The inaugural Sunflower Tour, a four-day bicycle ride across Florida, started in Titusville on March 31 and ended in downtown St. Petersburg on April 3 with nearly all the miles ridden on the Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail. Julie Bond and Vanessa Wheeler were instrumental in creating, planning, and riding in the tour organized by Bike Florida and Bike/Walk Tampa Bay. Julie participated as one of 32 women riding over 200 miles during the tour. Vanessa helped orchestrate rest stops and addressed the evolving needs of participants as the event progressed. The tour welcomed women of all ages and riding experience. Former CUTR student graduate assistants Dajana Gibson and Dayna Lazarus also completed the tour.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, “The Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail (C2C) was conceived as an ambitious effort to create a continuous paved multi-use trail across the state of Florida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, the first state trail of its kind in the United States.” For more information on the Coast to Coast Trail visit: Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
