The Zoo Loop: Updated

Hey there folks! Sorry for the hiatus, but things have been rather busy and extracurricular rides have been at a minimum. I have done a few, which I will add eventually, but I have mostly been doing the same ones previously written about with my fiancee' since we finally got her her own motorcycle! This particular route was one that she had put together when we were doing our first test rides of her motorcycle since it has everything from traffic, highway, and twisties. Its a decent clip and is actually quite enjoyable.

Our starting point for this ride begins where Baymeadows Rd. meets 9A (now known as 295, but it will always be considered 9A to me). No matter if you come from north or south, you will want to head away from the restaurants and towards the apartments complexes. This is a bit of a residential road, but as with any road here, traffic depends on what time you decide to pass through. Follow this nice curvy road to get yourself warmed up and in tune. There is a sharp left where Baymeadows and Gate Parkway dead end into each other. Take this particularly fun left onto Gate, then take the ramp and get onto 9A north. This is probably best section of highway in Jacksonville, so enjoy it while you can. Follow this north and you will reach the Dames Point Bridge.

After you go over the Dames Point, get off at the first exit you see, which will be Heckscher Dr/Zoo Parkway. Take a left towards the zoo for a decent ride, but keep an eye out for large trucks since the distribution centers for gas stations are on this road as well as the Jacksonville Zoo. Its a nice wiggly road that also offers some nice views here and there. Take Zoo Parkway until you run into I-95 and head south. Prepare for a not so wonderful ride down this stretch since it is the "main vein" through Jacksonville and it seems that every questionable driver likes to congregate here. Stay on 95 past downtown and over the Fuller Warren Bridge. This bridge offers some great views of the city, so if you are riding 2-up make sure your passenger has a camera handy. The highway after you get through downtown gets extremely rough, as there has been quite a bit of very bad construction going on for a while.

Get off at J. Turner Butler and take a left. Make sure you are in the rightmost turn lane since you're going to be taking a quick right onto Salisbury Rd. When I mean quick, I mean QUICK, so keep your head on a swivel. Take Salisbury down to A.C. Skinner and head left. After you pass the A.C. Skinner and Belfort intersection, the rest of this ride is probably one of the most fun rides I've done. A.C. Skinner is an excellent curvy back road, but has a few apartments along the way. Pass over Southside Blvd on A.C. Skinner and follow it through the little business district to Gate Parkway again. Head right and take this nice sweeping section all the way to 9A, then head in your respective direction home.

This ride is roughly 42 miles long and depending on traffic and how aggressive you get on the twisties, will take somewhere around an hour.

3 out of 5 for this one. The "twisties" are fun and the highway sections can be scenic, but some sections of the highway are downright terrible and full of extremely bad drivers.

Update:

Much of this route is under some sort of construction, especially the highway portions. If it gets to be too much, there are plenty of surface roads to get around the nasty parts. There is an IKEA at the starting point now, which can serve as a very obvious meeting spot if you're riding with a group. Right up the road is Sippers, one of my favorite cafes in town. That could also serve as a good meeting spot, if you're that kind of person. The worst part, in my opinion, is A.C. Skinner road. It used to be a nice wooded stretch that wound parallel to JTB. Apartments are now sprouting up all along it and it looks like there are more to come. One has to travel farther and farther to get some quiet around here lately. If you're in the mood for some offroad action, you'll be passing Imeson Park as you travel down Zoo Parkway. Click here for more information on Imeson but DO NOT try Imeson if you're on street-only bike.

- For more information on Sippers, visit their Facebook page and/or their Yelp page.

