Alright so I’ll be visiting family and will be about a mile from this trail. I have run this trail a couple times and have seen many bikers on it as well… I am lookin to get a solid 50 -60 miler in on this trail… Can anyone tell me how long this trail is heading north from 54 to the end and back… also is this trail suitable for a ride down in the bars around 22mph… if I can remember it seems fairly wide… but alot of little curves and some blind corners… worried about other runners or bikers and possible collisions… just doesnt seem you would be able to look ahead at some sections and see what is coming…
42 miles end to end, I think. You can add more by taking the turn into Starkey Park if its not flooded. I use ride there a few times a week. Only time I would get out of aero was for the road crossings. Get an early start and carry lots of water.
i haven’t ridden it in a while but used to regularly. if you start at the 54 rest area you miss about the first mile so it’s just shy of 42 miles long. about 5 or so miles in there is an entrance to starky park. you can go in and back out to add a few miles. Or you can start in starky park if you want.
there are mile marker plates on the ground every mile.
The first intersection is almost 10 miles from 54 but then there are several after that. If you go on a weekday morning then there is a lot of traffic at the crossings (on ramps to highway) and you have to wait for the light. early morning weekends there is very little traffic.
Other than the intersections it is fine for 22mph in the areo bars. the curves are not too sharp and most people stay on the proper side, it’s plenty wide. We had no problems with group rides going pretty fast. you will see small packs out there on weekends - it gets pretty busy - passing can be tricky. weekdays it’s dead and you might not see a soul.
there is a ball park with restrooms about 20 miles in. they had soda machines also but often they were broke. other than that there is no place to stop for water/food and there is no shade.
enjoy, i’ll be back there in November…
As the previous poster responded, the trail is 42 miles long, and by starting at the SR 54 parking lot, you’re starting at about the 2.5 mile mark. If you head north from 54, you have ~ 10 miles until you cross another major road (SR 52) and then there are about 3 smaller road crossings before you get to Anderson Snow trail head which is ~ mile marker 22 (it’s a big baseball park and you can ride a little sidewalk off the trail and go hit the restrooms and water fountains). You can ride a few more miles north and turn around at the SR 50 trailhead and turn back and repeat. That should give you your desired 50-60 mile ride. There are a few water stations on the trail, but they sometimes are empty so bring plenty of water.
You can definitely ride at those speeds in your aerobars, but be prepared when you go around the infrequent blind curves. It is usually not a problem, but I’ve certainly had some close calls. If you’re riding on a weekday, it’ll be pretty dead out there so no worries, but the weekends can be crowded,
you type faster than me.
too much coffee
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Ok after reading all that I am begining to think if there is somewhere else to ride without having to stop several times for traffic… I always try to ride with minimal stops to replicate race conditions… any open state roads that are pretty safe in the area?? minimal traffic, decent bike lane, and clean of debris, and are known to have cyclists??
Thx guys for all your input
In my opinion, you would be crazy to choose to ride the open road vs. the trail. There really aren’t many stops on the trail at all. The few street crossings are not bad and rarely require that you unclip and come to a complete stop. SR 52 would be the only possible “stop” you would encounter in your 50-60 mile ride (the other 2-3 roads are minor country-type road with very little traffic). However, there are certainly good rides if you forego the trail, but I imagine you’ll have to more distractions and stops on the open roads.
x2. Stick to the trail. The road crossings are few and have several miles between. The roads there are high speed limit with lots of elderly, meth heads, and rednecks.
10-4
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X3 for the suncoast. but - if you are there on the weekend there is a good loop in San Antonio (Florida) which is just down SR 52 about 12 miles. Lots of people meet out there for group rides, especially sundays. rolling hills, minimal traffic and stops. lots of good riders.
If you want 60 miles of no traffic stops you can bounce between SR54 and 52 (10 miles) three times but you’ll have to turn around on a 12-15’ paved trail 5 times.
There’s also the Withlacoochee Trail. About the same distance. (46 miles). Less crowded. A little flatter overall. It starts a little east of 75 on 50 if I remember.
I loved riding there when we lived in Citrus County. Miss it every time I have to ride in and around Houston.
Mike
fyi - The trail is notorious for changing wind directions… Wind from the south or southwest could mean strong heads winds on your return leg.