Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail: A Cycling Adventure

#floridac2c #statebicycleco #exploreyourstate #cycletouring #floridacycling
Come along with me on a two day cycling trip on the Florida Coast-to-Coast trail - a series of trails and roads stretching from Titusville to St. Petersburg, FL. The weather wasn't great, but I still had a really good time!
Check out the ride on Strava:
Day 1: www.strava.com/activities/10213626653
Day 2: www.strava.com/activities/10217994651
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Follow me on Instagram: @ericbarnettcycling
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Equipment used:
Bike: State Bicycle Co. 6061 Aluminum All-Road (use my referral code @ for 10% off)
Cycling computer: Garmin Edge 1040 Solar: amzn.to/40KeXJS
Heartrate monitor: Garmin Dual HR: amzn.to/3UejcL3

[@fgewfee]

Love the cycling trails you have in US! 👍👍 Great vídeo!!

[@newoldsteel]

Awesome vid! Watched the whole thing! Definitely a bucket list for me to do that ride, but ugh, some of the sketchy roads with barely a shoulder…that’s all I’m riding out here 😵‍💫

[@ericbarnettcycling]

It's definitely a trail to do! They are working on a patch along the sketchy part - hopefully it'll be completed soon. I've ridden along many a road in my day, but the construction section with the barrels was particularly rough...

[@TrekMTBikeRider]

Winter Garden is a pretty town. Years ago, I got stopped by Five-O on my bike on that same stretch of path in the center of town for not stopping at a stop sign.

[@ArmandGirard]

Must have been the officer having a bad day and wanting to take it out on someone. I ride through Winter Garden on the West Orange Trail often and haven't had a problem yet (I may have just jinxed myself 😁)

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Yeah, I'll definitely stop next time. Gotta look for the fuzz before blowing the stop signs, lol

[@plastdesign3181]

Great job 😊; Very inspiring

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@FollowThomas]

It's good to see familiar places again. I rode C2C just a few weeks ago but I took the Richloam WMA instead of SR-50 but you did a lot of miles, almost could have done it in one day, that's insane 😎.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks Thomas! When I set out I was thinking about trying the whole thing in one day, but I chose probably the worst day to do it. I actually wish I’d taken 3-4 days and enjoyed myself more. They’re working on a bike trail that runs next to Rt 50. I hope to do it again once that is finished. Some of those detours look great, too! Cheers!

[@FollowThomas]

@@ericbarnettcycling Would be challenging to ride the all 250 miles in one day but it's probably doable. My personal record is 192 miles/day, maybe I should try. I'm looking forward to them finishing the SR-50 work then I will probably ride the C2C again.

[@printerror]

@@FollowThomas You should come do the Kings Road gravel ride with us in October! 210 miles from Steinhatchee to Flagler Beach. I'm hoping to do it in one day this year, which would be my own personal best.

[@paceline]

Great job on the editing! 👍🏿

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thank you! 😁

[@paul6894]

I liked your video. That bear was crazy. I have seen a hog, turtles and alligators, but never a bear. Yesterday, I saw a snake. Thanks for making the video.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks! Tons of wildlife in FL - surprised I didn’t see any gators!

[@breelewis7155]

I did this trail this past year on roller skates, it took me 6 days ( 40 ish miles a day) it was really nice I want to do it again.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Roller skates, wow! That sounds so hard. Did you do the Rt 50 portion or take a different way around that?

[@Pogoc7]

such a nice bike...TUBELESS!!!

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Haha. I do have one wheel set for my road bike set up tubeless - just don't know enough to do it on my touring bike.

[@dans.5095]

Very nice narration and info. I plan on doing g this next March.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks! Have fun - I wish I had taken more time and enjoyed myself more. Maybe next time!

[@leetramp]

The C2C trail is on my list to do one of these days. Thanks for sharing your incites and exerperiences.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks! You'll enjoy it. I believe that they are working on adding a bike path to the RT 50 section. That and Orlando were the only two sketchy parts. Check the weather!

[@AdamJennison]

I'm just checking to see if everything is all right, I've just seen some of the videos of flooding in Charleston and I'm hoping you've not been affected? Btw.. great video, they look like lovely trails. You should pop across to UK and try the C2C, it's slightly hillier but I'm sure it'll rain over here too so you'll feel at home 🙂 Though it may be slightly cooler

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Hey man, sorry for the belated reply. We did alright in the flooding, though there was more today! (Still good)

[@laurippt]

Nice video! Looked like a great ride! That was a pretty big bear, wow😮 I wouldn’t have been expecting to see that along the trail. The trails looked awesome, but the roads - yikes. That’s the thing about bike trips - I’ve found so often that I plan for too many miles and there isn’t the time to spend exploring around the places I’m traveling through… gotta slow down and enjoy the areas sometimes, getting better at that

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks Lauri! You hit the nail on the head - I planned on too many miles! Next time I’ll take my time and enjoy myself more. Need to be able to switch my brain from race mode to fun mode!

[@lee-cycling]

Really enjoyed the video, Eric. Great footage, great story and pacing, and great editing. And just cool to see you enjoying the bike. That SR50 stretch looked really hairy. I've been riding indoors so long now that I've lost my road legs. I'd have chickened out of that bit, i think. You're a brave fella. Hope you get to do more trips like this and put out similar content. It's nice to see this side of the US. I really had no idea there were pockets with this kind of bike-friendly infrastructure.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thank you, Lee & sorry for the belated reply. Super busy with life, lately. The trip was enjoyable, though I would’ve had more fun taking 3 or 4 days to do the ride instead of 2. There are more paths under construction to replace the road sections, but they’re a year or two from completion. I hope to make it back once those are done. Hope all is well with you!

