Day 252
Pizza for tea
We planned to get away promptly this morning, but somehow I ended up chatting away about our trip to fellow campers and it was 10am before we set off. We had our route planned to Nedene's - our host for the evening. We anticipated arriving whilst she was out so she had kindly arranged things so we could get in, thanks Nedene!
Due to no internet access we couldn’t remember how far today’s ride was. Tom thought 40 to 50 miles, but at the back of my mind I remembered we had decided to divert off the Tamiami Trail and ride by the beach. I was certain this added a few miles, I prayed Tom was right.
The day was another scorcher, 39° according to Garmin temperature. Not sure it was quite that high but it wasn’t far off. To start with the Trail was busy and somewhat monotonous. We had left the canal and the stunning bird life behind and they were replaced by endless apartment complexes and shopping malls. Finally, we left the Trail and rode through an area of beautiful homes to the beach. We soon found an access path to the beach and had a swim. The beach was a beautiful white sand and the ocean somewhat warmer than the North Sea! There was even a quiet seating area with shade to sit and enjoy our lunch in, result!
We cycled passed about a 3-mile traffic jam feeling very smug. To get back to our beloved Route 41 we had to cross a massive bridge, we made the error of choosing the cycle path, big mistake as we soon realised cyclists had to dismount and walk over the very long bridge, still it was a lovely view over the water.
The road went on and on, 40 miles, 45, 50, 55, 60!! Would we ever get there? Starving we bought a surprisingly good pizza from a 7-11 store. It was incredibly busy, but as it was the first food outlet we’d seen in miles I’m not surprised. Finally, in darkness, after riding about 65 miles we reached sanctuary at Nedene’s. Thank goodness for the Warmshowers community.
