Day 6

Today was one of those days.  The night at the campground had worked out fine.  I was on my way for breakfast.  When I came out, my rear tire was flat AGAIN!  Turns out that the new tire I had bought was defective.  I had to go to the next town for another tire and hitch back.  All  worked out but I didn't get on the road until 1:30.  The ride to the next host was 63 miles so I was intent on getting there as quickly as possible.  No pix!  The worst day so far.

Total miles--393.

Day 5

It's always great to visit with old friends.  They were so generous with their home and friendship.  As with most Florida homes, they had a pool which was a blessing for my hot, achy body.  One of of the quirks about Florida is that they have lakes and ponds everywhere.  They are not swimmable, not a one!  Why?  Chomp, chomp.  You guessed it, alligators.  From a cyclist's point of view, this is tantamount to torture.  Every so often, someone gets too close and is taken by a gator.  Yet I also hear that the locals continue to swim in them.  ?????????

I got off the main highway onto this beautiful county road.  This is a view of a sod farm.  Everyone wants grass instead of the sand or scrub that they have naturally. 

Got back to the ocean.  This area had less grand homes.  They were mostly on the other side of the road but all had docks and/or screened in sitting rooms.

Another view of today's most beautiful spot.  This is across from Cape Kennedy.  There was supposed to be a launch on the 19th  but it has been delayed.

81 miles today.  Total mileage 332.

This was today's ride.  I went to visit some old friends near Orlando which was off the official route.  Not scenic like riding along the ocean.  The road is 65 mph.  Almost every car moved over into the far lane and gave me plenty of room.  The traffic also came in pulses, not continuously, so I felt totally safe the whole way despite the speed.

Once off the coast, Florida retains flatness without the attraction of the ocean.  It is more like the midwest.  This area of the state used to have a lot of cattle farms.  I also recalled part of the Central Valley in California  and was then told that there used to be a lot of orchards here as well. 

Big sky!

Florida is such a friendly state!  In order to assist so many of the seniors that are moving to the state, they have posted signs to help then with a varietys of health issues.  Here's one now!

50 miles.  Wind from the SSE.  Sunny.   First bike problem.  I hit something with the front tire that caused the casing to separate.  I have three different size tires and did have this one.   

Day 3:

Cloudy on and off all day.

Just off the highway, an unpeopled beach. 
Quite a contrast to further south.

Or maybe not!

What more can I say!

73 miles.  Rainy and cloudy today with an upside.  It kept things cool.  It would rain for awhile and then stop.  Sometimes the sun would even come out.  By the end of the day, the system had blown through.  The day was started by my host who rode with me part of the way.  He will doing the same ride in May with some others so I will get to return the hosting favor when he comes through New Paltz.  Its great to meet new people with their own raft of stories to share, biking and otherwise. 

DAY 2 Lake Worth to Port ST. Lucie

Right next to the road. 

You can't even see half the house!

Best stretch of road of the day.



There's help for every problem in Florida.

 Another 66 miles.  The most memorable part was going through Palm Beach.  The road hugs the ocean for part of the way.  The houses are again phenominal.  Maybe about 20 of us could buy one of these homes.  The town is everyuthing one would think--pristine, classy, chic.  The joggers were hardly sweating.  There has been a nice breeze out of the east which is keeping  me cool so mid eighties doesn't feel so bad.  There is a hosting network call WarmShowers  wherein bikers open their homes to other bikers and can, in turn, stay at the homes of others.  Tonight I am being hosted by one such family.  They are warn and generous as are most hosts.  Bob, the biker, will be doing this ride starting May 3rd and I will get a chance to return the favor.

Day 1

The day started off with a shower which cooled things off, even thought it was early.  They have our summer here already, temps in the 80's.  I had to ride through all the stores and malls before I got to the coast.  Boy, is it worth it!  The ocean is so vast and majestic, even the little part I can see from the shore.  The coast road is populated with stately Mediterranean type of architecture, very tasteful and very expensive!  Cars for the most part give me wide berth and I don't feel unsafe.  However, I also used to ride my bicycle up the middle of Sixth Avenue during rush hour and drove a cab in NYC so my comfort level may be different from yours.  About 63 miles today.   Let's see how those legs feel tomorrow.

Sunday, April 10th

So I'm sitting here, having put together what I hope is everything I need that I didn't send down with the bike---electronics, toiletries, meds, books, pens, etc.  If I forget something, I can buy it!  I'm getting very anxious about the whole affair.  I worked again with the maps on the first week of riding through Florida and realized that I can't do much more to "plan" the route.  I have to see how I'm adjusting, how is the weather and allow the trip to happen.  From reading about trips, I get the impression that some people have everything planned in advance, have a schedule and adhere to it.  Except for planning to be back on the 1st of June or so, I need to let it flow a bit more.  I know I'll be better once I get on the road.  Looking forward to my first palm tree of the season!