I will be moving to South Florida due to job opportunity. However, I would still like to keep my triathlon training with me at Florida. Any chance any of you know the best area in the south of Florida to do the training. Luckly, for me, I am able to relocate anywhere in Florida, preferably south Florida so I am seeking for a location that provides the best fit for my triathlon training (cycle, running trail, and places to swim) Your input or experience with Florida will be appreciated.
I will be moving to South Florida due to job opportunity. However, I would still like to keep my triathlon training with me at Florida. Any chance any of you know the best area in the south of Florida to do the training. Luckly, for me, I am able to relocate anywhere in Florida, preferably south Florida so I am seeking for a location that provides the best fit for my triathlon training (cycle, running trail, and places to swim) Your input or experience with Florida will be appreciated.
I’m in Fort Lauderdale and love riding A1A. It is really the only road for me without going out west but it is on the beach, and the traffic is 30-35mph and pretty bike tolerant. I’m surprised I haven’t gotten sick of the road but it is awesome training along the beach.
I run along A1A too and through all the old neighborhoods. We even have Birch State park for a 2 mile loop which is a nature reserve along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Swimming rocks. We have the International Hall of Fame here with an aquatic center that has 2 pools. One 50m and one 25m. Coached Masters classes are daily at 6am, 7am, noon, and 6:15pm which is incredible.
Folks will tell you out west in Weston is awesome but it is like a retirement community out there. Miami has a lot of fans too but it depends on what you need outside of tri training too. Miami can be a zoo and I like Fort Lauderdale as I have a wife and three young kids.
PM me if you have any further questions.
Miami is the place for me. Race/train/play outside every day. We also have South Beach and the best beach buns.
Caution–the “Pack of 1 Hundred” rides here almost every morning. 
I live in Jupiter and I love it. Ride up a1a then hop over to Jupiter Island then through hope sound and over to hutchinson island. Tons of cyclists and triathletes are out riding/running every day. Plenty to do around the area… more restaurants than you can imagine. We have a pretty good community here. Also check out the trirunningsports store if you are seriously considering the area.
If you are single Ft Lauderdale and Miami are your best options (Granted to much party will affect your training). Lots to do, specially if you go towards South Beach.
Miami itself can be a complicated place for cycling, there are not many locations were you will feel safe, particularly Monday to Friday. My experience there (7 years) is that for in the week training I would head out to do the Key Biscayne Loop, (14-16 mile). There you will find plenty of triathletes cycling, running and the best of it, open water swimming. Key Biscayne is an expensive neighborhood but Brickell is just next to it and there are plenty of apartment’s for rent/buy.
Now if you have a family, you should look into Weston
Fort Lauderdale is extremely family friendly. We know tons of young families and have 3 young ones ourselves. IMO being by the beach is where it’s at. Weston is a nice community town but so boring.
Boca Raton
Great riding along A1A, nice places to run and 6 pools to swim in. Lots of parks, great places to eat, schools. I run out the back gate of my shady tree lined, gated home community and am on a1a in 3 miles using backroads with little traffic. Have an amazing house for sale by the way as I need a bigger one with 3 daughters who are hitting teens :0
Seriously, Boca is great place to live.
In Tampa we have Flatwoods park (7 mile paved trail in the woods) that lots of people cycle at and SunCoast parkway (43 mile one way trail)
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Lived in Tallahassee for 4 years while in school & learned that Space Mountain at Disney World was the 3rd highest point in the state. You won’t find hills down south so you’ll need to get up to Clermont or Tally.
I was given the same opportunity from my job 5 years ago this May. I moved to St. Petersburg and every day has been a vindication of that choice. We have some of the best riders in the state, the most races, lots of Pro’s stay in St. Pete for extended periods of time for training (Terenzo Bozzone, Julie Dibens, etc). Miami is not good for the following: Riding a bicycle. I travel for work and regularly jump in on group rides on Key Biscayne, Boca’s A1A group out of Spanish River, and run on A1A in Fort Lauderdale. It’s nice and very scenic, don’t get me wrong, but I would rather watch a movie on my trainer than do those rides every day. It’s central FL, but I can ride the old Clearwater course every damn day since I live 2.1 miles off of it, my group ride is on the St. Ant’s course (there are 3+ group rides every single day of varying ability, too). We have North Shore Pool (2 pools, 50m & 25yds), the Long Center (2 pools, 50m & 25 yds) and 2 group swims every single week in between the time changes in St. Pete Beach and Clearwater.
