I've been living car-free for years in Pinellas County and have loved the way cycling allows you to feel more connected to the places you travel to. When I heard about the Coast to Coast trail a few years back, I knew it was something I wanted to do eventually, but my only bike was a pretty rugged belt-drive commuter that wasn't really fit for a week long round trip across the state and back, and it would have been expensive to try and upgrade it to the point that it was.
Well, I finally pulled the trigger on a nice chain-drive bike that will allow me to do these types of trips, and so I asked my dad if he'd want to plan a little tour together across the state in a few months. He's the only man I know who wouldn't hesitate 🤣
Since we're both new to touring/bikepacking, we decided it would be best to keep things simple and do a "credit card tour" and stick with hotels so we don't have to buy a full bag setup and camping gear because it can get expensive, but I hope this can be the starting point of something bigger.
The map is partially courtesy of 100floridatrails.com whose C2C trail lines I imported, and then added on markers for accessible bike shops and convenience/grocery stores in case we need emergency supplies on the trip. The most important part though… I pre-scouted all the breweries along the way 🤙
Might be a bit of a posh tour compared to the stuff I see a lot of folks on this sub doing, but we're both excited to be able to do this. My PTO from work gives me just enough time to have a prep day, three days out, a day in New Smyrna/Daytona, three days back, and then a recovery day. With about 5-6 hours of riding a day, we still have plenty of time to enjoy the cities and parks that we'll be travelling through, and it'll give us wiggle room in case of any hiccups.
by Vandorbelt