I spent last Saturday and Sunday riding across the state of Florida and then some with Lauren and what an adventure we had! This is something we have wanted to do for a couple years and for one reason or another, haven’t been able to pull the trigger on the right weekend but this time it all came together. We set out to ride from Titusville to Clearwater Beach Florida which encompassed 221 miles.
Preparation
We wanted to do this together and with no assistance which meant we had to consider many things:
- What is the best route?
- How are we getting to the other side of the state to start?
- What nutrition do we need?
- What clothing do we need based on the weather?
- What bikes do we ride?
- What can we fit on the bikes and what will they fit in?
- Where is a good place to stay the night prior and how do we get from the rental car drop off to the hotel?
- Where is a good place to put up between the two days that is on or near our route?
- When do we need to start?
- When do we plan to arrive each day?
- What tools and supplies do we need to bring for the bike in case something goes wrong?
I’m probably forgetting some things but you get the idea. Planning had to happen and that’s what we did. I like that part and knowing that something always goes sideways so just knowing that going in helps. It would be an adventure… We rented a one-way rental SUV to Titusville Friday night setting us up for the weekend.
Day 1
It was a cold morning for our standards but not too bad in Titusville as we left the hotel biking a 1/2 mile to our starting point. We wore layers including pants, couple tops, gloves, and neck gaiters. We officially started our trip in the dark at 6:30 AM and quickly navigated to the East Central Regional Rail Trail heading north/north west as we were headed to go up and over Orlando.
Our fingers and toes were cold to start but it wasn’t too bad. We didn’t see another biker for 90 minutes and only came across a couple walkers too. It was a nice trail and got busier as we trekked north of Orlando and as we wrapped around Lake Monroe I made a navigation mistake that added five miles to our route. The mistake however gave us an opportunity to see how beautiful the Riverwalk Trail was on the southern most side of the lake.
We got back on the trail and now it was the Spring to Spring Trail, then the Seminole Wekiva Trail. We grabbed a quick smoothie and then headed to Winter Garden via the West Orange Trail. We were really hungry by the time we got to Winter Garden and as we were going through their downtown Lauren spotted a Burger Fi where we both enjoyed their plant-based burger, fries, and a tea.
At this point our pace was slower than planned. We were facing a strong head wind with some climbing already in play and it was going to get worse as we went through Clermont with their many hills. On top of this, it started to rain as we ventured through Clermont on the South Lake Trail. The radar looked awful too so at the time we were in Clermont at 3:30, we still had four hours left, strong winds, rain probably most of the way to the hotel in Bushnell, and it was going to be dark half way through the venture across the state on or near State Road 50.
We had several encounters with cars getting closer than we liked and we really pushed to get to the side roads (off of State Road 50). Within the last two miles we were on a back road heading to the hotel in Bushnell and it turned into a dirt road that was par for the course later in the day.
We powered through and rolled into the hotel at 7:30 PM with just over 130 miles in the books. I was hangry by this point. Thankfully there was a Beef o’ Brady’s in the parking lot adjacent to the hotel that had a plant-based option…wow! Lauren ordered the food and I worked on getting our clothes dry and recharging our lights, batteries, and phones – #team. We ate and collapsed asleep in exhaustion. Lauren was really sore in her quads and neck/shoulders and I was equally sore in my neck/shoulders along with a lower back annoying soreness but manageable.
Day 2
We both slept well and felt ready to go on Sunday and that was a change for Lauren from Saturday night where she didn’t know if her legs were going to respond when she woke up to go another hundred miles. She woke up feeling better from that aspect. Also, all things were pointing to a great 2nd day. We had slightly higher temperatures to start the day, little wind and what there was would be with us, no rain, sunny skies, and 30 less miles to go.
The positive vibes took a pause as soon as we walked out of the hotel at 7:00 AM where we were welcomed with an extremely dense fog. We laughed and knew we had about 5-6 miles on the road to get us to the trail. That 5-6 miles was a bit stressful with some of the narrow roads again. Once we entered the Withlacoochee State Trail we knew good things were coming. We ventured south merging into the Good Neighbor Trail and eventually the Suncoast Trail. We were moving at a good pace too with the absence of the headwinds, rain, and hills on Saturday.
Overnight as I was reflecting on the path we took from Clermont to Bushnell, it made me question how good the details of the downloaded path were. We were on more road than I anticipated later in the day and those details were an oversight on my part. That did help us on Sunday as knowing the Suncoast Trail, Hillsborough, and Pinellas County, I edited our path as we entered Tampa. Instead of cycling south wrapping around to and across the Courtney Campbell Causeway, we cut across west bound earlier attaching to the northern part of the Pinellas Trail that took us to our final destination of Clearwater Beach by 3:00 PM and shaved off 12 miles!
Celebration Time
When we climbed to the top of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway entering Clearwater Beach we got off our bikes and took a picture with the biggest smiles. We then cycled a few more miles to the Sandpearl Resort. We took a quick picture and I took an Uber home to get my car, drive back, and enjoy a celebration dinner at the Taste Island Grill on the beach via the Sandpearl Resort. What a beautiful setting. We shared our memories of the two days and felt so proud of what we did. It was just the two of us and the road/trail.
We finished dinner, walked out to the sand, and popped a bottle of champagne that I sprayed on Lauren and we both took a celebration sip. Over 221 miles and 21.25 hours from start to stop on the bikes in two days. That is an accomplishment and what is even more amazing is Lauren had zero bike legs in her to start. She hand’t been on a road or triathlon bike the entire year of 2025. We have horsed around on our hybrid bikes around town but that’s it. I never doubted her…I know her. Her experience from training and competing in ultra marathons and marathons on top of her determination got her to do this.
I am extremely happy we did it and what a life memory we created. Life Live Now I often say and one of my favorite songs by Better than Ezra, Live a Little, is something we did last weekend in a big way.
– Add Health to Your Life
*** Special thank you to Jesse, owner of The Bike Lab who set Lauren up with a fantastic safe bike. He has been an incredible partner this past year to me with my racing and I can’t wait to see what we do together to set up my racing bike for the 2026 season!
The Healthy Giraffe 
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