Jax to Orlando the past weekend

[Bill]

My best friend from high school was having a party this past weekend so I thought the wife and I would ride down to see him as long as the weather was dry. We left late Friday morning after checking the oil and tires and adjusting the new windscreen on my wifes GZ250. I figured she would need it to keep the wind off for the cold ride down and back. The plan as usual was to take back roads as much as possible and stay of the interstates. No sense in looking for trouble. Since we live at the beach we started out going down A1A. The sky was clear and the traffic was light as we cruised down the 2 lane road that follows along the ocean. The temperatures were in the low 40's (before considering the wind chill factor) so these lowland swamp folk had to bundle up a little - full face helmets with turtle fur around the neck, flannel shirts and jackets with liners, thermals under the blue jeans with leather chaps, and gloves. We kept pretty warm except for our hands. The gloves were better suited for a little warmer weather so my fingers got cold and stiff. Otherwise we were quite comfortable.

It was a beautiful ride all the way to St. Augustine where we rode through the old section of town past the fort, the old school house, and other tourist attractions on our way to cross over the Bridge of Lions. Actually the old bridge is being repaired so we crossed on the new drawbridge that was built just a few feet away. We continued along the beach which was opening up a little with fewer houses on the east side so we had a better view of the ocean as we rode along. I think this is the best section of A1A to ride on a motorcycle with beautiful views of the ocean and minimal traffic. You could watch the birds working the water for fish, or the pelicans gliding in formation a couple of feet off the surface of the water, or see an osprey or two. If you are lucky maybe even see some dolphin. Just don't look for too long a time because the road is only a narrow two lanes. But that's part of the beauty too. There are local fish shacks and "mom and pop" stores along the route where you can stretch your legs and get a snack or drink.

I figured we would follow A1A past Marine Land, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Ormond Beach, all the way to Daytona. What I failed to realize was that this was a race weekend in Daytona and the traffic there was going to be really bad. We turned on 92 (International Speedway Blvd.) which was also the road that takes you right past the Speedway. Talk about traffic jam! It took awhile but we eventually got through all the craziness. Next time I will be more careful about checking the activities in Daytona. I had an alternate plan for the return trip.

Once 92 joined with 17 the ride was more comfortable. This is a major road that is mostly a divided although not too crowded and still a fairly relaxed ride. It took us through Sanford as the road narrows to curve around a lake only to widen again through town. We stopped at a Burger King for a quick snack and to call our friends to let them know we were getting close. From there it was a few more miles to Maitland, our destination, and a place to thaw out.

Coming back seemed to be even colder. With the wind chill factored in it was probably in the mid to upper 20's. Cold hands again. These old finger joints were taking a beating. We headed north back up 17/92 but this time we would avoid Daytona. It was Sunday and the races were on. Way too many cars on the road there with too many short tempers. It was a good thing we took another route too. There was a road rage incident that day after the races that resulted in a shooting. We didn't need to be around a bunch of drunk race fans in cars. I decided to head up through Deland instead and take 11 on the north side. This would go through some really nice uncrowded 2-lane back roads through the country side. This is another pretty ride that takes you straight north just like I-95 but without the traffic. We may just use this as our main ride for future trips to Orlando.

Just south of Palm Coast 11 intersects with both US 1 that leads north to St. Augustine or 100 that heads east to Flagler Beach to intersect with A1A for the nice ride along the ocean again back to St. Augustine. Couldn't go wrong with either route. Since 100 would add a few more miles to the trip and since we were starting to feel like popsicles we decided to head straight north up US 1. From St. Augustine we would finish the ride back up A1A.

What a great ride!

Cheers!