Biking A Florida Gem -- The Ormond Loop

If you'e a bicyclist from the South Florida or Tampa Bay area, you probably have not heard of one of Florida's bicycle ride gems -- the Ormond Loop about 10 miles north of Daytona Beach.

It's a 25-mile ride through inspiring canopied state forest lands, along the Atlantic Intracoastal and a mere few pedal rotations to the Atlantic and A1A.

There's history along the way, too -- an 1825 sugar and rum factory along the route, and the ruins are there for all to see.

This morning, Debbie and I journeyed up I-95 from Vero Beach, leaving around 5:30 am for the two-hour, 130-mile car trip to Ormond Beach. Around 8 am, we took off from a downtown Ormond Beach city park lot and soaked up the views.

Here's one of my favorite photos from the day.

The lovely feature about the ride is the cycling along the water too.

The route starts on the mainland on the Intracoastal, but then moves to the barrier island side where the Atlantic Ocean is within only a few minutes of riding.

For more information, check out a travel story on the Ormond Loop from 2008.