Bumps and Lumps

-
We hadn't put the rainfly on the tent last night in order to keep things a bit cooler but that backfired when it unexpectedly rained. We were caught off-guard in the small hours of the morning but managed to groggily put the rainfly on the right way around without our stuff getting too wet.

We said goodbye to the Florida Keys this morning and headed out through Everglades National Park. We rode a strong 19 miles without a break, our longest yet and it felt good! At one point, we pulled over for a break and scared a creature in the bushes, which took off at a run. We didn't see what it was but Rach thinks it was a crocodile.

After the Everglades, we started approaching the southern portion of Miami. As we got closer, the buildings and businesses got flashier. Most of our riding was on a bike path, which wound around under an elevated train line. The path was clearly an afterthought in the city's design, fitting wherever it could. Geckos scattered as we cruised over the uneven asphalt. The frequent stoplights and sharp turns slowed our progress, plummeting our moving average from 12.0 mph to 11.7 mph.

There's no camping to be had around these parts so we're staying in an AirBnB tonight. It's luxurious and the probability of us being rained on is now much reduced. Three days in and we have become cushy buttercups. All is well, we're treating various ailments with an assortment of potions, lotions, and ointments. Thanks for reading!

The lonely road

The lonely bike path

A break in a park

Nearly there!

Riding under the train

Trees on trees action

Hobo camp

Comments

  1. CheriApril 25, 2018 at 8:22 PM

    Your unexpected rainfall reminded me of the night Katie and her friends camped in the backyard and we forgot to turn off the automatic sprinklers. Lots of squeals when the water came on at 6:00 AM.

    Ride safely.

    Cheri (don't know why my computer is identifying me as Kellie)

    ReplyDelete
  2. the Old GuyApril 25, 2018 at 8:42 PM

    Keep safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbi StevensonApril 26, 2018 at 8:58 AM

      Sorry I have the technology but not the ability to write posts on this, trying to reply to one to see if it works. My posts keep disappearing into a cloud somewhere

      Delete
  3. Debbi StevensonApril 26, 2018 at 9:02 AM

    Hmmm so Rach and Mike instead of cycling 🚴‍♂️ you could sort out why all my posts have disappeared! Use lots of sun bloc you numpties then I wont have a stripey daughter! Have fun. We had a memorable ascent and descent of a mountain today, 1:2 the same path as the ski lift except that wasn’t working! We sort of slithered and stumbled and fell the 500 metres down, very muddy in the snow melt, very cold and wet in the snow. We made it! Have fun. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 3, 2018 at 12:28 PM

    So, Tillamook, as good as cheddar?!
    And hey, we 60 somethings need all the help we can get!!
    Terrific reporting & pictures, thanks.
    xx

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Variable Weather

-
Image
Yesterday we officially entered the British part of the trip. The weather was overcast and cold (52 deg F/11 deg C). I'm pretty sure London was actually warmer. Due to the dismal weather we weren't inclined to take a break until about 24 miles in when we reached the town of Lindsay. This was the only town of the day with any kind of business though we were well stocked with snacks and lunch. We huddled together under the overhang of the roof as it began to rain. The rain eased up before too long and we continued on our way. Later we took a break just standing at the side of the road and I took the chance to wish Happy Birthday! to my younger brother. The scenery was much the same as previous days: gentle hills, grasslands, lots of hay bales waiting to be collected, and the occasional herd of cows meandering around. A group of pronghorns scampered away as we rode past, flashing their white tails towards us. Did you know that pronghorns are not antelope nor deer, and that their...
Read more

Gentle Undulations

-
Image
"Gentle Undulations" sounds like a band from the 80s. It's also the best way to describe the terrain of southern Virginia. Our ride this morning took us past wheat fields in various stages of growth under a blue sky peppered with fat white clouds. We had no rain today, which was a nice change. We mostly rode on quiet rural roads with tortoises and snakes also making their way across the thoroughfare. We went past places with names lifted from my home country, places like Stonehenge, Isle of Wight, and Scotland. However - given that we went past all these places in the span of a few hours - the settlers decided not to copy the original geography. Around noon we took a 20-minute ferry ride across the James River to Jamestown. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America and, boy, do people seem to like to visit it. Despite it being a fairly random Wednesday in May the visitors' center had a lot of cars parked outside it and people were making their ...
Read more

Hitchhikers

-
Image
Memorial Day (a public holiday in the US for the non-Americans reading) was a rest day for us and we spent it in Washington DC. We took a train into the city from Springfield, anticipating bigly huge crowds. We had to steel ourselves for the masses, we have not spent much time in busy areas lately. Perhaps the overcast weather kept people away but it wasn't particularly crowded. We observed various military groups and high school bands setting up for the afternoon's parade. We didn't stick around to see the parade start and instead went to some museums. We visited the National Air and Space museum and the National Museum of the American Indian, both were great. Later, we trekked back to Springfield. Last night's accommodation was 5 miles off the route so this morning we set out to rejoin the main route again. For the uninitiated: we're following a route and using maps put together by an organization called Adventure Cycling. It means that we don't have to do n...
Read more