Clearwater/Tampa area

Pretty new to the Clearwater/Tampa area and wondering if there are any decent adv rides in the area. I'm not in the area yet but am trying to do a little research and get some ideas ready. I have my klr stored down there now. I searched the regional forum and couldn't really find anything. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the area!

Keep an eye on the Central sandbox tag-o-rama thread. Those inmates can point you to dirt or pavement and have lots of good suggestions.

+!

The Green Swamp is just Northeast of Tampa. We enjoy riding The Sleepy Hollow ride. Nice twisty roads and farms. Not many choices for food along the way, but the scenery is worth it. Welcome!

Thanks guys. I'll keep an eye on that thread and check out that area when I get down.

I'm moving to the area this fall also. Seems like the blue hairs down there are deadly. I'm a little hesitant to even ride there at all. Anyone commute on their bikes there? :huh

I do a lot of bike commuting from St.Petersburg to Tampa on I-275. Traffic can suck on certain days but compared to other parts of the country it's not that bad (20 plus years as a trucker). I have found that it's not so much the old folks but rather new (young) drivers and the average aged moron on the cell phone.

Pinellas County (St. Petersburg), where I live, is pretty bad for commuting, and like all cities, there are several commuting routes that are pure hell, but like afm10 says, it's not so bad. It's just that the rewards are so few! The roads are so damn flat and straight!

And as KimPossible says, the area just north of Tampa in Pasco, Citrus, and Hernando counties can be pretty nice. If you want to get your KLR on some dirt roads, the Richloam area is pretty nice. Here's some pictures of me riding that area on my Versys:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16047715&postcount=3452

PM me if you want a guide to take a ride around that area some weekend and show you the lay of the land...

Colin, are you a Coastie? Can't help but notice the switch from Kodiak to the clearwater area!

Yep, Believe me it wasn't my first choice, (actually wasn't even in my list of choices) but I'm looking forward to it now. Seems there are tons of riders there and north of the area seems to be decent riding. As long as I can wrench on bikes and kill tasty animals to eat I'll be happy.

I'm new to the area, 3 months ago.
Looking forward to the cooler weather & checking out the forests soon.
I ride an ugly beloved ol' KLR.

Maybe we can put a ride together for Sepembert / October?

Bump...is there anybody out there??

A bunch of DS guys are meeting at the Brandon Hooters tomorrow night @ 7PM.

I'm about 3 weeks checking in too late!

I am a daily commuter from Pasco County to downtown Tampa or the airport everyday.
It can be a little intense with some of the idiot drivers who are simply not paying attention.
Good Luck!

Just remember, in Florida:

- The right lane is for left turns.
- The left lane is for right turns, vehicles pulling trailers, and Honda Ruckuses.
- The right shoulder is for U-turns without yielding.
- The left shoulder is for pulling over when the po-po decide 5-10 over is dangerous in light traffic on a straight, flat, dry highway, with open sightlines for 100yds on either side.
- Use of directional signals is strictly prohibited.
- When passed, you must pull your head out of your texting long enough to pace the passer in their blind spot for the next 5 miles.
- Use of vehicular lighting is prohibited within 2hrs of any natural light being visible, at which time you must use high beams and/or 5,000,000 candlepower foglights (unless there is reduced visibility due to fog/smoke/rain, in which case you must use 10,000,000 candlepower auxiliary driving/spot/flood lights or...."cowboy-up" and turn off all lighting on the vehicle to conserve enough power to run the wipers sporadically.
- Green turn arrows are for SENDing your just-typed text message.
- Yellow turn arrows are for beginning your left turn.
- Pulling into an intersection prior to turning left on a green light is prohibited, unless you think you can spectacularly cut off the oncoming truck that is trying to make the yellow.
- Vehicles in travel lanes MUST yield to vehicles pulling into the roadway from the shoulder, lest the driver pulling in develops the unnatural urge to look for an opening, signal, and build speed beforehand.
- All vehicle tires must be shaved to less than 1/8" tread depth within 10 days if they are imported into the state with full-depth tread.
- Passing a schoolbus is strictly prohibited, especially if it is rolling along with no safety lights flashing.
- Out-accelerating commercial vehicles from traffic lights is prohibited.
- Stop lines and stop signs are merely suggestions.
- Cyclists must be passed as closely as possible, in the same lane, with as much speed as po-po allows. All drivers caught changing to distant lanes or reducing speed when passing cyclists will be beaten severely and forced to throw cig butts out their window every 5 miles for a period of not less than 1 week.
- Yes, the driver passing you in the right lane, at your speed+5-10MPH, wants to race, repeatedly, to 100+MPH and then back down to 5-under the posted limit.
- As they say in the Irish pubs...Eating is cheating. BAC of less than .08% will not be tolerated on Friday or Saturday Ni...Oh hell, ANY night of the week.
- Trucks under 36" bumper height are prohibited for use by ALL males over the age of 12, unless said vehicle can demonstrate actual scuffs in the cargo bed and/or visual wear on the towing ball. Females over age 12 may operate trucks under the 36" bumper height limit if they have a full set of teeth...THEIR OWN teeth.

Too long but I getthejustofit

Somebody needs to delete a post so my post will make sense

Ok. I've spent a little time here, trying to figure out how to take make more use of some of my bikes. I've been wanting to do a little more off road riding but I am not familiar with enough roads to want venture out on my own. I've done that before and I usually wind up in some residential neighborhood I rather not be in.

I've been following the FL Sandfleas but it would appear, that those guys just want to strap on the shoulder pads and haul ass through ankle deep sand, creeks over logs while dodging snakes and gators. No dis, but that's not what I want to do.

I'd like to find some un congested roads, unpaved, partially paved, a little sand, hard packed dirt, gravel whatever, and do some scenic riding. I like seeing cows in the pasture, haystacks in the fields, orange groves and small town greasy spoons.

So, I thought I would put this out to this thread because I'm from the Bay area and would welcome a chance to do some exploring with others that have similar interests. We may get lost, but it's more fun getting lost in a group.

Anyone game? Now that the weather has cooled off, exploring can be fun.

Let's go!

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17248652&postcount=11

Other than the water, that looks do able. I'm game. I've never been to Richloam.

Let's go! Where do we meet, when, is there a thread on what I should expect/bring?

I have an old 250 that would be perfect for that ( i think ).