Report on biking in Florida Feb 2012 Jeannette and I thought we would practice bicycle touring in a warm place this Febuary. We each have identical Surly Long Haul Trucker bikes with panniers, and Brooks leather saddles. We determined the route from just south of Miami to Key West would do the trick at 210km. Daniel then decided to join in as the support van driver – this made the logistics a bit easier as he would drive ahead, get a motel, and meet us each night. Also that meant carrying less stuff on the bikes. But first we had a 2500km drive from Oakville to Miami. That’s 3 days for us so we booked the first 2 nights and packed up the panniers – 4 per bike plus the handlebar bag = lots of bags. For preparation we used the Adventure Cycling maps http://www.adventurecycling.org/ which are really the best reference along with reading blogs on Crazy Guy on a Bike http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ The drive down was pleasant with general discussions and talking books. Those US freeways are great for long distance driving with many places to stop for any traveller requirements. The restaurant chain `The Cracker Barrel` quickly became our favourite with lots of them on the I75, good fish and pork food, good facilities, and fun staff. It appears they cater to oldies and families – no booze and a clean wholesome image. Just like us. Southern Florida weather was a bit different to Ontario`s. The sun was so hot! Burn you pretty quick as we soon found out. 1st days ride – right around 11am, the GMJ – (Group Manager – Jeannette ) and the SMJ ( Senior Member John) were dropped off by the DD ( Driver Dan) 210km from Key West on the Card Sound road by Florida City. Hot, hot – and of course with 10 bags to choose from there was a slight delay while important stuff was found – always adds fuel to the conversation! GMJ at the start So away we pedalled along the `long, straight, and boring and hot road` plus the obligatory headwind. As every biker knows the first 20 minutes are horrible and it gets worse as one heats up and the lactic acid burns. The traffic was light as this was a 2 lane road with no room for 2 cars, and 1 bike side by side. Everyone behaved themselves giving us a wide berth – thanks very much. The GMJ performed her usual trick of gradually outpacing the old coot behind until she was about an inch high way up ahead. She did take some pity on me and stopped every 30 minutes for water. Amazingly – the only view was the black top and 20feet high shrubbery lining the road – then we came over a slight rise to a roadhouse-bar built out over the water – just what we wanted – and it was rocking cause it was lunchtime. DD fuelled up and the bikers hydrated up. Another SMJ fiasco looking for more important stuff! GMJ then saw a bridge just ahead with a nice upslope and burning midday sun so she managed to avoid that while muggins gave the bridge his best shot culminating in a terrifying run down the other side right past the GMJ and DD. The SMJ thought that was it for biking for his partner so carried on mumbling about riding in this extreme heat. About 45 minutes later while taking one of his frequent rests he spotted a cyclist coming along behind him. Oh no another smartie who will pedal by with nary a care in the world, as most other cyclist do, when he sees it is the GMJ who is full of advice on why one should wait for me like a I told you – you never listen etc. This was not particularly good news because now one will be treated to the sight of the GMJ once again disappearing up the road so now I won`t be able to stop for a rest. Why stop she says – all that means is you have to start again! – ok faultless logic for sure. We arrive at the A1 highway after 25 km still stinking hot to skulk inside an airconditioned gas bar – very chilly. Bought drinks and hung about for 20 minutes then chatted to a young guy who related a story about the gulf war which ended up being slightly hard to follow but a very friendly fellow. On we pedalled – now into the Keys proper which means a series of bridges connecting the Keys. There is a separate bike path for a good half of the 190 km to Key West and reasonable marked bike lanes on the road – generally both sides. While signage could do with some improvement we managed to ride along safely for the whole way. The road is mostly wide and one is slowed down in the towns on the bikeway by crossing over side roads and mall entrances. Still that`s not a bad excuse to ride a little more relaxed. DD came along and told us the tale of woe about