Bike Touring Florida’s Coast to Coast Trail (or Half of It)

Over the last few years, I really started enjoying riding bikes around cities or to different sites as opposed to taking taxis, trains, etc.  I have never been a cyclist, but it just seemed liked a good way to see a little more along the way and get a little exercise along the way.

The more I did it, the more I liked it.  And I started reading about people who traveled from city to city by bike and the bug officially bit me.  I was all in.  Problem was that I was fat and out of shape.  I started out on my old bike to make sure I was committed but with each bike ride, I knew that this was real.  So I bought a better touring bike and did longer rides.

My dream was to ride a bike around Germany (still to come May 2020), but in the meantime I had to be sure this was something I’d commit to before I committed real money to.  So I planned a quick 3 day ride across Florida.  Originally starting in Brooksville on the Florida Coast to Coast Trail, I could ride to Clermont in about 60 miles, then 45 miles to Sanford (where I could stay with family), and then another 40 miles on to Titusville to finish it out.

After further research, the Florida Coast to Coast Trail still has a big 25 mile gap between Brooksville and Clermont.  And for a first bike trip, I didn’t want to mix in with cars for that long.  I switched it up and started in Auburndale. Which while must further east than Brooksville is also much further south.  And I was able to ride the Auburndale TECO Trail and Van Fleet trails for the majority of the first day with a much smaller gap to get onto the trails and into Clermont.   From there, I followed the Florida Coast to Coast Trail to Titusville.

This was my basic route:

 

Day 1

I left from the Auburndale TECO Trail South Trailhead just after 11am.  The trail is pretty straight and and ordinary, but about 15 minutes in, I wondered what I was getting myself into.  I got into a groove 15 minutes later and the trip was on.  The trail converts seemlessly into the Van Fleet Trail in Polk City and goes for another 30 miles or so.  And it’s one of the more isolated trails I’ve been on.  Which I typically enjoy, but because it wasn’t highly trafficked, there were no amenities (bathrooms, water, etc.).  The Van Fleet Trail was easy and made for a great start to the trip.

Eventually, you have to cut off the trail and that was my first real experience with cars flying by me.  The gap between the next trail is about 10 miles.  Some of the roads had a decent shoulder, but most didn’t.  Despite that, I did finally feel like I was bike touring as opposed to just riding a trail through the woods.  I got to ride through dairy farms, citrus farms, and see a little bit of rural central Florida.

And then I got into Clermont which is where I had my hotel reservation.  And I had heard rumors that Clermont was hilly.  But that always sounds crazy to anyone in Florida, because Florida doesn’t have hills.  Well, I will attest to Clermont having hills.  And when you hit them after 3 hours of riding, they feel even worse.  But, I made it. I hit Suncreek Brewery which was just off the trail to rest and recharge.  Then I hit Clermont Brewing for dinner and was in my hotel by 8pm.

 

Day 2

I got started about 10.  I wanted to sleep in and enjoy my free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express.  But there was no reason to stay any longer than that.  Within seconds, of leaving, I got to see my first hill.  That might not look like much, but remember that Florida doesn’t have hills and I wasn’t quite ready for that 10 minutes into my second day.

Once I got back on the trails, the route flattened for the most part and it was smooth sailing for a bit.

The South Lake Trail takes you above and around Clermont and then right into downtown Winter Garden which has a full hipster vibe going.  Really cool old downtown made new.  And of course there was a brewery.  Crooked Can Brewing is part of the renovated Plant St Market.  I was only an hour into the ride but a beer sounded pretty good.  Unfortunately, with rain in the forecast, I couldn’t stay for a second one.

After 13 miles the South Lake Trail merges seamlessly into the West Orange Trail and it’s another 22 miles there before you hit the outskirts of Orlando.

Unfortunately, there’s a decent gap that takes you through neighborhoods and busy streets.  I was able to ride on sidewalks for most of it, but it’s not a great ride.  It’s about a 3 mile gap but it feels longer.  Finally you connect to the Seminole Wekiva Trail that goes due north for 17 miles.  The Seminole Wekiva Trail goes through suburbs, but it’s a decent ride.  Along the way, there’s a Paint The Trail movement which has some really cool paintings on fences along the way.

I got to my brother in law’s house around 3:30pm and was ready for food and beer.  We drove to downtown Sanford where we hit Deviant Wolfe Brewing and Inner Compass Brewing.

Day 3

The next day hurt waking up, but it was a beautiful day and it was time to get back on the bike.  I left most of my clothing with my wife who’d be picking me up at the end and that lightened the load a bit.  I started at the Spring to Spring Trail and took that until it merged into the East Central Regional Trail.  Outside of tired legs and a sore ass, day 3 was my favorite day of riding.  I had the trails basically to myself.  And outside of a 3 mile gap on a fairly busy road, it was all trails to the Titusville Marina.  I made that my end point, as the trail to the beaches isn’t finished yet and I had to make the 2 hour ride back to Tampa still.  I finished around 1:45pm and was back in Tampa by 4pm.

Overall I really enjoyed the trip. It was a new experience and something I’ll be repeating.  Hopefully, I’ll be in better shape and will be able to spend more time stopping along the way to make the ride a little more interesting.