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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaxHiker View Post
    Just realized 2014. That'll give me time to get ready. Looks like a good route.
    Yep. Trying to make sure that folks have time to plan for time off if they want to come. It also gives everyone the chance to work on their gear and endurance over the next year if they want to come along.

    Thanks! Still worrying at the side trips in my brain. I think maybe basecamping at a couple of the stops and making scenic rides might be a good idea, too...still hacking at it...
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  2. #12
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Just finished working out a six-day route, with stops at Ichetucknee Springs (private campground; they allow hammocks) and Fanning Springs State Park (we'll probably stay at the primitive area, right on the Suwannee, but there are cabins with central A/C available if anyone wants to shell out $100/night; they sleep up to eight, so ~$15 a head). Map is located here.

    I've ridden everything up until the actual trip from Ichetucknee to Fanning Springs. Looking at Google Maps, it seems that there will be a bike lane the whole way from Ichetucknee to Fanning (or it'll be on either low-speed-limit side roads with sidewalks or the Nature Coast State Trail rail-trail).

    However, leaving Fanning, the bike lane disappears south of Chiefland. I absolutely need to do a physical recon of CR 345; that's where the bike lane ends. (And I should probably do a recon of the route from Ichetucknee to Fanning, just to be sure.) From Street View, it looks like a low-traffic rural area...but it's the sort of thing that I'll want to check out in person. It also appears that there are a few back road alternates that might be better bets for traffic conditions, depending on how we handle water and food for that day. I'll keep an update running as things develop...

    The longest day thus far is the trip up to Ichetucknee; that'll be 48 miles and change. I deliberately routed things through downtown Gainesville, which adds a couple of miles: there are several very nice coffee shops and eateries in the area that are worth hitting on the way through. Also, this ensures a bike lane (almost) the whole way (there's a small stretch with a sidewalk, instead), as well as avoiding the worst traffic on 441 (13th St.) around campus in midtown. Trust me, riding that stretch of 441 is worth more'n your life; students have no idea how to deal with bicyclists on the road when there's no bike lane.

    As we enter Ichetucknee, there is a Dollar General, which is a good resupply point for dinner and breakfast items. It's one of the easier ones to get to without a side trip if anyone needs/wants something that they may have not gotten at a gas station or one of the small shops in Micanopy the day before.

    Resupply isn't quite as critical on a bike tour like this, as you can "credit card" tour; that is, eat lunch and snacks on the road at gas stations and restaurants. However, I prefer eating breakfast and dinner in camp--which means, for me, trucking that food along. If others have strong preferences otherwise, well, I'm willing to be accommodating, for sure.
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  3. #13
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    Thumbs up Great idea! Interested.

    Looks like an interesting trip. I am pencilling it in. Another trip in the vicinity (perhaps as an extension or on its own) might include Ocala, Dunellon, the Withlacochee RailTrail, and Dade City.

    FrankBGB

  4. #14
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frankBGB View Post
    Looks like an interesting trip. I am pencilling it in. Another trip in the vicinity (perhaps as an extension or on its own) might include Ocala, Dunellon, the Withlacochee RailTrail, and Dade City.

    FrankBGB
    I enjoyed the trip down to Ocala National Forest this past month from Gainesville, but winding that back over to the end point of the trip is difficult without doing a pair of 55+ mile days (and I want to keep this shorter than that, so that it'll be friendly and accessible for most folks while not wrecking my legs every day) or backtracking a route for dozens of miles (which I'm trying to avoid, to keep each day fresh). Maybe one of the sites in the north end of the forest might be a bit more accessible. Any suggestions?

    I liked the ride down the Withalacooche the one time I did it, but coming south from Gainesville involves riding on US 41 to reach it. Which is great, right up until the county line just north of Dunnellon: the bike lane disappears sporadically for a couple hundred yards at a clip through there, right where traffic picks up to go into Dunnellon. Which makes for an hair-raising ride. I can take a look at alternate routes over there, but--again--it may be difficult to do that without retracing big miles the next day (which, honestly, on a rail-trail, isn't quite the chore it is on highways, but still...). Thoughts?