- Follow this link to download the .GPX file from dualsportmaps.com

The San Jose Ride: Updated

Depending on the time of day you choose to do this ride, it can either be rather enjoyable or a nightmare. It can be a pleasant late evening or Saturday jaunt, but avoid making it part of your Sunday list of things to do since there are loads of churches along the way. The Friendship Fountain, a prominent Jacksonville landmark, is where we will be starting today. It isn't that hard to find, but if there is any confusion, try looking up The Museum of Science and History or River City Brewing Company, as they are right next to it. There are plenty of picture opportunities before you even get started here. Now we go around the roundabout and head south on San Marco Blvd. At the start, this road will be quite rough going over railroad tracks and dealing with lights, but it won't last that long. For the time being, there will be detours that take you around some construction on San Marco, but it is acceptable since there are nice houses along the way and it takes you by a great vista of the St. Johns River. Once you get to San Marco Square, you will know. I recommend that you stop and take a look at some of the local Jacksonville businesses or maybe even stop for a bite to eat depending on when you're passing through. Continue on until San Marco merges into Hendricks Ave and follow this for a bit. Now you can either veer right to go on a nice curvy section of San Jose or choose to stay on Hendricks. The San Jose bit is fun, but if you are making this a night ride, there is an impressive stained glass display on a church that will be to your left if you stay on Hendricks, but you can always figure it out to where you can see both if you'd like. Regardless of which way you choose to take, you will end up back on the main stretch of San Jose. For a while now, you will have to deal with a standard busy boulevard until we reach the next nice section. There are plenty of shopping centers and restaurants along the way if you feel the need to stop and take a breather from Jacksonville drivers. Keep heading south until you see Roberts Rd. This is where the second nice section begins. San Jose goes from six lanes across down to two and leads to an excellent windy stretch, with the signs to prove it. There isn't much to see here, as it is quite sleepy and wooded, but still fun nonetheless. The end of our ride is at the junction of San Jose and S.R. 16. Taking a right will lead you to Green Cove while going straight will take you the back way to St. Augustine.

Roughly 28 miles with be added to your bike if you stick to this route and can take you about 50 minutes to an hour if you make it a straight shot and depends heavily on the traffic along the way between San Marco and Roberts Rd.

I think this one will be our first 2 out of 5 twists of the throttle. If the middle section could be removed and the San Marco and area south of Roberts Rd. could be butted right up next to each other, it would make for a much shorter ride, but much more enjoyable overall. Still one to take if you are absolutely itching for a ride.

Update: A Jacksonville is growing, the infrastructure needs to grow with it. There is plenty of construction (which translates into unwanted traffic) in the northern stretch of this ride. Be patient. Even the locals don't even know what to do sometimes. I have also included a waypoint that is worth stopping for once you get further south. Twisted Compass is a locally owned cafe and they serve up a pretty mean latte'. More development is happening south of Switzerland, too, so be wary of construction vehicles leaving and entering the roadway.

Happy riding!

Click this link to get to the .GPX file on dualsportmaps.com.

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.

The Riverside Ride: Updated

This was one of the first roads that I found that was an extremely enjoyable scenic ride. On later posts I will add the map pictures, like this one, as well as a picture of a prominent land mark or street sign that would mark the start of the ride. Let us begin... I wouldn't make it the center piece of your riding day due to it's brevity, but it does make a nice aside. Starting at Ortega Blvd from Roosevelt Blvd just north of Jacksonville Naval Air Station this ride, depending on your speed, can take anywhere from 15-25 minutes. Starting in a more residential area, you will pass by some of the oldest and most beautiful homes in Jacksonville. There are some nice curves along this road that can keep things interesting as you look around. After following Ortega Blvd, you will take a left onto Grand avenue and continue on for a spectacular view of downtown Jacksonville from the Ortega Bridge. There is a small park right after the bridge where you can stop and take a breather or just take some pictures. Continuing on, take a right onto Herschel St. for a short bit, then take a right onto St. Johns Ave. There are a nice set of twisties here, but again, this is a highly residential area, so take care if you decide to take them at extra-legal speeds. These are loads of fun on my SV. You will find the historic Avondale and Riverside Districts along this part of the ride, as well as Historic Five-Points if you decide to search around for yourself. Some of the most beautiful houses and shops in town are on these roads. Finishing up the ride, you will pass the Cummer Art Museum and head out to the highway or to downtown Jacksonville.

On a scale of 1 to 5 twists of the throttle, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best, I give this road a 4, due to some rough areas in the road and the multitude of old, slow drivers that can throw a wrench in the twisties.

Update:

This ride is still one that my wife and I still enjoy taking. The Ortega bridge is sometimes under construction since it's pretty old, but there will be plenty of detour signs to reroute you. More excellent restaurants have popped up along the way, so lunch or dinner options are not lacking. Bold Bean coffee roasters is up a quick left on Stockton St. if you fancy a cup of joe on your ride. It's one of the best establishments in town, in my opinion.

For more information on Bold Bean, visit their website.

Follow this link to download the .GPX file from dualsportmaps.com