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In General - This is a 2-day bike ride with base camping at Little Talbot Island State Park, north east of downtown Jacksonville and on the southern end of Amelia Island. The Saturday and Sunday rides are about 30 miles and 29 miles respectively. This weekend is a mix of urban small town biking and typical Rails-to-Trails flat riding with considerable canopy on the later.
Originally, I wanted to plan this event based out of Fort Clinch State Park because of its beauty, ridability, and central location; but that park's camping remains booked so far in advanced during the good season that it makes it impractical to try to arrange a group event, since most people do not sign up for these trips until the last couple of weeks. Therefore, Little Talbot Island State Park will be the alternative. The camping at Talbot is pretty good in the sense that it is very shaded, similar to Ft Clinch; however, a number of camp sites should be avoided because of the low lying nature of the park's sites. My recommendations for high-and-dry sites are 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 39, 40, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 in that order. Also, if those are not available, 17, 18, 19, 29, and 30 are ok. NOTE: The state park is adamant that if you plan on arriving after 5:00 PM on Friday, to call ahead to let them know.
Saturday, from Little Talbot Island State Park, we have to car carry our bike north onto Amelia Island (the State Park is not on Amelia Island, it is about 6 miles south of the southern end). We will park at the southern end of Fernadina Beach town limits and take the side roads and basically visit 2 remarkable sites on the north end of the island: Fort Clinch, followed by Fernadina Beach historic district. Unfortunately, this will end up being more urban cycling than I typically enjoy, but the park has about 8 miles of unobstructed riding under mostly canopied lanes. Moreover, the town of Fernandina is unusual Florida in its mix of charm, seaport, and history. There is much to explore in town and points north of town.
Sunday, we have to pack up and head to west of Jacksonville to the town of Baldwin
which is 52 miles from Little Talbot. It will take longer than an hour because S.R. 105 is not an easy drive and many of the bridges are under construction. Sunday morning it should not be too bad. We are putting in on the west end of the trail rather than the trail head right off I-295 because the eastern end of the trail is a lot more open and has a high-tension power line running the first 5 or 6 miles. So the objective is to start at the more scenic end and gage ourselves as to the distance we want to travel. I would say that after a casual ride on Saturday, we will probably pick up the pace a little more. There will be less stopping.
Ideally, it is best to try to come camp Friday night so you will be ready in the morning. Again, if you think that you cannot make the 5:00PM arrival, you must call the ranger to let them know you will be coming after 5:00. Campers arriving on Saturday morning need to give themselves plenty of time to check-in at the ranger station. This process can be time consuming. The park opens at 8:00.
Not to sound too alarming, but it is a good 45 to 55 mintues to Little Talbot Island State Park from downtown Jacksonville and if you are coming on a Friday evening, add even more time. Figure how much time it will take you to reach the Jacksonville beltway (S.R. 9A or I-295) and figure possibly another hour to and hour and a half. Pam and I visited on Sunday morning, so that was the best driving anyone can expect.
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