Worker’s Compensation

Riding the

EMERALDCO

AST

South Florida makes you assume every mile of oceanfront is cloaked behind a wall of condos, but the Emerald Coast changes the story.

STORY & PHOTOS: GARY MCKECHNIE

Nature seduces motorcyclists, and few Florida journeys are as seductive as a brief, but engaging, ride along the Gulf of Mexico between Pensacola and Apalachicola. From the Florida/ Alabama border, the road east alternates between white sands and open turquoise waters, azure blue skies and tunnels of trees that immerse you in the world known as Old Florida.

Day One: Pensacola to Grayton Beach

In 1559, six years before Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established a permanent settlement in St. Augustine, Don Tristan de Luna came ashore at Pensacola Bay. A hurricane blew away his plans, but left Pensacola with a Spanish imprint still visible in the Seville Square Historic District that encompasses a complex of museums and historic homes known as Historic Pensacola Village. After exploring this district, ride to the Naval Air Station where, between late March and November, visitors watch the elite Blue Angels rehearse their breathtaking aerobatics free. While on the base, don’t miss the National Museum of Naval Aviation, where more than 4,000 artifacts ranging from biplanes to space capsules reveal the evolution of Navy pilots and their aircraft.

To head east, you’ll ride south across the three-mile Pensacola Bay Bridge that connects the mainland to Pensacola Beach. Slip onto County Road 399, a fantastic two-lane road where nothing lies between you and the placid waters of the Gulf of Mexico except a strip of glistening white sand. Beyond your handlebars, you’ll see the ink-black ribbon of highway, shift to Escambia Bay on your left, and drift out to sea to soak in views of