Tallahassee, FL Riding Help

[Monthly Payment]

Visiting for a wedding. Any suggestions on where to ride or rent a bike in Tallahassee? Any club or fast group rides over the weekends?

Alternatively, thinking about renting a mountain bike and hitting the trails. Any trails that cannot be missed?

Thanks in advance.

[45K10]

I moved out of Tallahassee back in '12 after living there for 11 years. I have no idea what the current situation is but this may help:

The fast road ride on Wednesday night 6pm was "Food Lion" which started North of town in Killearn. It was a good 20 mile loop averaged around 23-25 mph.

The fast Saturday ride started out in Charies 8am east of town. I think it was around a 30 - 35 mile loop. That used to average around the same as the Wednesday night ride.

MTBing in Tallahasee used to be okay. Not sure where you could rent a MTB though. Higher Ground used to be the shop I went to the most but I don't know if they rent bikes.

There are some awesome dirt/canopy roads to ride North and East of town. It is something worth checking out IMO.

There used to be a couple of guys from Tallahassee on the forum. Maybe they can chime in with more current info.

[el cheapo]

Lived in Tallahassee from 92-94. Used to ride the St. Marks Trail down to the coast. It was a single lane paved bike path (rails to trails). Not sure what it's like now. Here's a warning...never ride on the roads around the city when it's a FSU home football game Saturday.

[Monthly Payment]

Lived in Tallahassee from 92-94. Used to ride the St. Marks Trail down to the coast. It was a single lane paved bike path (rails to trails). Not sure what it's like now. Here's a warning...never ride on the roads around the city when it's a FSU home football game Saturday.

I moved out of Tallahassee back in '12 after living there for 11 years. I have no idea what the current situation is but this may help:

The fast road ride on Wednesday night 6pm was "Food Lion" which started North of town in Killearn. It was a good 20 mile loop averaged around 23-25 mph.

The fast Saturday ride started out in Charies 8am east of town. I think it was around a 30 - 35 mile loop. That used to average around the same as the Wednesday night ride.

MTBing in Tallahasee used to be okay. Not sure where you could rent a MTB though. Higher Ground used to be the shop I went to the most but I don't know if they rent bikes.

There are some awesome dirt/canopy roads to ride North and East of town. It is something worth checking out IMO.

There used to be a couple of guys from Tallahassee on the forum. Maybe they can chime in with more current info.


Brilliant advice. Thanks to you both!

[idrinkwater]

went to college there (gold nose). The Munson hills mtb trails off the st marks trail are fast and flowy, and riding at tom brown park is still fun atmo. Great bicycle shop rents bikes. The canopy roads there rival the scenery of anything I've seen in the northeast of west. Try old st Augustine rd or Miccosukee rd.

[Michael Maddox]

I'm in Tallahassee.

Our MTB trails have seen recent revitalization and the addition of new technical features. West of town, Tom Brown Park has lots of wooden features and some technical terrain, interspersed with woodland singletrack trails and MUPs. North of town, Maclay Gardens, Overstreet, and Forest Meadows are a mix of MUPs, singletrack, and a rather technical, rooty mess called Red Bug Trail. South of town, pine flatwoods dominate, and the trails (like Munson Hills) are sandy, simple terrain that's perfect for a longer ride at speed.

Road is a mixed bag. We are known for canopy roads, but most of them are high-use, bad-sight-lines, no-shoulder death traps, unless you are interested in clay and gravel riding off the beaten path. The Saturday morning clay road ride from Hubs and Hops in Thomasville, GA (north of town) is a great one. The best road riding is outside of town...east toward Lloyd and Monticello, North toward Thomasville and Cairo, and West toward Quincy. In-town is pretty bad, with the exception of some of the neighborhood social rides which are frequently made up of good cyclists on an off-night for training. Most fast rides are quick, and the Wednesday night "Food Lion" ride (Food Lion is actually long-closed), is still the "Wednesday Worlds," a drop ride at speed.

The club here is mostly slow and poky, but pleasant enough to ride with, tending to focus on brevet, gran fondo, and century rides. Most groups are de-facto groups who schedule and meet through GroupMe or similar means. FSU cycling is pretty active for the college-age crowd, and we have a large group of Masters racers (most faster than me, though I'm arguably in this group).

Currently, we have (looking at my GroupMe list):

Fast road:
Morning rides (6am) on Tuesday and Thursday.
Wednesday (6pm)
Thursday (6pm) Training Crit
Saturday (8am)

Slower road:
Thursday (6pm) Higher Ground social ride
Saturday (9am)
Sunday Club Ride (9am), slow, varies location

MTB:
Tuesday (6pm) from Higher Ground, "intermediate" ride on comparatively technical trails (Redbug), with re-groups
Saturday (8am) from Higher Ground, "breakfast and beginner" ride...about an hour on easy trails and MUPs with coffee and green drinks and socializing after
Sunday (8am) TMBA beginner ride

There's probably something I've missed, and there are several little groups who do regular rides through the week that I've never been involved with. Of course, you can just shoot me a PM and I'll set you up and ride with you. :)

Higher Ground will set you up, especially if you're coming out to the rides. We love having new people. I'll give you contact info.

[Elefantino]

I still miss TOSRV ...

[SteveW]

I still miss TOSRV ...

That was a great ride,

[45K10]

That was a great ride,

I agree it was great. I did it probably 2 or 3 times.