A1A Rider

I would like to defend the honor of the Great State of Florida. I moved to Florida after college. Most of the people I met were professionals or small business owners. Some of the small business owners turned into big business owners. Some of the professionals advanced to be tops in their field.

It would be naive of anyone to think Florida does not have its fair share of fools but, I never really met “Florida Man/Woman“. I know they exist because I see them on the news, just never ran into any. Spreading one “coal roll”, one 2 litre Mountain Dew and a few flats over 17 years of riding year round seems like a fair trade.

Anyway, everyone enjoy themselves and their time on the bike....it’s almost May, and as every Floridian knows that begins the best part of the year.

Maelochs

Now i know for certain you are not a true Floridian.

Anyone who has lived a while in Florida will tell you, May is the End of the good times .... until about October. Florida's "Fall Winter, and Spring" (which is interspersed with days of pure Summer) occurs randomly between October and April. By the end of May it is Baking days, Steam Room, Wrung-out Washrag, Scorched Earth, and for cyclists, Pavement Griddle days.

Nothing like stepping out onto the back porch on a hot summer's night to listen to the whining mechanical hum of one hundred thousand air conditioners ... it almost drowns out the traffic. .....

A1A Rider

Hi Maelochs ... True Floridians like this part of the year most. It is the time of the year when our population of fools decline. But, its super hot down here .... unbearable, miserable and un-visitable.

Maelochs

Well .... proud to not be a True Floridian any more, i guess.... that heat .... It was fine when I was fit, but once I got fat and heart issues, I couldn't ride until near dusk, because even a mildly elevated effort would wipe me out.

Congratulations to those with the fortitude to wait out the snowbirds and still thrive.

friday1970

Reading these FL stories, I can't help be relate to similar things I experience here in Michigan. I've been coal rolled outside of the cities, three times in the last two years. I rolled into Detroit's River Rouge Park yesterday, glass all over the place. There's always some spineless driver who is sheltered behind 3000lbs of steel, who never stops after me beckoning him after they yell stupidities out the passenger window. I think you're going to have idiots all over the place. Or maybe it's only peninsula type states. I dunno.

How are the road in Florida?

I've only been to the Jacksonville/Daytona area, and that was only for a month in 1996. It seemed flat and boring. Though, I'd still love the go there again someday to ride. However...I do hear so many reports of cyclists deaths caused by distracted drivers, more than I ever hear in Michigan. That alone concerns me. Maybe I'll do a brevet there. I heard you guys there like starting them at 12 midnight and finish before you start sizzling like bacon on a hot griddle.

downhillmaster

Is there a point to this nonsense?
So much data and science I don’t know where to start.
Why does anyone anywhere do something wrong, illegal, or just plain not socially acceptable.

A1A Rider

Hi Friday, I agree on your thoughts around a normalized distribution of idiots ... and FL does seem to be well represented with distracted drivers

My route in Florida is pretty smooth, has some pretty nice scenery without many stoplights/stopsigns and a relatively low speed limit. We don't have many potholes or crumbling shoulders, but it is definitely FLAT with only bridges and the occasional coastal high ground as a break. On a 25 mile ride, I do 4 bridges (2 on the way out, 2 on the way in, same bridges) and have a couple of "humps" that are maybe 30' to 50' run ups over a quarter mile or so. Its the wind that provides a "Florida Hill"... Average wind is 10-12 mph and is usually a tailwind/headwind as opposed to crosswind on my ride. I think you can get into some rollers in the Ocala area, but I have never ridden there.

If the wind gets to 15+, I generally go to my very long list of very poor excuses, as I am not a hardman. I would much rather ride in the rain though, than head on into the wind for the final 10-15 miles. As for the heat on a ride ... that's a tough one. I'd like to say you get used to it but it can be draining and I bonk on occasion because I plan poorly and stubbornly only carry one bottle. The only thing I can say is coastal temps are generally lower than reported airport temps and often we are at equal temps to the rest of the eastern US. Humidity on the other hand .........

rmanera

I live on Singer Island, FL about an hour car drive north of Ft. Laudersale. There a literally dozens of cyclists riding every day alongside the ocean on A1A, mostly unmolested by cars or their operators. In fact, I consider it cyclist heaven, with my condo only a couple of minutes off A1A. In hundreds of trips of 10-50 miles, I've never had the first negative incident if you don't include a dozen flats - until I replaced my Michelin Pro 4's with Continental Gatorskins. From my home, I can make a nice 50 mile round trip to Hobe Sound and back without ever leaving the ocean or a bike lane. Love it.

Maelochs

The bigger cities are pretty bad, particularly during snowbird season, but even then, I think a lot of the issues ore operator error. There are a lot of distracted drivers, drunks, and very elderly folk who maybe shouldn't be driving ... but also a lot of drunk ninja salmon, and generally stupid riders ( might have been one for a while .... I hear a couple broken bones can be very educational ... )

Get a little out of the city centers and the riding is quite good.

Yes the biggest incline will be a highway overpass most of the time (I hear Clermont is pretty hilly, by Florida standards ... I have only ridden out there once.) But there is a lot of rural and semi-rural roadway, and a lot of the suburbs are really pleasant .... tree-canopies, horse- and cow fields, vicious alligators ....

I commuted for years and years which means I mainly rode the main roads between city centers ... Worst possibly scenario. Stay out of the downtowns and off the major transit routes and it is decent for cycling.