Kawasaki Concours Forum

Riding => Rides and Stories => Topic started by: twowheeladdict on November 13, 2014, 08:34:52 AM

Title: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: twowheeladdict on November 13, 2014, 08:34:52 AM
Heading to Daytona Beach from Fort Walton beach.  Here are the three potential routes that google is providing.

(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb188/twowheeladdict/extra%20photos%20for%20posting/RoutethroughFlorida_zps063e257f.jpg)

Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: Pokey on November 13, 2014, 06:46:49 PM
All flat and boring, and watch out for all the geriatric drivers. ;)
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: twowheeladdict on November 13, 2014, 09:01:38 PM
All flat and boring, and watch out for all the geriatric drivers. ;)

That's why I am going to ride my rolling easy chair with stereo.   ;D   Oh, wait a minute.  Don't you live in Ohio?  Talk about flat straight and boring.  ;)  I have photos to prove it.  Look on my ride report from this summer.

I did get some advice on another forum to stop and see the gorge in Palatka. 
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: Pokey on November 14, 2014, 09:37:14 PM
That's why I am going to ride my rolling easy chair with stereo.   ;D   Oh, wait a minute.  Don't you live in Ohio?  Talk about flat straight and boring.  ;)  I have photos to prove it.  Look on my ride report from this summer.

I did get some advice on another forum to stop and see the gorge in Palatka.


Ohio flat?  :o Boy did you ride in the wrong few flat parts of the state, come to my Labor Day rally and I bet I will change your mind, or am happy to give you a vast list of roads to ride on another visit here. ;) Only Northern Ohio is flat, South/SE/SW/Eastern Ohio is anything but flat and there are some incredible and very technical roads. I have blown the minds of some seasoned riders from Virginia/WV/NC/Tenn......and they were all very pleasantly surprised with the roads here. Hope you find a good route in Q-tip land, the scenery in some parts of state can be pretty nice though I must admit.
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: twowheeladdict on November 15, 2014, 06:09:51 AM

Ohio flat?  :o Boy did you ride in the wrong few flat parts of the state, come to my Labor Day rally and I bet I will change your mind, or am happy to give you a vast list of roads to ride on another visit here. ;) Only Northern Ohio is flat, South/SE/SW/Eastern Ohio is anything but flat and there are some incredible and very technical roads. I have blown the minds of some seasoned riders from Virginia/WV/NC/Tenn......and they were all very pleasantly surprised with the roads here. Hope you find a good route in Q-tip land, the scenery in some parts of state can be pretty nice though I must admit.

My riding buddy took a job with Crown up in New Bremen.  I went up toward Indy and then came into the state of OHIO.  From there we headed towards PA.

I have been in the Cincinnati to Columbus area of Ohio, and I know that when you get towards KY and WV the terrain changes. 

At least I will be nice and warm when I ride across Florida later this month.   8)
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: Pokey on November 15, 2014, 10:31:19 AM
My riding buddy took a job with Crown up in New Bremen.  I went up toward Indy and then came into the state of OHIO.  From there we headed towards PA.

I have been in the Cincinnati to Columbus area of Ohio, and I know that when you get towards KY and WV the terrain changes. 

At least I will be nice and warm when I ride across Florida later this month.   8)


Which road couch from your fleet will you be on?  :)
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: twowheeladdict on November 15, 2014, 08:13:56 PM

Which road couch from your fleet will you be on?  :)

The Voyager.   8)

It holds 3 weeks of work and play gear.  2 computers, work clothes, casual clothes, riding gear for the vast change in temps, cooler, tools, etc.  It handles quite well after the suspension upgrades.
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: Daytona_Mike on November 17, 2014, 11:10:06 AM
I live in Daytona and work in Tallahassee so I have ridden all those routes many times.  All those routes have their plus's and minus's.
The ride through Palataka is ok.
I would do this one
http://goo.gl/maps/r9pb6 (http://goo.gl/maps/r9pb6)
or this one
http://goo.gl/maps/sCh8o (http://goo.gl/maps/sCh8o)
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: twowheeladdict on November 17, 2014, 01:25:34 PM
I live in Daytona and work in Tallahassee so I have ridden all those routes many times.  All those routes have their plus's and minus's.
The ride through Palataka is ok.
I would do this one
http://goo.gl/maps/r9pb6 (http://goo.gl/maps/r9pb6)
or this one
http://goo.gl/maps/sCh8o (http://goo.gl/maps/sCh8o)

Awesome!  Thankyou Mike. 
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: SteveJ. on November 19, 2014, 03:59:38 PM
And do stop for a meal at Sparky's in Astor on FL40 on your way. Highly recommended from attendees of RTE's there.
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: Daytona_Mike on November 20, 2014, 09:13:22 AM
Awesome!  Thankyou Mike.
Sparkys is a good place. We have eaten there several times now and it is always good.
If you like seafood there is a small hole in the wall  just past Sparkys   that has excellent whole belly clams and big scallops-- it is like being back in Boston.  They only take cash and it is all fried food  but good.  Here is a link.  http://tinyurl.com/qj3xjg7 (http://tinyurl.com/qj3xjg7)

Also if you use Mozilla Firefox there is a plugin for it called Route Rat . It will put those Google map routes directly into your Garmin.

Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: sailor_chic on November 21, 2014, 05:53:31 AM


http://goo.gl/maps/sCh8o (http://goo.gl/maps/sCh8o)

I would go with this route. The other one you listed goes through Ocala, and I would avoid that town. Traffic can get bad
Title: Re: Route suggestions for crossing Florida please.
Post by: twowheeladdict on November 23, 2014, 05:08:49 PM
Thanks all.  Found out that those restaurants are only about 20 miles from my FILs.  Might have to take the family out for seafood if they aren't health nuts who don't eat fried. 

Looks like my route to the Beach is locked in.

Still thinking about seeing the gorge in Palatka on the way back west.