    Maybe taking US 19/SR 121 north from there on the last day? I'll have to take a good look at the road before deciding anything, either way.
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  5. #15
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    I want in. I have to work on some lighter/more packable gear still but I'm close now. N panniers for me, I use revelate bags and a DIY frame bag.

    I also plan to do a Pittsburg to DC ride this year. Very easy riding, no cars, and hammock camping is fair game all along the GAP and C&O canal.

  6. #16
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by almaxey View Post
    I want in. I have to work on some lighter/more packable gear still but I'm close now. N panniers for me, I use revelate bags and a DIY frame bag.

    I also plan to do a Pittsburg to DC ride this year. Very easy riding, no cars, and hammock camping is fair game all along the GAP and C&O canal.
    Great!

    I'm still waiting to hear back from the wife concerning dates (the calendar is up, but she's not gotten back to me about a couple of things associated with the Spring Break time period that might be going on with her job), but will be updating this thread as soon as I know.

    Hopefully, prototyping for my new cargo system will be starting next month. I've almost got the cash I need to be able to start that.

    Really looking forward to this one!
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  7. #17
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    I'm thinking about doing this ride next year http://www.singletracksamurai.com/events/huracan-300/ and hammocking on the route. I'm not sure if you're riding mountain bike or road/touring bike but if you're riding a 29er this would be fun.

    I have a DIY frame bag, but use revelate bags for everything else. In warm weather, I'm pretty sure I could get hammock, tarp, UQ,TQ, bug net in there. It's heavier than my bivy/sleeping pad/sleeping bag setup but in a year maybe I'll have some lighter more packable stuff.

  8. #18
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by almaxey View Post
    I'm thinking about doing this ride next year http://www.singletracksamurai.com/events/huracan-300/ and hammocking on the route. I'm not sure if you're riding mountain bike or road/touring bike but if you're riding a 29er this would be fun.

    I have a DIY frame bag, but use revelate bags for everything else. In warm weather, I'm pretty sure I could get hammock, tarp, UQ,TQ, bug net in there. It's heavier than my bivy/sleeping pad/sleeping bag setup but in a year maybe I'll have some lighter more packable stuff.
    I'm on a beach cruiser, actually (the one in my avatar, to the left). I can handle short-ish off-road sections (dirt roads are fine, but anything gnarlier than that gets to be a pain after a mile or so), but it sounds like that's a true mountain bike route. The one I'm planning will mostly be surface roads with some rails-to-trails mixed in.
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by almaxey View Post
    I'm thinking about doing this ride next year http://www.singletracksamurai.com/events/huracan-300/ and hammocking on the route. I'm not sure if you're riding mountain bike or road/touring bike but if you're riding a 29er this would be fun.
    That sounds like fun! I'm thinking about doing this one someday:
    http://alleghenymountainsloop.blogspot.com/.

    I'm also considering this ride with FLRider. Sounds like a lot of fun. I've done a couple of tours but some people on them only wanted to stay in hotels (which really drives up the cost!). Still had a great time. This is ~8 hrs away though, which might make it a tough sell to the wife.

  10. #20
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdk View Post
    That sounds like fun! I'm thinking about doing this one someday:
    http://alleghenymountainsloop.blogspot.com/.

    I'm also considering this ride with FLRider. Sounds like a lot of fun. I've done a couple of tours but some people on them only wanted to stay in hotels (which really drives up the cost!). Still had a great time. This is ~8 hrs away though, which might make it a tough sell to the wife.
    You're more'n welcome to come! I still haven't quite made it out to the areas after Fanning Springs, but I hope to do so some time in October.

    I've also decided to keep the DIY MMP as my primary cargo system. It has four things going for it at this point: it's simple, does more than one thing, is familiar to me, and costs me nothing extra. So, I don't think I'm going to muck about with frame bags and such this year.
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

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