- November 22, 2024
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from: the National Scenic Byway Foundation
The A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway is a winner of the 2021 National Scenic Byway Foundation's Byway Community Award for its eighth-annual Spoonbills & Sprockets Cycling Tour – Crazy 8's event. In its 10th year (2021), the Spoonbills & Sprockets Cycling Tour won in the Event Category. It introduces the byway to new participants while challenging our returning riders to see the byway with fresh eyes through requiring eight selfies of their time along A1A to win prizes.
From photos at the historic Marineland Dolphin Adventure to the Castillo de San Marcos, the Bridge of Lions, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, and south to the beaches and waterways along A1A in Flagler County, riders compared photos and laughed together at the Marineland attraction after-party.
Spoonbills & Sprockets Cycling Tour is an example of a byway best practice that has grown through the cycling community's support and has developed a reputation for excellence. While keeping the fundamentals in place, adding a new element each year keeps it fresh and fun. From designing custom medals and signature jerseys each year, creating a theme, and wowing our riders with celebrity entertainers and unique activities, it never seems like the same event twice! And SAG/rest stops are at locations along the byway, which correspond to our A1A Scenic Byway Mobile Tour.
The A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway Annual Spoonbills & Sprockets Cycling Tour would not be possible without volunteer organizations and business partners. Byway leaders rely on volunteers, Marineland Dolphin Adventure, local and state tourism partners, the local business community, and local media. The event not only showcases the two counties along A1A; it allows for participation from youth and beginner to professional level athlete, with a route distance to meet every need, in direct correlation to the byways recreational intrinsic quality.
Attendance and interest are kept at a high level in its ten-year span by adding new features each year. Badges, unique t-shirt, hats, bicycling accessories, varieties of snacks, and foods are a source of fun and engagement with the byways. Taking selfies along the many byway sites and gathering places creates much laughter, bonding, and memory-making.
The impact is far-reaching for the byway and the connected tourism partners at the Tourism Destination Centers and the Visitors' Bureaus. This recreation event populating the byway at its season's finest is a winner.
Read more about the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway https://scenica1a.org/ and the National Scenic Byway Foundation at https://nsbfoundation.com/.
