Coasting

By ALAN SNEL Tribune correspondent

Published: May 6, 2007

When you think of the travel hot spots along State Road A1A - Florida's signature ocean road - places such as funky Key West, exotic South Beach and luxurious Palm Beach come to mind. Even Cocoa Beach's "hey, dude" surfing culture and the relaxed laid-back scene at Jensen Beach and Stuart Beach in Martin County are known to Sunshine State travelers.

But if you need to take a travel chill pill along A1A, saunter at your own pace and enjoy splendid, uncluttered ocean scenery while not worrying about raucous crowds, do I have a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean for you?

It's the segment from Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona Beach, to the historic and touristy St. Augustine.

Along these 47 miles, you will find undeveloped stretches of dunes and sprawling palmetto, lovely parks, easy access to beaches, an oak-laden town named Hammock and the Matanzas Inlet - a confluence conjuring up the watery images and bridges that connect the Keys.

And the best way to soak this all up?

By bicycle, of course.

On a January Sunday morning, I drove 2 1/2 hours from Tampa to Ormond Beach, took my Trek 5200 road bike out of the car and pedaled north to St. Augustine for a 94-mile round trip. The winds were blasting out of the south, so I had an easy ride north. But the ride from St. Augustine was 47 miles of head winds - a workout I won't forget for a while.

I've done this bike ride twice - years ago. And I wanted to bike again through Hammock, that (dare I say it?) rustic and quaint community amid old oaks. Yes, trees and woods along A1A. For five miles, A1A runs parallel to the Atlantic beaches about a quarter-mile inland - one of the few fully wooded stretches of the road along Florida's east coast.

Tree-lined A1A in Hammock was still there - with a new Publix supermarket and several art galleries and a wine-and-cheese store that didn't exactly draw the biker crowd (I'm talking about those on hogs; not motorless two-wheelers like me) I saw in Flagler Beach and at several bars just south of St. Augustine Beach.

Helen, a friendly Publix baker, gave me two chocolate chip cookies and bemoaned more development carving into Hammock's rich oaks.

But what also impressed me this time was how close A1A runs next to the beach and the clear views of the Atlantic. It was almost disorienting not having plain-colored condos, cheesy apartments and fancy houses on the ocean to block the unencumbered vistas - especially in the Flagler Beach area.

Two great parks to visit are between Ormond Beach and Flagler Beach: North Peninsula State Park and Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach. A1A cuts through North Peninsula's 900 acres of unspoiled, undeveloped land, with the palmettos allowed to grow next to A1A to help as a storm buffer.

Just a few miles north is Gamble Rogers, where camping is $23 a spot and admission is $4 per car.

"It is a hope it stays that way," a friendly woman who works at Gamble Rogers said of the undeveloped land along the ocean.

She noted that although the state owns some of the undeveloped land, several land companies own other parcels that might be developed one day.

Flagler Beach was about 14 miles into the day's journey. It has a funky ocean feel to the town, which offers a pier into the Atlantic and several pubs and coffee houses in the small business district.

Flagler Beach leads to Beverly Beach, home to a large RV site on the oceanside. A row of large houses lead to Hammock

People like to say they live, "in the Hammock," said Helen, my cookie-offering baker friend at Publix.

The oaks offer a lovely buffer - and it's hard to believe you're biking on the famed A1A ocean road when you're in this community. A wonderful state park called Washington Oaks Garden State Park is the final stop in Hammock when heading north - just two miles south of Marineland.

Marineland is one of those Florida originals - home to the world's first oceanarium, where you can hang with dolphins. The Dolphin Conservation Center traces its roots to 1938, when the former marine studio for underwater cinematography was born. It's hard to believe the dolphin tourist attraction, which was so quiet when I visited this Sunday morning, was Florida's top theme park more than 40 years ago - B.D. (Before Disney).

For those looking to catch fish, there's the Matanzas Inlet just north of Marineland. The stretch of A1A in the inlet area is a great place to relax, cast a line and check out the water that seems to spill every where. Several bridges on A1A get you close to this convergence of the Matanzas River, inlet and Atlantic.

Once past the inlet, stop by the Fort Matanzas National Monument, which can tell you about the area where the Spanish killed 245 French Huguenots in 1565. It led to the naming of the inlet and the river as "matanzas," Spanish for slaughter. Around 1740, the Spanish built this fort to protect the inlet from watery attackers who might sneak up on St. Augustine through the back door. The cool part is that the National Park Service charges no fees to enter the site or take the 35-passenger ferry to the watchtower fort.

Another 10 miles of condos and apartments passed until I reached St. Augustine Beach, and another few miles until reaching the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and St. Augustine Lighthouse on the northern end of Anastasia Island.

Then, I pedaled over the short bridge being used during the Bridge of Lions rehabilitation project and reached that famous, old place known as St. Augustine, which even with its corny souvenir shops and T-shirt stores still has the flavor of the former walled Spanish colony.

Definitely visit St. George Street in the heart of the old district while checking out the architecture of Flagler College and the old Alcazar Hotel that is now the Lightner Museum. And stop by the Castillo de San Marcos, the former Spanish fort built in 1672.

I turned around and started pedaling back to the Ormond Beach shopping center parking lot, where I left my car.

The winds were in my face, and they would be like that for the rest of this Sunday afternoon. But I knew I had the ocean to my left the whole way back.

I would draw on the Atlantic for pedaling inspiration.

BEACH ON BIKE

GETTING THERE: It's easy to get to Ormond Beach. Hop on Interstate 4 and don't stop until you hit I-95, go north on I-95 for seven miles and get off at the Exit 268 (State Road 40-Ormond Beach); then go east five miles to the Atlantic Ocean. It's about 150 miles. On a Sunday morning, it's an easy drive with little traffic in the Orlando area.

BIKE STORE: Bike America, 3936 A1A S. Beach Blvd., St. Augustine, is on the route. Call (904) 461-5557.

HIGH-FIVE

Here are five places to visit along A1A from Ormond Beach to St. Augustine:

NORTH PENINSULA STATE PARK: More than two miles of beautiful white beaches and coastal palmetto. Not a condo in sight. Five miles north of Ormond Beach; www.floridastateparks.org/northpeninsula/default.cfm.

GAMBLE ROGERS MEMORIAL STATE RECREATION AREA AT FLAGLER BEACH: Named after a Florida folk singer, Gamble Rogers is a wonderful haven for camping and swimming. Enjoy both the Intracoastal and Atlantic Ocean; www.floridastateparks.org/gamblerogers/default.cfm.

WASHINGTON OAKS GARDENS STATE PARK: In the Hammock area, two miles south of Marineland. Beautiful gardens with species from azaleas to camellias. Also has ocean access; www.floridastateparks.org/washingtonoaks.

FORT MATANZAS NATIONAL MONUMENT. This watchtower fort was built in the 1740s by the Spanish to keep attackers from going into the nearby inlet and attacking St. Augustine; www.nps.gov/foma.

ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE AND MUSEUM: Built in the 1870s, the lighthouse is a big educational draw for students; www.staugustinelighthouse.com.

Alan Snel is a Tampa bicyclist who has pedaled across the country two times, bikes more than 10,000 miles a year and has written extensively about bicycle travel adventures. See his stories blog at www.alansnel.com.