[@MichaelSnasdell]

Makes me wanna jump on a plane and head over now! Lovely video mate, and I am all the more determined to do a ride there now. You really did pick a great day to start. Got to love Florida weather.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Come on over, but check that weather report first, lol! I wish I'd taken 3-4 days and done it in a more relaxing way. (and of course in good weather)

[@MichaelSnasdell]

@@ericbarnettcycling haha come do it again. With me this time.

[@MarkyMarkZwifts]

Man, you have some great cycle paths over there, not too sure about the bears though! That looked like an amazing ride Eric and lots of fun, shame about the weather at the start but some of those places you were cycling through looked amazing 😍. Hope you're keeping well mate.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks Mark! It was nice - I have to remind myself to get out of ride fast mode, sometimes. I hope to ride it again sometime in the future! Hope all is well

[@idontnkow]

I want to do this when weather is nicer but I'm not sure about logistic yet. Gotta figure out how to get to point A and getting picked up at point B.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

My wife came in clutch on the pickup, though that's a favor I have to pay back with interest!

[@OhioMTBTrails]

That rain looked absolutely miserable. Glad you didn't get eaten by a bear!

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Haha, don't know if it was visible on my face, but there were moments I wasn't having a very good time!

[@pazfinanceirausa]

Excelent! I wanna make it too.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

You should!

[@garysladek9110]

Very nice ride. Thanks for showing and sharing it. Here in Michigan, there is a one day ride across the state every year. It is on roads but mostly low traffic. Indiana and illinois also have them. Cheers.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

It is a really nice path. I'm moving back to Ohio sometime this year - I'll have to check out the MI, IN, & IL rides!

[@garysladek9110]

@@ericbarnettcycling the MI ride is ODRAM. One day ride across Michigan.

[@LeoCandido-lg6vp]

Hey Eric, great video! I will be doing the C2C sometime in July in a single day. Could you please share the file of the route you took? I appreciate you posting this.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Good luck with the C2C! My only two cents is that I wish I had taken longer! I feel like I missed so much beauty and nature just trying to hammer down, though I completely get striving for the challenge of a single day. I'm pretty sure the route I programmed into my Garmin was this one: ridewithgps.com/routes/31802446 Also, here are the links to my Strava activities: www.strava.com/activities/10213626653 www.strava.com/activities/10217994651 Be sure to research the Rt 50 stretch. It's super sketchy. Also, I took some extra turns in Orlando that I'm sure were unnecessary. There is a good Facebook group about the C2C that is more up-to-the-minute about the trail and closures and such.

[@Alan-Turnbull]

Great video Eric, how are you doing? Fully recovered now i hope 🤞

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks Alan! I'm doing well - recovered from illness, but far from peak form. I've got a lot going on with work, moving, gigging, going back to school, etc - so, I've had to come to terms with not being as good on the bike as I could be with more time. Even on the long Zwift rides, I have Zwift on a small screen while I'm taking classes on the big screen, so it's a lot of junk miles. Keeping my base intact, though.

[@paulfitz6614]

Very jealous about the quality of this ride. Nothing like this where I am.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Is really is a nice trail. Gotta give the folks that organized the route lots of credit.

[@Bicycleprincess]

Was going to do half the C2C trail and back from St Pete..got to Route 50 and said OH HELL NO. They need to hurry up and finish that section of trail 😅

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Yeah, it was so sketchy - especially with the road construction. Once it's finished, the C2C will be perfect.

[@printerror]

The detour down through Richloam is amazing if you're cool with dirt and gravel. I've been through there a few times and love it. ZERO cars.

[@Bicycleprincess]

@@ericbarnettcycling can’t wait. It will nice to do a ride that doesn’t end in a sandy graveyard where cell phone service goes to die

[@Bicycleprincess]

@@printerror I thought I was taking that way but the “road” was unrideable loose sand and not gravel where none of my GPS devices could get a signal. My freakout level was way high.

[@printerror]

@@Bicycleprincess There are a few known routes through there. Check out Follow Thomas or HBC Outdoors, both posts pretty good routes. I'm using HBC's on my 400 mile "Tour de Flor-ida" in a few weeks.

[@user-zq5ro2op8d]

Great video could you tell us on what trail the bear was? I would definitely want to keep an eye out.

[@ericbarnettcycling]

I can't recall exactly where the bear was, but I'm pretty sure it was on the East Central Regional Trail near Cow Creek. Be vigilant, though. I'm sure there is the potential for bears and alligators in many of the wooded areas of the trail.

[@thegoodwheel]

Well done!

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Thanks!

[@StephenRivers]

Hey dude! Hope you're well! Haven't seen ya in a bit, if you wanna spin around on zwift sometime lmk. Also two races planned for this year... Arkansas BDB in Sept - Colorado Triple Bypass

[@ericbarnettcycling]

Best of luck in the races! I've been off the bike while moving 700 miles, but I'll be back in Zwift and on the roads soon.

[@markbeacham2232]

Is Brooks a saddle you’ve ridden a lot?

[@brianfisher8449]

What’s the best source for finding a gpx file for this route? Nice ride!

[@ericbarnettcycling]

I'm fairly sure this is the one I used: ridewithgps.com/routes/31802446 Do your own research regarding the Rt 50 stretch, though. There's a really good Facebook group about the trail.