Adventure Cycling Association

We’ll begin our class with an orientation meeting to introduce you to your course advisors and the classmates with whom you’ll share your six-day adventure. There will be a discussion of the course schedule and general housekeeping rules. Once we are all acquainted and have a general idea of the course framework, we’ll prepare dinner and begin learning how to live on the road in comfort and style. After sharing our first meal, we’ll cover the week’s daily schedule, cooking rotations, group gear, and budgeting, among other topics essential to bike touring. Once we know the basics, it will be time to hit the hay.

At 7:00 AM sharp, it’s up and at ’em! Your leader will cook up breakfast before we all delve into discussions about group travel, equipment, and what we can expect to find on the road.

Following lunch, we’ll talk about how to buy and prepare food for a group, and then we’ll put some of this newly acquired knowledge to work on a short ride — a warm-up for our multi-day adventure that begins tomorrow. We’ll also stop at a grocery store and buy food for the next day. Learning what food to purchase and pack will be an important lesson; there’s almost nothing worse than a hungry cyclist! Returning to camp, we’ll enjoy an evening meal before settling in for discussions about the crucial skills of map reading, trip preparation, and preparing for inclement weather and roadside repairs. After another full day, it’s time to catch a few winks before we head out on tour tomorrow.

Today, we’ll load up all our gear, leave our campsite and head south. We leave the city and get to spend a large portion of our day on the St. Marks Trail bike path. We’ll shop for our food along the way, but if you’re feeling like you have some extra energy for the day, a 9 mile round trip ride from our campsite will bring you the town of St. Marks where you can visit the San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park.

We’re up and at it early today, putting our morning skills into practice as our cooking group sets out breakfast and lunch and we break down our camping gear and load our bikes. Leaving the campground, we’ll start with an out and back ride through the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to the St. Mark’s Lighthouse, the second-oldest light station in Florida. After taking some photos, we’ll backtrack a bit and ride some of the bike path along the Big Bend Scenic Byway Coastal Trail. We’ll overnight alongside the Ochlockonee River.

We’ll enjoy our ride today by taking the long way to our next campsite. To get there, we’ll first head south towards the Saint George Sound before turning east at the coast. We’ll take a detour to Bald Point State Park to spend a bit more time by the waters edge, then turn back north and find some more bike paths as we make our way to Sopchoppy.

On the last day of our tour, we’ll head back to Tallahassee, but not before the option of riding to Wakulla Springs, the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs. We can have lunch there and perhaps go for a swim or a boat tour. The boat ride will reveal alligators lounging on shore and on logs, and we may be able to catch a glimpse of a manatee or two. After field-testing all that you have learned on this four-day loop, you’ll arrive back at the starting point a seasoned bicycle touring veteran, ready for your next adventure.