I have traveled all over this state for work, training, and racing and I can say that without a doubt, the best place to live for TRAINING is Clermont (home of the National Training Center and dozens of Pros outside of Orlando), but the best place for Training/Having a social life is St. Pete/Clearwater. Miami is too congested, not enough options for riding, NO trails despite what anyone would tell you, and the cost of living is 1.5-2x as high.
Clermont is the best place to live and train if you are married and work from home. If you are single, live in downtown St. Pete unless you are trying to go pro, then go back to Clermont. If you are a PRTYboi, live in South Tampa, race for Flying Fish Bikes, and frequent S. Howard & Armenia bars on the weekends.
hope that helps. But seriously, don’t live in Miami. Weston is OK, but it’s suburbia, expensive, and your only trail running choice is Markham Park on the edge of the Everglades.
St. Petersburg - Largest Triathlon Club In The World - St. Pete Mad Dogs
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Daily group rides from downtown St. Pete
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We’ve got Ft. Desoto, Gulf Blvd, the bridges of Clearwater, Sand Key, & Belleair.
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Beach swims (St. Pete Mad Dogs swims every Wednesday as a group @ Pass-A-Grille Beach (Hurley Park) @ 6:00pm.
I live in Orlando for work! Sucks ass! Luckily Clermont is not far away! I have rode and raced across the entire state. If I could enrich my life and move my job somewhere else in Florida, I move in a heartbeat to the St. Petersburg area. Overall, good quality of life and excellent training / racing scene.
Come on down… You’ll love our weather! Yes it gets hot, but as long as you train early life is perfect!
I would second the Boca Area. Nice 50 mile loop from Palmetto Park Road North to the Breaker’s hotel along A1A - limited stops especially going north. Good open water swimming from same point. Plenty of paved running paths along A1A in the same area. Morning and evening Master’s swim groups in Boca public pools, as well as Deerfield Aquatic center with both 25 and 50 setup. South on A1A toward Pompano and Ft. LAuderdale is not as safe for riding - more traffic, stop lights, road condition, etc.
I lived in Boca Raton for 7 years and currently live in St. Pete area, been here 3 years. You’re going to really enjoy either place, they are both wonderful for triathlon training. One big plus about Tampa/St. Pete is that you only have to drive 40 min to get to San Antonio, FL which is the starting point for a number of hilly (for FL) group rides. You are also closer to Clermont. Its a minimum 3 hour drive from Boca Raton to get to any ride that has any decent elevation change (unless you just do repeats of bridges in Lk. Worth or the Blue Heron).
Do some searching on the forum as there have been many previous posts like this.
lots of options in florida…moved here in '07 from nc…north florida (jax/jax beach/ponte vedra) has a HUGE tri community…but so does just about every area in fl. can’t go wrong.
See this thread too: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=4365672
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Interesting. I will have to head over to St Pete for a few days at the beach and check out the riding there. Like you mentioned tho, Clermont is fanatastic for pure training (particularly cycling).
I would like to have a place pretty similar to austin,Tx or huntington beach,ca. Austin have great run trail (town lake trail) and several community park in downtown area. HB area have great bicycle pathway (huge shoulder on road) and pathway on beach for running and bicycle. So which city is pretty similar to Austin and HB ? Thanks for advice.
Miami/Fort Lauderdale are the antithesis of Austin. St. Pete is close in terms of laid back population and tons of athletes. Not as big of a city, though. I spent some time in Austin this past winter and felt at home with the small bar/restaurant scene and more of a hipster vibe. Clermont is very similar in terms of very laid back townies, but sometimes the townies and athletes don’t mix very well. There have been a number of cyclists clipped and hit. I would continue with my push for St. Pete if your barometer is Austin and HB (never been to HB, so can’t comment there).
I will be moving to South Florida due to job opportunity. However, I would still like to keep my triathlon training with me at Florida. Any chance any of you know the best area in the south of Florida to do the training. Luckly, for me, I am able to relocate anywhere in Florida, preferably south Florida so I am seeking for a location that provides the best fit for my triathlon training (cycle, running trail, and places to swim) Your input or experience with Florida will be appreciated.
I SO want to do this. No Income tax, warm weather… Love Ponte Vedra. Gues I’ll have to change the moniker to OldFatandSlow when I do…