Tag: Miami Beach Florida

Day 5: 74 miles from Miami Beach to Key Largo

Sometimes Florida surprises cyclists, and I mean that in a good way.

Sometimes Florida surprises you, and I mean that in a good way.

Today we had lots of trail. Not in the wooded, shady way but in the separated from three lanes of crazy traffic on U.S. 1 kind of way. First, though, we had to get out of Miami Beach and into Miami. We had more of that lovely beachfront trail in Miami Beach — the Atlantic Greenway — down to the tip of Miami Beach, past some of the amazing Art Deco buildings and then back north to the MacArthur Causeway Bridge.

Then came the bike lane on the bridge next to rush-hour traffic. All you can do is ride in a group and keep hoping that Florida traffic engineers actually get on a bike one day and think about ways to make this better.

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Day 4: 54 miles from Delray Beach to Miami Beach

When will Florida be under water? We saw signs.

Remember how I wrote a couple of days ago that the river has risen 8 inches in a decade because all the construction in Florida means there’s less space to handle water run-off so it all ends up in rivers that lead to the coast?

Today we saw what that means.

We were cycling along the Intracoastal Waterway south of Delray Beach and north of Boca Raton — perhaps Highland Beach. The road was flooded and the water was lapping at what’s essentially a curb along the water. It won’t take much more to create a permanent mess. Even the Harley rider whose T-shirt depicted a GOP elephant adorned with Trump’s hair admitted Florida will be under water. Too bad, he said, before gunning his engine as the drawbridge was still closing.

Today’s route was lots more of A1A (only a few truly crazy spots) and one town blending into another, often with walls of high rises and even more under construction. For people who escaped the big cities up north for lots of sunshine, I saw this as a less-appealing version and the same congested roads. And with little in the way of alternative transportation, what happens when you have to give up driving? It didn’t make me want to say oh yes, let’s move to Florida when we retire.

Continue reading “Day 4: 54 miles from Delray Beach to Miami Beach”