The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

St. John’s Loop, St. Augustine, FL

April 17th to April 26th

Ride Director: Robyn Saur
Ride Co-Director: Mark Copher
Report by: Linda Young

Our eight-day bicycle tour with BAC started in St.  Augustine, Florida. We enjoyed great weather with the wind at our back for most of the trip. We ate plenty of fresh seafood and pedaled on quiet back roads or bike paths, mostly. We appreciated the flat terrain on our tandem. On the first day 12 of us rode up the coast to Guana Reserve and checked out the interpretive center with live alligators and osprey viewing. After dinner we took a sunset cruise on The Red Boat in St. Augustine and saw pods of dolphins jumping and learned about the history of St. Augustine.

Day 2 found us on the road heading 58 miles south, riding a tailwind to Daytona Beach with ocean views. Pelicans cruised in formation over the waves. We hoped to witness the Space X Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, but clouds obscured our view. We appreciated the light traffic through Flagler Beach. After a shower we sat by the pool and watched cars, trucks and bikes drive on the beach! Construction vehicles were busy repairing damage from the latest hurricane.

Day 3 we continued south along the ocean to Edgewater, stopping at New Smyrna Dunes Park for a hike on the boardwalk and lunching on the beach.

Day 4 we biked 50 miles with a tailwind, heading inland to Sanford, biking on some of Florida's rail trails and the Coast to Coast (C2C) trail. I was impressed with the beautiful well-maintained trails shaded by Spanish moss-covered trees. Along the way we saw the “Tin Man” and lunched at the Osteen Diner.

Day 5 we headed out early to arrive at Blue Springs State Park in time for the St. John’s River Nature Cruise. On the informative cruise we spotted many alligators, large and small, shore birds of all sizes and a barred owl. Afterwards we continued to DeLand a delightful artsy town covered in murals and sculptures, where we stayed for two nights.

Day 6 took us to De Leon Springs State Park where we cooked our own pancake breakfast on a griddle at our table. There we found out who in our group could flip a pancake! Swimming was available in the gin clear 72-degree spring. Our ride took us through farm country passed horses, cows, sheep, and miles of mesh covered fern groves.

Day 7 we headed 61 miles northwest to Palatka with the tailwind assisting. We were greeted by a flock of peacocks in Crescent City strutting down the streets like Mummers. The climb up the bridge across the St Johns River afforded a nice downhill into Palatka ahead of the rain.

Day 8 we headed northeast back to the start in St. Augustine. After re-crossing the bridge on the bike trail, we had an accident. Our tandem was knocked down by an off-duty police officer’s truck. Our back wheel was bent, but we were okay with only minor bruising.  That ended the ride for us, but the rest of our group made it back to St. Augustine safely.  We were grateful to have our ride leader’s van to transport our bike back to the start. Mark and Robyn designed a well thought out trip showcasing hidden gems. The evening Happy Hours promoted camaraderie and the relaxed pace made it very enjoyable.  We made life-long friends. This was our first BAC ride but won’t be our last. We loved our “Spring Training” in Florida.

Rob and Linda Young