Never Ending Cycling Chronicles

Don’t be like the author of this post! Wear sunscreen. At least I remembered the sunglasses which are especially recommended since you are near the water for much of the ride.

Getting there:

If you want to exclude the Pinellas Trail portion of this ride, there is parking at Weaver Park on the eastern side of Alternate 19 (Broadway in Dunedin). Where I mention turning south onto Fort Harrison at the end of the ride, you continue east on Highway 60 which will cross the Pinellas Trail and you could then head north back to Weaver Park.

The Trail:

What started as a a ride to look at the improvement to the Pinellas Trail in Clearwater turned into a nice discovery. But! First things first; let’s take a look at the improvements to the Pinellas trail in Clearwater.

In a nice move and major improvement for the trail in Clearwater, the west side of Southeast Avenue beginning north of Turner, the powers that be have decided to move bikers off the sidewalk and into their own space running parallel to the roadbed. It continues this arrangement north until you reach Drew Street and you are then back on the previously reviewed portion of the trail.

This is a welcome improvement since, as I have stated previously, biking through Clearwater is one of my least favorite portions of the Pinellas Trail.

I continued north along the trail. Since this was the first really warm day weekend day we’ve had in Florida for quite some time, I was given to exploring something new. It was also spurred on by a desire to avoid the Art Festival in central Dunedin that enveloped the trail with pedestrians strolling along the trail and oblivious to people trying to bike along the trail.

As you pass north of central Dunedin, there is a relatively new park that is a few blocks north of Jackson Street. It will appear along the west side of the trail and is named Weaver Park. I took the opportunity to leave the trail at this point and explore the park. The park itself is bisected by Alternate 19 (Broadway) but, in usual Dunedin fashion, they have built a crosswalk with lighted flashing lights. The cars, for the most part, seem respectful of the cross walk when the flashing lights are activated.

The western periphery of the park is bounded by Saint Joseph Sound/Old Clearwater Bay and, across to the west, you should be able to catch a glimpse of Caledesi Island State Park. There is a bike stand near the walkway that juts out from shore. Walking out along the walkway gives you a nice view of the coastline.

To avoid the congestion along the trail in Dunedin because of the craft/arts show, I decided to bike along the sidewalk and headed south along Alternate 19 (Broadway). Alternate 19 turns west at Main Street in Dunedin. Where the roadway turns back to the south, the Dunedin Marina is a nice place to take a rest and take in the sites and sounds. If you are of a mind, you can even head to the east and take in the shops and restaurants that line Main Street in central Dunedin.

Continuing south along Alternate 19, Broadway becomes Edgewater drive and you will be biking through the Edgewater Linear Park. The sidewalk is relatively narrow so expect to have to navigate around pedestrians who seemed surprised to have a bike sharing their walkspace. Proceed cautiously and remember that the pedestrians have the right-of-way.

This park offers fine, unobstructed views of Old Clearwater bay as it winds its way south towards Clearwater. After several miles of this scenic ride, it will come to an end as you cross a small bridge. You have a choice of finding a street that heads west and biking south through neighborhood streets or staying on Alt. 19. I stayed on the main route until I reached Seminole Street. I headed west along this street which empties out into a marina parking lot. The marina offered a nice view of the Clearwater Causeway bridge and Clearwater Beach.

I headed back east along Seminole and turned south onto North Osceola Avenue. I turned west at Drew Street which will take you down to the Clearwater water front and Coachman Park. Take your time and explore this beautiful area. To the east lies the Clearwater skyline and to the west lies the craziness that is Clearwater Beach.

Along the south will be the Clearwater Causeway bridge. There are several ways to get onto the causeway. I chose to take the circular ramp up to the bridge and ended up on the Western side of the bridge. Wanting to approach Clearwater on the east side of the bridge, I chose to backtrack a little ways to get the full experience of the view from the northern side of the bridge.

For us flatlanders, this is a bit of a climb but well worth it to see the view from the top of the bridge. There are three overlook areas where you can pull over to take in the view and the expanse of Old Clearwater Bay as boats zoom along the intercoastal and zip in and out of the marinas. It gives a fine birdseye view of the bay.

To say the least, traffic along the Clearwater Memorial Causeway on the weekend, borders on the insane. You will come to a traffic light at Island Way, I strongly suggest that you use the crosswalks to cross the causeway and get on the Ream Wilson Trail. It is a long wait for the walk signal but it is better to deal with the wait than to fight the insanity of bumper to bumper traffic along the causeway.

As you cross a short bridge as you approach Clearwater Beach proper, at the western end of the bridge, you can do a U-Turn and go under the Causeway to reach the northern side of the causeway if you want to explore the northern end of Clearwater Beach. Do be aware of the fisherman, since discard fishing hooks can lead to a flat tire. The day I was there, I was able to take this fine shot of a snowy egret perched on a railing and hoping for a meal from one of the fishermen.

The Clearwater Beach sign and the Clearwater Sail sculpture can be found on either side of the underpass.

I chose to head back towards downtown Clearwater at the infamous roundabout (that symbol of controversy since the day that it was first conceived). I am not sure how much further the Ream Wilson trail extended past this point. In a future ride, I would like to see if it extends all the way to Sand Key.

Heading back to the east along the causeway, you are afforded another fine view on the southern side of the Clearwater Causeway Bridge. At some point, the Ream Wilson Trail ends but there is no signage noting the end of the trail. I followed Highway 60 east and turned south along Fort Harrison which led back to the Pinellas Trail.

All in all, an excellent ride along the Pinellas trail and then looping through Clearwater to Clearwater Beach and then back to the Pinellas Trail. Except for the bridge climb, a relatively flat ride. Traffic can be a problem in areas where there is no deisignated trail. A most excellent ride for a most excellent Saturday.

Some final pictures. Can you tell I have an affection for the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge? Enjoy!