Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail: A Cycling Adventure
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- #floridac2c #statebicycleco #exploreyourstate #cycletouring #floridacycling
Come along with me on a two day cycling trip on the Florida Coast-to-Coast trail - a series of trails and roads stretching from Titusville to St. Petersburg, FL. The weather wasn't great, but I still had a really good time!
Check out the ride on Strava:
Day 1: / strava
Day 2: / strava
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Equipment used:
Bike: State Bicycle Co. 6061 Aluminum All-Road (use my referral code @ for 10% off)
Cycling computer: Garmin Edge 1040 Solar: amzn.to/40KeXJS
Heartrate monitor: Garmin Dual HR: amzn.to/3UejcL3
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Wow! Great video! Congratulations on completing the C2C in two days! I don't remember the wooden bridge around 14:15 in your video but, I do know there is one like that on a side road coming from Upper part of the Upper Tampa Trail.
I've never heard anybody say they liked the Suncoast Trail until you said it. To me it's long, noisy, and it's almost the same scenery the whole way. I've seen videos of people having fun on it with a good tailwind.
I rode West to East last March. I made it a 5 day journey and took my time. I didn't mind riding on SR-50 from Ridge Manor. My quad muscles were burning after riding thru Clermont and they didn't stop burning the rest of the way.
You are lucky you saw some wild life like the bear. I only saw one Turkey. However, I usually see deer between Pinellas County and Trinity every time I ride so, it was unusual for me not to even see a deer on my C2C journey.
Thanks, David. I wish I had taken more time - it's like I went too fast & didn't get to enjoy anything. Also, it raining most of the way was a bit of a bummer. 50 wouldn't have been so bad, but the construction barrels made it sketchy. I'd love to get back and do it again once the path is finished up, or even explore some of the other trails, as well. I'll take my time next time around!
That’s exactly where the wooden bridge is. Not really a bridge. Immediate west of the Upper Tampa bay trail.
He didn’t go through starkey park which would have been a much more peaceful route to 14:44 on Keystone Road.
@@ericbarnettcycling sorry you had to deal with the rain. Was your ride cold?
My name posted as David Smith, the first time I posted here and I am not sure why but, I subscribed again. You rocked it doing that in two days. You saved money not staying in a hotel every night but, it probably would have been fun to take your time because you were meeting up with your wife.
I spent more time documenting my ride for my RUclips channel to show most of my ride and help others. The next time I ride, I won't spend two hours at that cool wooden fence on the Seminole-Wekiva trail. I also got caught in a headwind when I rode that and I got lost following a highlighted trail on the 100trails map near the 1st tunnel coming my way. Since I was filming, I wasted time there trying to get the video right. I got 100trails to fix that after that long highlighted map after my ride. I got lost a couple of times that day. It's so easy to do and also with missing turns if we don't watch those blue signs carefully on that Seminole-Wekiva. I knew the trail from St. Pete up to Ridge Manor and then I knew the Clermont area. I wasn't sure what to expect passed the train tracks on SR-50. I made the mistake of not studying the East Side. I learned how to use the 100trails map midway in my journey. The 100trail map can be ineracted with. Go to the page, view larger map and touch the screen. It also will show hotels, food places, and places to rent a car.
Winter Garden was a fun town to stop and stay in that little bnb there. My real plan was to stop in Clermont and stay with my friend that lives there but, he ended up with a bad cough so, I just had lunch with him and went on my way to Winter Garden. My mistake when I was there was that I looked up when the next rocket launch was when I was there and I found out it was going to be in three days so, I slowed down a lot when I was riding to try to see it. I still got to Titusville too early. If I didn't look up to see when the Rocket Launch was, I would have gone at a better speed.
I don't remember too many barrels being on SR-50 except for near US 301. I rode in mid March. I rode about 11.5 on the new trail that wasn't opened yet on the South side and then I was forced to ride in the bike lane for a little bit and then I was forced on a sidewalk. I am sure it's a whole different ball game going West instead of East. FDOT just recently put the new roadway over the train tracks that aren't far from US 301. That 1st part of South Sumter Gap trail coming from the Train tracks may be officially opening by the end of the Summer but, I am not sure. I thought I read that it was going to open by the end of August.
Next time I ride the C2C, I will plan what hotels I will stay in way ahead of time. I have found if I search Trivago at different times of the day and different days of the week, I can find a pretty good deal at places. I will book all of that stuff ahead of time.
Thanks again for sharing your Journey! I thought you did good, even if it did rain. I've never ridden 150 miles. I have done three Century rides and come close to doing Century rides a few other times. I don't think I could even handle 150 miles.
@@davidrogers7137 I recognized it because I made my way from the Lower Upper Tampa Bay Trail to the Upper Part and filmed my ride during Super Bowl Sunday. It felt like I was watching my own video. I did the same thing. I rode on the wooden bridge and got bored with it and then rode in the road. That Tarpon Rd/Keystone Rd wasn't bad the day I rode it but, I can imagine it being bad if there was a lot of traffic.
