FlipFlop900 Day10b - Back To The Hotel

FlipFlop900 Day 10 - The Rookie Earns His Stripes

FlipFlop900 Day 9 - Expect The Unexpected

FlipFlop900 Day 8 - Just What I Needed

FlipFlop900 Day 7 - Sunscreen Mandatory

(Fort Lauderdale to Key Largo)
After a bit of over indulgence last night we were shooting for a close to sunrise depart. Of course there is always more to do than you remember so it was a few minutes late but no big deal. Today's route would take us South along the coast through Dania Beach, Hollywood Beach and other beach towns until we entered Miami proper. A few ziggy zaggy maneuvers and we'd be on bike paths all the way to Card Sound Rd off A1A.  On paper it looked very clever. 🙄  Things started off smoothly and we figured Sunday morning traffic would make these roads a breeze ... nope!  We made it over the first drawbridge pretty quickly then we had the bright idea to modify our route on the fly.
That's one of the great things about bike touring ... you don't know what you don't know. 😆  Within a couple of blocks we were on a very busy road. There was a bike lane so we figured it was more or less the right way. Well, soon the bike lane ended and I'm pretty sure we were on interstate headed for the airport.  Oops!!  After hopping across a median onto a different (and less busy) road went had a quick team meeting assisted by Google Maps. It looked like we could get back on course without too much drama but we sure hadn't made good choices.
We got back on course and were motoring down all the high class Beach boulevards. I say motoring but the truth is there were many, many stop lights and way more traffic than expected for a Sunday morning. We always had either a generous bike lane or a sharrow giving us a lane so it wasn't dangerous but it also wasn't steady. Being an engineer I love looking at skyscrapers and wondering about the construction. Our celebrity rider Scott has been to much more exotic places all over the world so he was pretty indifferent.  And the accountant Jim was seriously annoyed at our lack of progress.  We are a team made in heaven!! 🤣  After a couple hundred street crossings we finally made our way to the causeway heading into Miami.
My main urban riding experience is Peters St in Atlanta; that was no where near sufficient preparation. We made our way somehow to the M Path after about a jillion turns and stop lights. Jim's patience was pretty slim at this point and I thought I spotted a new blood vessel in his forehead when we were stopped by the finish line for a local 5k running race. Oh my!! As we were pulling out our phones to reroute, Scott chimed in as the voice of reason. "Y'all are making this too hard, let's just ride down the sidewalk 50 yards and then hop on the path."  Genius. The path was pretty cool but definitely not built for speed. It was like a cross between the Beltline and the Comet. I learned the hard way that there were separate sections for walkers and bikers at certain places. I was severely scolded by a number of geriatrics for being on the wrong side when I took the wrong side; a mistake I would not repeat!!
There seemed to be quite a few construction zones and we ended up going through a few bus loading decks to stay on course. I told my cohorts that the first one was good content but after that maybe not so wise. Eventually we made our way to the South Side with a wicked fast 13mph average speed through the city. The trail now ran adjacent to an express bus road which had the most inviting smooth pavement ever. It seemed like such a waste to be on the bumpy, broken up bike path when all that nice pavement was going to waste. So before long we decided our Garmins actually routed us over there and we enjoyed a few miles of buttery smooth riding ... without ever seeing a single bus.
By this time the sun was up and the temperature had reached broil. We were not scheduled to meet Ericha until the 66 mile mark and we were cooked at 50 miles. Jim spotted a CVS right off the path and no discussion was required. Some cold water and we were renewed for at least a few miles. It is amazing how quickly the hotel weather can bring you to your knees. We were back on the path/bus lane at a much reduced pace making our way. We ran into a security guard at the next station and he told us we were not allowed in the bus lane. We wanted to be certain so we had the security guard at the next station about a mile down repeat the message. It was good while it lasted. Soon enough we reached Ericha for the now mandatory luxury pit stop. I'm embarrassed to give the menu but you can be certain that we aren't roughing it.
The next stretch was on Card Sound Rd. This is an alternative to A1A and it gets mixed reviews by cyclists on the interweb. I haven't ridden that stretch of A1A but Card Sound Rd was money. There was no shoulder for the first 15 miles but traffic was pretty light and everyone gave us the full lane, so a winner. There was a good sized bridge with no bike lane but we didn't have any trouble even there. A quick break in the shade to cool off and we were in the home stretch. The few miles to A1A were smooth and without drama. We got onto A1A and went back and forth between the bike path and bike lane. The bike lane was faster but it was a bit rough and right next to traffic. The path was much smoother but had those annoying architectural curves that serve no useful purpose. In the last couple of miles a couple of lizards (iguanas maybe?) darted across the path right in front of Scott and me. I hit one of them and Scott ran over the other. All I could think about was our trip being ended by a crash with an iguana!  Luckily we finished our cool down with any more drama.
Tomorrow is the last day as we travel about 100 miles right into the teeth of the wind. Our luck with the wind hasn't been great but I think we'll make it. Southernmost point of US, here we come!

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Mike Desmelik

FlipFlop900 Day 9 - Expect The Unexpected

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FlipFlop900 Day10b - Back To The Hotel

FlipFlop900 Day 10 - The Rookie Earns His Stripes

FlipFlop900 Day 9 - Expect The Unexpected

FlipFlop900 Day 8 - Just What I Needed

FlipFlop900 Day 7 - Sunscreen Mandatory

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