FLORIDA Bike tour pedals a different view

Cyclists rode through wildlife-rich coastal marshes, sun-drenched beaches and lush forest canopies.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Moderation in temperatures, insect activity and rainfall make April an ideal time to visit northern and central Florida, and riding a bicycle is a good way to experience the rich variety of scenery.
"You can depend on beautiful weather in April," said Linda Crider of Gainesville, founder and president of Bike Florida, an annual vacation cycling and camping tour that serves as a fund-raiser for the Share the Road bicycle safety education campaign.
Earlier this month, 850 cyclists from 39 states and three foreign countries, whose average age was 50, embarked on Bike Florida 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This year's six-day, rain-free event, which included a four-day option, began with the cyclists watching a spectacular launch from Cape Canaveral of the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, which is to complete its 286-million-mile journey to the red planet Oct. 24. It was one of more than 25 launches from the cape scheduled for this year.
Much to see: After the late-morning launch traffic cleared, cyclists rode out the seven-mile causeway to visit the Kennedy Space Center, where a bus tour of the sprawling launch complex costs $25. Ideally, visitors should devote an entire day to the Kennedy Space Center to fully enjoy the bus tour, museum and courtyard displays and IMAX films.
But seeing launch facilities isn't the only reason to visit Cape Canaveral. The launch center is in the midst of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to more endangered species than any other refuge in the nation.
Inhabitants of Merritt Island and nearby waters include egrets, blue herons, pelicans, bald eagles, manatees and dolphins. Some of the 5,000 alligators estimated to inhabit the area were plainly visible to cyclists in and around the space center's roadside canals.
The road not taken: "The way we plan the routes, we look for the back country roads and the roads that take you to more of the natural Florida," Crider said.
"On a bicycle, you just get a whole different perspective that's slow and easy," said Thomas Juskiewicz of Orlando, Bike Florida executive director. "We stress having fun on the bike and off the bike."
After a night of camping on the grounds of Titusville High School, the second day of the ride featured a close look at several manatees from the Haulover Canal observation deck along Kennedy Parkway just north of the space center.
Further along the route, cyclists caught a glimpse of dolphins near New Smyrna Beach before the tour headed inland to Deland for two nights of camping at Stetson University. The layover day allowed for a day of rest or optional out-and-back loop tours to Blue Spring, DeLeon Springs and Hontoon Island state parks.
The group then cycled over back roads to Flagler Beach for two nights at a commercial campground, again experiencing a layover day for rest or optional out-and-back tours to beaches and state parks.
Beach biking: The final day took the tour over beachfront roads, with an option to cycle along a parallel bicycle trail or on the beach itself into St. Augustine -- the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in North America -- where the tour ended.
The three required days of cycling ranged from 49 to 69 miles per day, generally over level terrain, with cyclists' luggage being taken by truck from one campground to the next. The touring cyclists passed through coastal marshes, along sun-drenched beaches, and under thick forest canopies and past orange and grapefruit groves and horse, cattle, pig and fern farms.
Although the tour attempts, wherever possible, to use lightly-traveled back roads, it must, in some instances, use main roads, including U.S. Route 1.
Cyclists on this tour should be sure to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, apply ample sunscreen to protect against the intense Florida sun, use insect repellent and keep tent doors shut to keep insects away, and observe alligators at a distance, Crider said. Most snakes aren't poisonous, she added.
This year's tour cost less than $200, including the full meal plan; and the round-trip Greyhound bus fare for almost door-to-door service from Youngstown to Florida was less than $200, including transportation of a dismantled bicycle in a box.
For more information, contact Bike Florida, P.O. Box 451514, Kissimmee, Fla., 34745, or visit its Web site at www.bikeflorida.org.
XThe writer was one of this year's Bike Florida cyclists.