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ROADBOOK · STAGE 01

Croom Run

Zephyrhills → Withlacoochee Twisties → Crystal River → Brooksville split
DATE
WED, JUL 22
MUSTER
08:45
ROLL OUT
09:00
BACK BY
~13:30 (at Brooksville split)
START
Shell — 3944 Gall Blvd, Zephyrhills
END
Brooksville — US-98/SR-50/US-41 split
DISTANCE
~85 mi (Zephyrhills → Brooksville split)
DRIVE TIME
~2 hrs to split point
↗ OPEN FULL ROUTE IN MAPS (Google, all stops)
Route Card
0.0 mi
Depart Shell (Gall Blvd), SR-54 W
Toward Dade City
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
10 mi
Right onto US-98/SR-35 N
Through Dade City
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
18 mi
SR-575 (Fort King Rd) N
San Antonio → Trilby, rural two-lane
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
33 mi
Left onto SR-50 W
Toward Brooksville — rolling sweepers
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
OPTIONAL CHECKPOINT
Florida Cracker Kitchen — Brooksville
Easy in-and-out before the twisties. ~48 mi mark, ETA 09:50.
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
50 mi
CROOM TRACT — the twisties
Croom Rital Rd / Croom-A-Coochee Rd, Withlacoochee State Forest. Tight, tree-canopy, low traffic midweek. Rough pavement patches + deer — first pass, take it easy.
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE ↗ EXPLORE (loop, no fixed path)
60 mi
SR-50 W → US-98/41 N
Straight run into Crystal River
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
MAIN CHECKPOINT · LUNCH
Crackers Bar & Grill — Kings Bay
Waterfront deck, boats docking right next to you — good spot to park the cars and be seen. ETA ~11:45. Backup/second stop: The Freezer Tiki Bar (dive-y, waterfront, boat crowd).
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
~25 mi
Depart 13:00 — US-98/41 S to Brooksville
Group ends here. From Brooksville: Suncoast Pkwy (589) S for Tampa · US-301/41 S for I-75 S · SR-50 E for I-75 Wildwood/I-4. Ride safe, see you next time.
↗ GMAPS ↗ APPLE MAPS ↗ WAZE
Kit Essentials
Full tank before 08:45 muster
Group text or FRS/CB channel set beforehand
Sunglasses + sunscreen — July FL sun, low top-down protection
Check radar morning-of — afternoon storms common this time of year
Tire pressure / fluids check before rollout
Cash for tolls/parking at Crystal River waterfront spots
Notes: Mileage and timing are estimates — confirm turn-by-turn in Maps/Waze morning-of. Croom Tract roads occasionally close for prescribed forest burns; verify access isn't restricted before rollout. Route ends at Brooksville, where the group splits toward individual destinations south — no organized return leg. Apple Maps and Waze links are per-leg only (both platforms limit URL-based routing to a single origin/destination) — for a full multi-stop route, use the Google Maps master link above.