami.

I'm considering up the East coast and back down the West coast. My intention at the moment is to stop in Daytona beach on the way North and no idea where to stop coming back... I'd prefer to miss superslab if at all possible as this is my first trip to FL and first time I've ridden in the US.

Any suggestions of things to see/do with this limited timeframe??
I have heard that cross country JAX to Clearwater or Naples is good as is across the Everglades and down to Key west???

With living in Ireland where most of my riding gear is heavy duty cold/waterproof.. I'm considering leaving this at home and buying kit in Florida on arrival as I'll be back in September with Buddies to ride around California.

I'll have Zumo with me so any garmin files or co-ords are appreciated as well...

Thanks,
Czr

Any suggestions for good retailers

[JeffeVerde]

Two words of advice -- Mesh Gear! It'll be hot and humid in Florida. Ever been in a steam sauna? That's Florida

Living in Southern California, I may be jaded to much in Florida that would appeal to someone from a less tropical place. But IMHO, the Florida Keys are not to be missed! If I only had a few days in Florida (and even if I had a lot of days in Florida), I'd spend them in the keys.

From a riding standpoint, the roads are straight and the ground is flat (the highest point in Florida is a 100m hill). So it's more sight-seeing on two wheels than it is riding

From a sight-seeing standpoint -
-spend at least a day in Miami, and especially South Beach. Take pics in front of all the locations you've seen in film and TV to show to your friends back in Ireland.
-Visit Kennedy Space Center (aka- Cape Canaveral) - unfortunately, no launches scheduled till October.
-Ride across (and marvel at) the insanely long bridges of the Overseas Highway, thru the Keys. The longest is just under 11km
-Take your picture at the Southern Most Point marker in Key West (btw, www.roadsideamerica.com is a great resource for quirky, interesting sightseeing points of interest)
-Visit the Ernest Hemingway home and museum in Key West. Go to Sloppy Joe's (reputedly Hemingways favorite bar) - get sloppy drunk on rum drinks and recite passages from The Old Man and the Sea
-Visit an Alligator Farm (pull off most any dirt road and you're likly to find one) - volunteer to wrestle one of the alligators (they're mostly fat and tame )

[R5_350]

Welcome Cruiser,

I don't live in Florida but I live next door in Georgia to the north. You'll definitely want summer "kit" possibly some mesh over pants(or jeans), and a mesh jacket. Some people like open faced helmets for warm weather, I prefer full face helmets. Temps will hover in 90F range for the entire state. You'll be very likely to encounter a chance of rain every day. Most showers are tropical in nature, mainly in the afternoon and usually are short in duration.

You'll be very likely to see most riders in FL with NO "kit" at all! FL is one of the states in the US that do not require helmets! You'll be likely to see people riding with shorts, tank-tops, flip-flops and no helmet!! sorry, NOT for me!

Two days to get from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville is very realistic. Taking your time going north up the east coast. I'd suggest Hwy 1 and or Hwy A1A the beach road to stay away from the superslabs of I-95 and the FL turnpike. This leg of the trip could be done in one day but it would be a long day if stopping along the way.

If you were wanting to stop in Daytona and not go all the way to Jacksonville it would give you a little more time to cross the state to the west and explore the coast on the Gulf of Mexico. I think that two days to get back to Miami might be a little too ambitious if you plan to stop and sight see along the way on the west coast.

In my experience most of the main roads along both coasts are heavily traveled for the most part of the superslab variety. On the west coast hwy 41 would be less of a superslab as it parallels or is in close proximity to I-75 most of the way. Both Hwy 41 on the west coast and Hwy 1 and A1A on the east coast are in fairly heavily populated areas(the entire state seems heavily populated to me!) and speeds are not great with areas that can get congested in most urban areas. For the most part many roads are flat and straight with many stretches at 45mph going from traffic light to traffic light.

There are tons of things to do and see, from really tacky touristy stuff to plenty of natural areas and beaches. You could probably easily spend twice as much time trying to do and see what you're attempting to do in your limited time.

Hopefully some of our "Pashnit" friends from Florida will jump in and give some more insight!