I wrote to the District Mayor there and I asked them if they could connected the two Upper Tampa Bay Trails going up Gunn Hwy. I asked if they could put a sidewalk or a trail or even a bike lane but, bike lane was not my preference because it would be nuts to ride on Gunn Hwy even with a bike lane. They talked to the community and they got the okay to put a trail next to Gunn Hwy. I don't know when all of it's going to be done but, I was the one to get the ball rolling on that. The project to connect both trails had hit a wall many years ago when the property owners refused to allow the two trails to be connect through their property. Coming out at the South end of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail can be another outlet to get to the West Coast start in St. Pete.
I cheated on my C2C ride and I cut 6 miles off the Pinellas Trail riding up the East side of Pinellas County. I didn't want to go up ten overpass going up the West side. The bridge to connect from the Duke Energy Trail to the East Side of Pinellas Trail near Tampa Rd will be built by next Summer. Progress is moving pretty fast there. I actually like riding up the East Coast of Pinellas County better instead of cutting through the hood in St. Pete.
Love the cycling trails you have in US! 👍👍
Great vídeo!!
Great job 😊; Very inspiring
Thank you! Cheers!
West to East over thanksgiving last year ‘23. On 50 thanksgiving day. Had it all to myself because of the construction. I might have been the first to ride the completed portions of the MU path as the previous week it wasn’t there.
Pretty sure you were going the wrong way beginning day two. 😊
Awesome vid! Watched the whole thing! Definitely a bucket list for me to do that ride, but ugh, some of the sketchy roads with barely a shoulder…that’s all I’m riding out here 😵💫
It's definitely a trail to do! They are working on a patch along the sketchy part - hopefully it'll be completed soon. I've ridden along many a road in my day, but the construction section with the barrels was particularly rough...
Very nice narration and info. I plan on doing g this next March.
Thanks! Have fun - I wish I had taken more time and enjoyed myself more. Maybe next time!
The C2C trail is on my list to do one of these days. Thanks for sharing your incites and exerperiences.
Thanks! You'll enjoy it. I believe that they are working on adding a bike path to the RT 50 section. That and Orlando were the only two sketchy parts. Check the weather!
I liked your video. That bear was crazy. I have seen a hog, turtles and alligators, but never a bear. Yesterday, I saw a snake. Thanks for making the video.
Thanks! Tons of wildlife in FL - surprised I didn’t see any gators!
Great job on the editing! 👍🏿
Thank you! 😁
Great video Eric, how are you doing? Fully recovered now i hope 🤞
Thanks Alan! I'm doing well - recovered from illness, but far from peak form. I've got a lot going on with work, moving, gigging, going back to school, etc - so, I've had to come to terms with not being as good on the bike as I could be with more time. Even on the long Zwift rides, I have Zwift on a small screen while I'm taking classes on the big screen, so it's a lot of junk miles. Keeping my base intact, though.
Was going to do half the C2C trail and back from St Pete..got to Route 50 and said OH HELL NO. They need to hurry up and finish that section of trail 😅
Yeah, it was so sketchy - especially with the road construction. Once it's finished, the C2C will be perfect.
The detour down through Richloam is amazing if you're cool with dirt and gravel. I've been through there a few times and love it. ZERO cars.
@@ericbarnettcycling can’t wait. It will nice to do a ride that doesn’t end in a sandy graveyard where cell phone service goes to die
@@printerror I thought I was taking that way but the “road” was unrideable loose sand and not gravel where none of my GPS devices could get a signal. My freakout level was way high.
@@Bicycleprincess There are a few known routes through there. Check out Follow Thomas or HBC Outdoors, both posts pretty good routes. I'm using HBC's on my 400 mile "Tour de Flor-ida" in a few weeks.
Excelent! I wanna make it too.
You should!
Nice video! Looked like a great ride! That was a pretty big bear, wow😮 I wouldn’t have been expecting to see that along the trail. The trails looked awesome, but the roads - yikes.
That’s the thing about bike trips - I’ve found so often that I plan for too many miles and there isn’t the time to spend exploring around the places I’m traveling through… gotta slow down and enjoy the areas sometimes, getting better at that
Thanks Lauri! You hit the nail on the head - I planned on too many miles! Next time I’ll take my time and enjoy myself more. Need to be able to switch my brain from race mode to fun mode!
Hey Eric, great video! I will be doing the C2C sometime in July in a single day. Could you please share the file of the route you took? I appreciate you posting this.
Good luck with the C2C! My only two cents is that I wish I had taken longer! I feel like I missed so much beauty and nature just trying to hammer down, though I completely get striving for the challenge of a single day.
I'm pretty sure the route I programmed into my Garmin was this one:
ridewithgps.com/routes/31802446
Also, here are the links to my Strava activities:
www.strava.com/activities/10213626653
www.strava.com/activities/10217994651
Be sure to research the Rt 50 stretch. It's super sketchy. Also, I took some extra turns in Orlando that I'm sure were unnecessary. There is a good Facebook group about the C2C that is more up-to-the-minute about the trail and closures and such.
Great ride. 🚴
Thanks 👍
Not happening for me until it really becomes a true, connected trail!