getting accommodation – the usual – the isn`t any!! We pulled up to the Key Largo Marriot Resort in a lather after a full 40 km for our first days ride in the midday sun. This is a huge complex on the water – BTW there is water both sides of the road all the way- the extremely persuasive desk guy and gal let us have the last room for under $400 but threw in brekky!! We had a pleasant night there and a great breakfast! End of 1st day – GMJ at The Marriot Key Largo 2nd days ride – on the road again well before 11am – this time along the dedicated bike way with its bumpy surface because tree roots push up the pavement. Passed by an enormous flea market – they seem to be a main attraction – but then again what does a retiree do for fun when living in a trailer park in the Keys- go to the flea market of course. The Keys are a little tired and the GFC has certainly taken a toll here with some less than maintained buildings and scrubby areas. However who cares – we are hard core bikers definitely going to crack the 50km mark today. We did got 55km – alrighty!! The day was hot and the breeze stayed away – our legs were getting used to the exercise and things were looking good. We beavered away until we had got to the Info centre where DD had been the day before to suss out accommodations – apparently the lady there said the `Kon Tiki` resort had room for us so we found out it was just 4km up the track and we headed there. Funny sort of a place – a bunch of permanently sited trailers but mostly proper buildings – some separate some 2 story but all as neat as a pin, clean, with a lovely coconut pine grove for the bbq area, a swimming pool, boat ramp, and a dock to swim off in the sea. The staff were super nice, let us in on some Spanish words and all for under$300 per night!!! So now any pretence at a budget was right out the window. There were some discussions about planning. GMJ But we hadn`t done our mileage so after a break we jumped back on the bikes and tooled off. After our 50km there was just one bridge to pedal up and over so the SMJ opined that he would rather do that now than in the morning and lo and behold the GMJ beat him to the top!! Beauty before age! At the bottom was a jumping waterside restaurant where we all had an early dinner congratulating ourselves on breaking the 50km barrier, and it was even earlier than 4pm! Daniel and Jeannette - end of day 2 DD drove us and our bikes back to the Kon Tiki – I`ve got to say the Windstar van is the best for this sort of adventure because the bikes fit in the back with all our luggage – after the back bench seat and one captains chair are left at home. That night the GMJ sampled the hammocks and the SMJ floated about in the sea. – then an early night. 3rd days ride Nice bike bridge and the road bridge adjacent – very safe and a happy GMJ So now the reason the GMJ was a happy biker is the 25km per hr tailwind – thank you very much!!! And just as well – there is a disused railway bridge system from 120 years ago running alongside the road bridges with section removed to prevent it use by vehicles – and the most famous of these bridges is the 7 mile bridge to which GMJ said on the way down to Florida – no way I`m riding up that bridge!!!! So we came to it – and the nice bike path runs into the old railway bridge on which GMJ blithely rides in her usual position of being an inch big on my horizon. Luckily I had a marine foghorn which got her attention and she returned saying the wind is really strong. Turns out there is a gap 3 km ahead on that sucker! So on to the road bridge – it looked pretty flat until about the 4 mile mark but the slope was nothing to the GMJ by now and she zoomed up it and hit 45km per hr whizzing down the other side. 7 mile bridge – note the gap Nice day on the bikes – clocked up a solid 55km and waited for DD at the Chevron gas bar by a trailer park full of behemoth RV`s. The SMJ found that very cold Bud was available for $1.49 and helped himself! Now we were having fun! Saw a peloton of about 20 bike riders going the other way at a great rate, and did see about 6 other individual riders. Inspirational. Back to the Kon Tiki in the Windstar for a swim and a BBQ with meat and deli stuff bought at the Publix supermarket. All good. the SMJ on the 7 mile bridge 4th days ride last day 68km to Key West DD drove us to the start point and we pedalled off with `the tailwind still helping us a lot – now the bike path was sketchy at best so on the road was pretty good, and we were getting used to the exercise. At about the 40km mark, stopped