Good luck and remember to KEEP RIGHT and LOOK LEFT when riding here in the states.

Have a great trip and welcome!

[billy_b57]

Just returned from my coast to coast trip last week from Florida.
My advice don't go . My destination was Key West but at Tallahassee I turned North to Atlanta.
The 100 degrees and 95 % humidity was too much.
No fun when you are soaked in sweat and your face has water running down into your chest.

[Cruiser]

Thanks a million guys... All replies well received and will incorporate into the plan.

I agree Billy, I'm not a big fan of extreme heat but don't have a choice really as flying into MIA and seeing Tom Waits concert in JAX on the 01st..

Guess I'll just grin and bear it...

One final question(s).. The Keys are really interesting to me but on the run upto the 4th they'll be busy? Does this highway often get bumper-to-bumber? If so is there a better time for traffic to the Keys as heavy traffic in 100 degree heat doesn't sound inviting!!

Lastly, is filtering or lane splitting legal or accepted in FL??

Cheers again guys,
Czr

[matthewp]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

Thanks a million guys... All replies well received and will incorporate into the plan.

I agree Billy, I'm not a big fan of extreme heat but don't have a choice really as flying into MIA and seeing Tom Waits concert in JAX on the 01st..

Guess I'll just grin and bear it...

One final question(s).. The Keys are really interesting to me but on the run upto the 4th they'll be busy? Does this highway often get bumper-to-bumber? If so is there a better time for traffic to the Keys as heavy traffic in 100 degree heat doesn't sound inviting!!

Lastly, is filtering or lane splitting legal or accepted in FL??

Cheers again guys,
Czr

From a former resident of the "Space Coast" just outside the Kennedy Space Center: Filtering is NOT legal in Florida. Definitely see the keys... Just to say you've done it (I can't offer any info on the traffic). KSC And the Cape Canaveral are a good visit, but not too cheap. If you want to see alligators, I recommend two spots. (1) The Merritt Island Wilderness just outside the north end of the Space Center to see them in the wild... from 5 feet away, I can do detailed directions if you wish. (2) Gatorland on the Orange Blossom Trail on the south side of Orlando (Between it and Kissimmee/St. Cloud) to see the wrestling, shows, etc. The heat will be oppressive when combined with the humidity. Getting there in July, you may hit the afternoon showers (about 3:30pm in my area, you could almost set a watch to it). I wouldn't worry about rain gear on your person, the showers are only a mile or two long (and bath-tub warm) and you will dry off almost instantly afterward.

Have a good time and stay away from the southwest side of Orlando near International Drive and I-4 (a main motorway going NE to SW through Orlando)... it's resort traffic he!!.

[R5_350]

Cruiser,

I've traveled most all of the state of Florida at one time or another. Around any holiday there will be traffic. It seems there's always a good bit of traffic in the "Keys" and yes I've seen bumper to bumper traffic on the overseas highway especially around construction zones. I was there at Christmas and there was a rather large amount of road/bridge construction just north of Key Largo which caused traffic to come to a complete halt for about 30 minutes along with bumper to bumper traffic before and after. In 90+ degree heat that wouldn't be very pleasant. Travel from the Miami area to Key West can take anywhere between 2.5-3 to 5 hours depending upon the season and the traffic. Yes it will be hot, no getting around that.

If you're going to be in Jacksonville for the Waits concert you may be pushing your luck to attempt to even try to see the west coast of Florida, just my opinion. I'd just maybe stick to up and down the east coast, enjoy the beaches, maybe try to get down to the keys. Don't get in a big hurry, be patient with the traffic(poor drivers, FL gets drivers from ALL over the world, old, young, good and bad, mostly BAD) just stay safe and take your time. Just seems like you're trying to pack a lot of riding into a short amount of time.

Have fun and stay safe.

[Cruiser]

Thanks a million guys... All tips and recommendations well appreciated.
I arrive FL Saturday afternoon and can't wait....

Regards,
Czr

[gobot78]

yeah i would agree with the above, explore the east coast and try and make it to the keys. have some pie!

[WIRE]

Duma Key. Definitely do not miss Duma Key.