Very nice ride. Thanks for showing and sharing it. Here in Michigan, there is a one day ride across the state every year. It is on roads but mostly low traffic. Indiana and illinois also have them. Cheers.
It is a really nice path. I'm moving back to Ohio sometime this year - I'll have to check out the MI, IN, & IL rides!
@@ericbarnettcycling the MI ride is ODRAM. One day ride across Michigan.
Man, you have some great cycle paths over there, not too sure about the bears though! That looked like an amazing ride Eric and lots of fun, shame about the weather at the start but some of those places you were cycling through looked amazing 😍. Hope you're keeping well mate.
Thanks Mark! It was nice - I have to remind myself to get out of ride fast mode, sometimes. I hope to ride it again sometime in the future! Hope all is well
Hey dude! Hope you're well! Haven't seen ya in a bit, if you wanna spin around on zwift sometime lmk. Also two races planned for this year... Arkansas BDB in Sept - Colorado Triple Bypass
Best of luck in the races! I've been off the bike while moving 700 miles, but I'll be back in Zwift and on the roads soon.
Makes me wanna jump on a plane and head over now! Lovely video mate, and I am all the more determined to do a ride there now. You really did pick a great day to start. Got to love Florida weather.
Come on over, but check that weather report first, lol! I wish I'd taken 3-4 days and done it in a more relaxing way. (and of course in good weather)
@@ericbarnettcycling haha come do it again. With me this time.
Really enjoyed the video, Eric. Great footage, great story and pacing, and great editing. And just cool to see you enjoying the bike.
That SR50 stretch looked really hairy. I've been riding indoors so long now that I've lost my road legs. I'd have chickened out of that bit, i think. You're a brave fella.
Hope you get to do more trips like this and put out similar content. It's nice to see this side of the US. I really had no idea there were pockets with this kind of bike-friendly infrastructure.
Thank you, Lee & sorry for the belated reply. Super busy with life, lately. The trip was enjoyable, though I would’ve had more fun taking 3 or 4 days to do the ride instead of 2. There are more paths under construction to replace the road sections, but they’re a year or two from completion. I hope to make it back once those are done. Hope all is well with you!
It's good to see familiar places again. I rode C2C just a few weeks ago but I took the Richloam WMA instead of SR-50 but you did a lot of miles, almost could have done it in one day, that's insane 😎.
Thanks Thomas! When I set out I was thinking about trying the whole thing in one day, but I chose probably the worst day to do it. I actually wish I’d taken 3-4 days and enjoyed myself more. They’re working on a bike trail that runs next to Rt 50. I hope to do it again once that is finished. Some of those detours look great, too! Cheers!
@@ericbarnettcycling Would be challenging to ride the all 250 miles in one day but it's probably doable. My personal record is 192 miles/day, maybe I should try. I'm looking forward to them finishing the SR-50 work then I will probably ride the C2C again.
@@FollowThomas You should come do the Kings Road gravel ride with us in October! 210 miles from Steinhatchee to Flagler Beach. I'm hoping to do it in one day this year, which would be my own personal best.
Great video could you tell us on what trail the bear was? I would definitely want to keep an eye out.
I can't recall exactly where the bear was, but I'm pretty sure it was on the East Central Regional Trail near Cow Creek. Be vigilant, though. I'm sure there is the potential for bears and alligators in many of the wooded areas of the trail.
Gemini Springs
I want to do this when weather is nicer but I'm not sure about logistic yet. Gotta figure out how to get to point A and getting picked up at point B.
My wife came in clutch on the pickup, though that's a favor I have to pay back with interest!
Very jealous about the quality of this ride. Nothing like this where I am.
Is really is a nice trail. Gotta give the folks that organized the route lots of credit.
I did this trail this past year on roller skates, it took me 6 days ( 40 ish miles a day) it was really nice I want to do it again.
Roller skates, wow! That sounds so hard. Did you do the Rt 50 portion or take a different way around that?
Well done!
Thanks!
That rain looked absolutely miserable. Glad you didn't get eaten by a bear!
Haha, don't know if it was visible on my face, but there were moments I wasn't having a very good time!
I'm just checking to see if everything is all right, I've just seen some of the videos of flooding in Charleston and I'm hoping you've not been affected?
Btw.. great video, they look like lovely trails. You should pop across to UK and try the C2C, it's slightly hillier but I'm sure it'll rain over here too so you'll feel at home 🙂
Though it may be slightly cooler
Hey man, sorry for the belated reply. We did alright in the flooding, though there was more today! (Still good)
Is Brooks a saddle you’ve ridden a lot?
such a nice bike...TUBELESS!!!
Haha. I do have one wheel set for my road bike set up tubeless - just don't know enough to do it on my touring bike.
What’s the best source for finding a gpx file for this route? Nice ride!
I'm fairly sure this is the one I used:
ridewithgps.com/routes/31802446
Do your own research regarding the Rt 50 stretch, though. There's a really good Facebook group about the trail.
Hey Eric, what are you using to film as you ride? Thank you for your time
I use a GoPro 11 mounted on the handlebars & my iPhone on a Quadlock selfie stick. Not too high tech, but they do the trick.