The 7 Bridges Ride

If you ever decide to visit Jacksonville, this ride is a must do. The idea behind this one is to take you over all 7 of the bridges that Jacksonville is well known for. I recommend that you ride 2-up or have a safe camera set-up in order to take some pictures along the way. It's a fun drive if you're in a car as well. For the sake of simplicity, I've set up the quickest route, but if you do decide to stray, (which I would recommend), you should find your way back since it is also the easiest. Starting at the Heckscher Dr and 9A, head south to cross our first bridge, The Dames Point or Napoleon Bonaparte, depending on who you ask. This large suspension bridge offers some great views all around and is just cool to ride over. Suspension bridges are much better to experience on a motorcycle than in a car in my opinion. Continue south on 9A and get off at the Arlington Expressway/Atlantic Blvd exit and head towards the expressway. Stay on this road until you reach bridge #2, the Matthews. One of the best views of Jacksonville can be seen on the downside of this bridge heading towards downtown. Get off at MLK Jr Parkway South exit towards Gator Bowl Blvd You will pass right next to Jacksonville's own Everbank Stadium. Don't get ahead of yourself here since you're going to take a quick left onto Duval St. and right onto the road to the Hart bridge, #3 on our trip. Nothing too spectacular here since you're heading away from downtown at this point. Head off on Atlantic Blvd after you cross the bridge and follow it to a short stint on 95 to the exit for the Main St. Bridge, our #4. From here you will see the Friendship Fountain, MOSH, and the Jacksonville Landing. You will be in the heart of downtown after you cross, so be extremely aware of your surroundings. Take a left when you reach East Beaver St and follow it to 95 south. Ignore the plethora of exit signs you will see and stay on 95 south to cross bridge #5, the Fuller Warren. Take the exit for the Acosta bridge, #6, after you cross. This bridge offers one of the best views of downtown Jacksonville, hands down. This section may be a little confusing, so I provided a zoomed in view of this section of the ride. Take the Riverside exit after this bridge. I've integrated "The Riverside Ride" into this one, so refer to my previous post for this section of the ride. After you've completed "The Riverside Ride", head south on Roosevelt Blvd then get onto 295 south toward St Augustine. Stay on 295 to cross the Buckman, our 7th and final bridge. Our ride ends at the juncture of 295/9A and 95.

46 miles will be added to your odometer if you strictly stay on this route, but there are numerous things along the way that you may want to alter the route to see and add a couple more miles here and there. With no stops, this ride can take just over an hour, but if you are visiting, there is no reason to make this an all day trip as you will be seeing all of Jacksonville. If you do decide to make it a straight shot, make this a weekend ride or after 7 on the weekdays to avoid most of the traffic.

4 out of 5 twists for this one, not because of the ride itself, but for the loads of terrible Jacksonville drivers that you will probably encounter.