travel

Biking along 30A

December 2, 2020 /

We rented bikes for the week during our vacation at the beach. This was one of the main reasons I wanted to find a rental on this stretch of beach, because I knew from past experiences how easy the bike trail was to access and how we could have varied rides during our stay. While we do have bikes, we chose to rent because we knew the salt air and the occasional dirt/sand paths would not be gentle on our bikes and bike gears. Renting bikes for our whole family (5 bikes and a wohoo attachment for the toddler) for 5 days was definitely a big part of our budget.

State Park Ride

Our first ride started a little chilly (therefore the layers) but ended up a balmy 70 degree. We chose a shorter ride and we estimate we rode about 10 miles. The going is mostly flat along 30A which makes it family friendly.

Since I am used to pulling my youngest along, and the bike shop was out of trailer, he rode in a woohoo. It was fun for him as he felt like he was riding the bike and had a good view of everything. The only thing he did not like was when I would stop and get off the bike: the bike did fall over once and that scared him!

We ended up at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and rode aroud there for a little bit. It was neat so see the different plants growing. I can always tell when we are in Florida by the vegetation.

The different types of palms are always interesting and there are always pines of different types too.

This picture is courtesy of the 3 year old: I thought he did a pretty good job and this blue sky is a good representation of the majority of the weather we had all week.

Small Towns

The next two rides we took where through the small towns of Seaside and Watercolor which have really pretty houses and some back trails and parks.

While the main bike trail is paved, we came across a couple of paths (off the beaten path( that were wood or sandy). The boys really enjoyed the variety. I also was pleased with how much shade we had for most of our ride… Well not where we took this pictures.

There are 11 dune lakes along scenic 30A and are a nice variety in landscape. This one was in Watercolor and the bridge we rode was really neat with these glass blown lamps along it.

On the last day we decided to see how far we could go. My goal was Deer Lake State Park which was 9 miles form our condo and with some complaining, we made it. We had a picnic we we got there. The total for that ride was a little over 18 miles because once again we added some back roads in Seaside and even stopped to play at the playground there.

Of course the off road trails were the boys favorites. Not so much for me with pulling a 30 pound child behind me!

So while a third of our vacation’s budget (not including the rental) was for the bikes, it was sure worth it. Exercise, scenery, and family time were worth it!

The rest of our budget was for food: I have never spent so much money on food for one week! Between Florida prices (yikes, : shopping at Publix about killed me) and buying meat to grill as well as condiments, etc, I was having a hard time fathoming how money was going so fast on food!

Come back on Friday for a little tour of Alys Beach: that resort town is absolutely gorgeous!

A bientôt!

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