Hi {{contact.first_name}},
November is when the Nature Coast really starts to pay off. The humidity is gone, the mornings are cool, and the afternoons are made for riding. Hurricane season runs out at the end of the month, and the clocks went back on Sunday, November 1, so the evenings come quicker now. That just means starting a little earlier, because this is the front edge of the best riding of the year down here.
Ride of the Month: Cedar Key on State Road 24
Old Florida all the way out to an island fishing town on the Gulf
Head north on US-19 through Homosassa and Crystal River, cross the Withlacoochee at Inglis and keep going up to Otter Creek. There, turn west on State Road 24 for the last stretch to Cedar Key. The road runs straight and quiet through pine flats, cabbage palms and salt marsh, then hops a string of bridges over the water into town. Cedar Key is a small fishing village on the Gulf with weathered docks, seafood spots and wide open views across the water.
It is a long ride, roughly two hours each way, which is exactly the kind of day November is made for. Fuel up before Otter Creek, because there is not much out on SR-24. Watch for sand on the bridges and in the parking lots, and give the deer room on the wooded stretches at dawn and dusk. Have lunch on the water, then head back early enough to beat the dark.
For a shorter afternoon, run US-41 north from Brooksville through Floral City, where the old oaks on Orange Avenue make a canopy over the road, then on through Inverness to Dunnellon and the Rainbow River. On Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, take a minute to thank the veterans in your riding crew. Plenty of them are the reason this community exists.
Late-Fall Safety: Florida Edition
November is prime time on the Nature Coast, and the season brings its own set of hazards.
- The deer are on the move. Fall is deer season in Florida, and the rural two-lanes off US-19 and the forest roads see the most of them at dawn and dusk. With the time change, dusk lands right on the ride home. Scan the tree lines, cover your brakes, and never swerve across the center line.
- It gets dark earlier now. Since the clocks went back, a lot of us are riding home after sunset. Drivers on US-19 are not looking for a motorcycle in the dark. Run your lights, wear something reflective, and leave extra space at every intersection and driveway.
- Cool mornings bring fog and dew. Cold fronts leave fog in the marsh and the river bottoms and dew on the shaded corners into mid-morning. Give the bridges and shady curves easy throttle until the sun burns it off.
- Snowbirds and Thanksgiving week. Season traffic keeps building, and Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. The Wednesday night before is one of the worst nights of the year for drunk driving. Ride early in the day that week and stay off the road that night.
Know Your Florida Law
- Age and insurance decide the helmet question. Every rider and passenger under 21 must wear a DOT helmet. If you are 21 or older, you can legally ride without one only if you carry at least 10,000 dollars in medical benefits coverage for crash injuries. Every rider must also wear approved eye protection.
- There is no PIP on your bike. Florida is a no-fault state, but motorcycles are left out of the Personal Injury Protection system. Nothing on the bike pays your own medical bills the way PIP does for a car, so carry good health coverage plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
- Too much blame and you get nothing. Florida uses modified comparative fault. Your recovery goes down by your share of the blame, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you collect nothing. How the crash is documented matters a lot.
- You have two years. Florida gives you two years from the crash to file an injury claim. Witnesses and evidence disappear well before that, so move early.
Ride Nation Florida
With the heat gone, the Nature Coast riding season is just getting going. Post your favorite November ride, warn other riders about sand, debris or road work from Cedar Key to Brooksville, and share the photos worth seeing. Tag us. This is your scene, run by riders who ride these roads.
Final Weeks for the $20,000 BikeWin Giveaway
You are already entered for a chance at 20,000 dollars toward any motorcycle you want, and the winner is drawn December 10. That is only a few weeks away. Know a riding buddy who has not entered yet? Entry is free, so send them the link before it closes.
Enter the giveaway
A car turning left across your lane on US-19 after dark. A deer on a quiet stretch of SR-24. A snowbird pulling out of a parking lot who never saw you. If you ever go down, you want a lawyer who actually rides these roads and knows your bike has no PIP to fall back on.