The Georgia Loop

As I had previously mentioned, I am having to stray pretty far from Jacksonville in order to find some decent roads, and this one fits the bill rather perfectly. Whenever I would look at the map of Florida, I always wondered what was in the little nook in the northeast corner. Well, this entire ride pretty much encompasses that entire sector, and let me tell you, there is nothing out there. If for any reason that you need to get away from the world and have it be just you and your machine, this is the ride to take.

Heading west from Jacksonville, take the super exciting I-10 and take the first exit for Macclenny that you see. Follow this until you reach 121, then make a right and prepare yourself for a whole lot of nothing. This Okefenokee parkway is about as desolate a road as I have ever been on. As you can tell from the map, it is nothing but a straight shot ALL the way down to our next road. I thought that I may get lucky with a side road or something, but the most exciting thing that seemed to be along this road was a gigantic recreational mud pit as soon as you cross into Georgia. Other than that, be prepared to spend a lot of time contemplating the meaning of life along this stretch. Don't worry about missing 94, which you're going to take a left on to, because it just so happens to be the only legitimate paved road that you will come across. Take your left, and head down this nicely paced road with lush woods lining either side. The only breaks in the trees were by the occasional house and a giant timber harvesting factory that will be to the left. 94 has some gradual sweeping curves to save you from the monotony of Okefenokee as well. The next paved road that you will reach is 185, where we take another left. This road was great, as there were finally signs of civilization, since I was soon to be low on gas and there were some great views along the way. It's mostly farmland, but for some reason I found it quite nice to look at. Decent curves and some menial grades grace 185 making for a nice finish to quite a long ride. Follow this all the way down until 185 dead ends back into Okefenokee and head right, to come back home. This will lead you all the way back to the highway where you can grab a well needed bite to eat and gas up before the trek back to Jacksonville.

Not including the time it will take you to reach the starting point, this ride is a hefty 52 miles and will take roughly over an hour to complete.

Starting out, I was not going to give this ride a very high rating since Okefenokee parkway almost lulled me to sleep. After a while though i found myself enjoying it more and more because of the nearly complete solitude that this ride offers. I think I may have seen a whopping 10 cars total when I wasn't in or near a town. This gave me time to think about things that I haven't had time to think about lately and become a little more intimate with my motorcycle. I would highly recommend doing a good service or looking over of your ride before heading out on this one (as I had done), since the desolation that is so nice on this ride can also be your undoing if you were to break down.

A solid 4 out of 5 for this one. Definitely recommended.

The Hanna Park Ride

I'm not sure what my hopes were for this one, but in the back of my head I knew that I shouldn't be expecting too much. This is a good change of pace to get to the Mayport area, but I wouldn't go out of your way for this one. The destinations along the way are more interesting than the ride itself.

We will start going east from 9A on Merrill road. In all reality, you could take this road all the way down to where we will be ending, but where is the fun in that. Head down Merrill road first for a little bit after you get off the highway towards Fort Caroline road. This stretch will be your standard byway complete with regular traffic lights and idiot drivers. Take a left when you get to Fort Caroline and prepare yourself for the most enjoyable section of the ride. The first time I traveled this road, I was surprised to find that there were actually substantial hills, which added a little variation to the standard flat curves that I'm used too. Keep an eye out for Fort Caroline Park, which has a few nice walking trails right along the outlet of the St. Johns River as well as a real historic fort that you can take a look at. A little bit further down Fort Caroline on the left is Theodore Roosevelt park that has some more lengthy but excellent hiking trails that are so hilly you wont even feel like you are in Florida. After you pass the Monument road light, this where you might be able to open is up a little bit but there are a few neighborhoods and driveways to look out for. Enjoy the hills regardless. Follow this all the way down to where Merrill has turned into Mt. Pleasant road that will eventually turn into Wonderwood Dr. and head left. Here is where the fun stops, since you will take this all the way down to Hanna Park. There are a few nice views from the bridge over the start of the intra-coastal. If you do plan on actually going into Hanna Park, make sure you have a couple bucks to cover the entry fee. Look up the park's website for more detailed information. You'll find some nice hiking trails as well as beach access if that is what you're in the mood for.

A bit of a short ride at 11 miles from start to finish, it will take you about 21 minutes depending on the traffic. Depending on what time you choose to take the ride, traffic could be pretty bad since this road is a straight shot to Mayport Naval Base.

I'd have to give this ride a tough 3 twists of the throttle out of 5. The Fort Caroline loop saved it from a 2 as well as the views that the bridge offers. Nothing too exciting this time around. My next ride will reach out pretty far into the surrounding Jacksonville areas, so don't get too bored with me yet.

The Sawgrass Ride

I had high hopes for this ride. A riverside road followed by a nice winding section finished with a beach side cruise was expected, but that didn't happen. This is a ride to take if you are absolutely bored and just happen to be in the area. Wouldn't be one that I put on my list of regular cruises.

Our starting point today is shortly after you head south from JTB at Solana road. Get comfortable since you will be on this road a good portion of the ride. This is where I expected to be right alongside the intra-coastal, and in a way I was...only I was blocked by some impressively large houses. The speed limit here is decent, but there are tons of houses right off of the road. More than enough reason to take it easy to keep some of the older folk from pulling out in front of you as they leave their mansions. That is really all you're going to see here anyway, so you might as well just take your time and take a good look. I heard that there is a pretty good sea food joint by the name of Lulu's that is near the beginning of the straight section along the river. Follow Solana all the way down and follow the signs to get to Mickler's road. This is perhaps the most interesting stretch with some nice curves here and there, but again you'll have to handle blind driveways and neighborhood entrances. Basically you'll stay on this until you reach the beach and veer left. At this point you will be heading north back towards Jacksonville. On the map, this stretch looked like the promising beach side ride, but again you will be blocked by enormous houses and condos. While these are impressive to look at, they completely take away from the ride. Since there are so many and the road also runs alongside a golf course, the speed limit even gets reduced down to 15 mph for a long while. Follow this trail of unnecessary demonstrations of money until you reach Solana road again and take a left. This will take you back to 1A and another right will take you back towards JTB. If you miss Solana, don't sweat it since Ponte Vedra Blvd leads straight to 1A after a while.

If you do decide to go on this one, you're looking at 15 miles round trip with a run time of about 30 minutes depending on how aggressive you are and traffic. If you want to make it a little more interesting, try it at night. The dark can be quite enveloping in some areas.

Like a said before, I had high hopes for this one but I think this will have to be my first 1 out of 5. Boring roads with potentially good views blocked by enormous houses does not make for a good time. More posts are sure to follow, but I think my search for roads is going to have to extend more into the "surrounding areas" of Jacksonville now since I feel all leads have been exhausted now locally. Until next time, keep the shiny side up and be safe since we are well into the cold season now.