the motorcyclist’s Florida travel guide
Doodle’s route
I did a 2,238.2 mile trip around the coast of Florida to the Southernmost point of the US from Feb 11-24, 2022, with my home base being Atlanta, GA, on a 2021 Harley Road King. It was a press bike provided by Harley-Davidson from EagleRider Rentals in Marietta, GA. I called her Scarlett O’Harley (a subscriber came up with that).
Below are is my route and stops I took with notes on sections about motorcyclist' interest spots, how ‘scenic’ is scenic, etc.
When I didn’t have a Scenic road to hit, I just set my Google maps to “avoid highways” as much as possible, and as long as traffic didn’t look too bad (like going through a busy town) I took it. Restaurants I stopped at and loved: Clean Juice in Clearwater, Back to Eden Cafe in Flagler Beach for organic and vegan options, Banana Cafe in Key West (those last 2 were open air, no AC was on when I went - be warned - may be different in the summer)
More scenic roads below
*From Florida Scenic Highway
Doodle helmet icon below means I rode that one and loved it. The others, just didn’t get to it
Take the Trip
If something inside of you wants it, the most satisfying moment for you will be when you achieve it. The things in life that excite you the most don’t have to be a bucket list - they can be your yearly, monthly, or even weekly routine. Sometimes, all you need to appreciate the everyday small things, isn’t to run away from it, but to just inject a little bit of escapes around it - whether that’s a walk outside on your lunch break, taking your bike to work instead of the car, or just going out on a day, or weekend trip… go for it.
And when you have time for that longer road trip… I hope this guide helps.
My biggest mistakes
… So that you can avoid them…
● Not bringing enough extra’s (extra different kinds of ear plugs, and especially extra socks, for reasons you’ll read in the next section)
● Underestimating how much longer motorcycle rides take vs. car rides - on a bike, if you’re not doing an iron butt challenge, you’ll stop A LOT. If the weather is comfortable and so is the bike, I stop about every 1.5 -2 hours. In Florida, I stopped more than that. The humidity made it feel like it was in the 90s when it was in the 70s (Fahrenheit), so I drank a LOT of water. Making me need to go to the bathroom a lot more. I was on a rental bike not modified to my body, so the handlebars being a bit far for me made for back aches, requiring me to stretch a lot. I also found that ear plugs hurt after about an hour. I can switch them out to different shaped ones to help, but towards the end of the day, they all hurt.
● Too much highway - for this trip I made sure to take scenic routes as much as possible, or even just clicking “avoid highway” on GoogleMaps if traffic wasn’t bad when I did that. This was a game changer for helping to prevent fatigue and headaches.
● Not stretching enough - doing this the morning you go, the evening before bed, and when you stop, even if you feel you don’t need this, will help A LOT with preventing that ‘my whole body hurts’ feeling. Game changer if you start doing this daily several days before the trip.
● Having a strict schedule - if you write an itinerary, be ready to potentially throw it out the window, or at least heavily modify it once on the road. Don’t tell a friend you’ll arrive Thursday evening a week away. Give them a few days' range. If they’re not okay with that… not the friend you want to visit on a moto road trip then. Mistakes happen where you have to pivot. Surprises happen that you want to see or do that you didn’t plan for. Give yourself a couple of days of wiggle room, and add about 30-40% extra travel time each day, especially if you’re riding more than a few hours.
● Not paying attention to humidity for the weather - in Georgia, if I see low 70s for the weather, I know what to wear on a bike and that I likely won’t sweat. In Florida, - it depends on humidity. Low 70s in Key West was at 86% humidity and it was the equivalent of riding in the 90s to me. I was sweating, hot and exhausted. Low 70s in Boca Raton, humidity was at 53% and it felt comfortable to me.
Things I brought or *Wished I brought
I used heated gloves and a heated shirt in the mornings and evenings for the first two days until I got to Tampa, FL. After that it was too hot/ humid. I didn’t use the heated gear again until the last day or two, back in Georgia (well only the gloves - the heated shirt flew out of my hard case when the lid opened on the highway :P )
Some items are linked to the exact version I used.
● Summer mesh jacket (men’s) with a waterproof liner
○ The mesh jacket alone is what I wore in the hot temperatures. Adding the waterproof liner, heated shirt, and once, my rain suit (even though it wasn’t raining) helped in the cool temperatures. I find this kind of jacket the most versatile between extreme temperatures. Wetting a shirt under the mesh jacket is a big help too - if only for 30 minutes or so
● Battery powered heated jacket (women’s shirt)
● Battery powered heated gloves /HeatedArmdGloves
● Summer gloves (men’s)
● 3 pairs of different shaped ear plugs
○ After about an hour, ear plugs hurt my ears - I found that if I changed out the kind I used, I could wear another set without pain for a little bit. The least painful ones were Loop earplugs, next Eargasm, then mini foam ones. Earplugs are easy to drop, as I ended up losing all but 1 lonely foam ear plug on my trip. Wish I had brought extra.
● Snacks (but not too many to save room - can always find them at gas stations)
● Double walled thermos - may take more space than a water bladder, but water bladders hurt my back after a while, and just getting new cold water at gas stops and being able to keep it cold (or warm when it’s cold out - yes I love warm water, try it) is a game changer
● Double* the socks you think you need
○ Especially important if you’re going to be sweating - make sure to change out your socks every 6 hours. I got athlete’s foot by not doing this. I have heard it recommended to actually use thin wool socks, and to cover your feet in baking soda or foot powder during the rides. Can also use daily Athlete's foot cream as preventative.
● Mini to-go Febreze spray*
○ When you can’t find any laundry machines, your clothes get stinky and not too sanitary. Especially hip armor with tight riding jeans - my skin got hives behind the hip armor.
● Mini to-go sunscreen*
○ reapply it on your face or any exposed skin during the ride - my nose got darker than anything on my trip
● A mini first aid kit*
● A head lamp*
○ I used my phone when I needed light, but it would’ve been great when packing/ unpacking the bike in the evenings/ early mornings and my hands were full
● Extra batteries for electronics needed
● Enough chargers to charge all electronics every night
● An external portable charger
○ Only way my phone and GoPro batteries were able to last all day, especially since I used my phone as voice command GPS connected to my Cardo
● Road Trip Log Book (designed by Doodle ;D) to document your lessons learned, trip memories and details
○ If you’re a scuba diver that’s been certified under PADI or SSI, you probably were given a Log and Training Record book as part of your course materials. I found this extremely helpful for taking note of what ocean temperatures were warm enough in exactly what thickness wet suits, what tips I learned for pressure ear clearing, etc. Dive trips can be very spaced apart, and it can be difficult to remember so many details without writing them down. This was so helpful for me with scuba diving, that I made myself something like it for road trips and decided to make one for the internet too.
Additional bonus items
● Brakefree Helmet light that lights up when slowing down or braking for added visibility (use code Doodle10 for a discount)
● Shatterproof glasses - If you wear glasses - one of my friend’s glasses shattered in an accident and a piece of glass got lodged into her skull. Wouldn’t want that to be my eye, so I only ride with my shatterproof glasses
● Hightail hair keeper - great if you have long hair for keeping it from getting knotted especially if you’re going to be riding all day