at Mary`s Louisiana Coffee shop for an expresso jolt which kept the SMJ wide awake. En route to Key West Key West is a fairly big island which we managed to ride halfway round – KW has a reputation for being a very tolerant fun place, and judging by the inhabitants we saw that would be a fair description. DD had found the KW Westin for us at, for us, quite a good rate – close to $200 – with a view of the cruise ships and 50m from Duval street – the main drag with tons of bars, restos and shops. But that was the end of our bicycling – did 210km – no problems, or punctures with the Surly LHTers – the SMJ carried about 15kg of junk in panniers and the GMJ not seeing any point in carrying panniers. We felt really good and we could have gone on and with a little planning perhaps starting earlier, longer distances could be done. But in future the answer to the budget and planning is camping –a new challenge for us. To complete our adventure we drove to South Beach Miami for a couple of nights, checking out the Art Deco scene and the posers then headed on up the Florida Turnpike and I-75. On the second day we were caught in heavy rain storms which spawned 40 tornados causing a lot of damage in Al, TN, and KY but we didn`t see any. Got home tired and safe on Saturday 3 March 2012. GMJ – heading for Key West Westin Hotel – Key West Cruise ship port – Key West South Beach Miami – Art Deco on Ocean Drive South Beach – Miami Storms on the I-75 Our fav restaurant – the Cracker Barrel
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The 10 year adventure with the Falcon GT – the Radford 14 pilothouse sailboat my family, friends and I built and sailed 23,353 nautical miles has reached a conclusion.
Timing is everything and now is the time to stay home with my family.
The boat is temporarily in Whangarei, NZ, and is destined for beautiful Vancouver Island with its new owner Campbell, a fellow Canadian.
What a fabulous experience. Thanks for allowing me to share it with you.
Cheers
John
Day 11 at sea heading for Whangarei NZ from Niue on board FGT Wed 29th September 2010 Noon Position Lat 35-50S Long 174-28 Zero Cape Petrel, Albatross and Tuna miles to Whangarei NZ Trip log 22306 at Noon today Days run 150nm – Wind 4-10 knots N-NW – Boat speed av 6.0 knots. Av boat direction 222 Barometer 1023.5 Sails – full main , jib #1 – and motoring cloud cover varies 40 -80% Air temp 20C water temp 20C – going down Late rising moon. Things seen – another Tuna, Cape Petrels all over, gannets or boobies, dolphins, and 2 pods of whales right outside Whangarei Heads Greetings from the crew snug and safe in the Marsden Cove Marina, Mission accomplished! We cleared NZ Customs and the MAF ( quarantine) by 11am and headed up the river to the barn. Customs allowed the Falcon Gt 12 months entry – totally unexpected – and the MAF lady took away our 5 bags of garbage – how good is that? They even took off their shoes on the boat – Nice. Now for some stats – The FalconGT sailed 3684 nautical miles, or 4242 ordinary miles or 6,787 kilometers in the 53 days away from New Zealand We landed at only two places – Raoul Island and the Country of Niue both in the South Pacific, or better still – dreamed of as the South Seas. – and they were dreamlike. We saw lots of whales mainly humpbacks, and saw a magical humpback command performance in front of 200 people at the sun set in the West at the Matavai Resort. We carried out whale research with 20 different researchers on board, led by Olive Andrews, with Cara and Ben as her professionals We met many Niueans, including Fia Fia – the founder of Oma Tufua – to Treasure Whales – Vanessa, Pauline, Joe, Lofa, Roz, Stan, Willy, Robert, and lots of others – including that energetic doer – Graham Marsh – thanks for the diesel and advice. Commodore Keith of the Niue Yacht Club and the Sm took the Niue Radio operators for a sail they obviously enjoyed judging by the laughing and shreaks. We caught and ate ocean food for our main protein – mahi-mahi and tuna (still have a whole tuna for our friends on Monkey Foot.) Never hungry. The best thing about the whole trip was the crew – The Sm lucked out big time – from having only Doc Jason to crew back – to having Michael the Magnificent, and Martin the Marvellous – this situation soon showed itself to be as equally as good as the upbound crew of Gerry, Karen, Chris and Karlos who set such a high crewing standard that the Sm still finds his luck hard to believe. Crew is a small word packed with a lot – the crew have to live amicably, productively and safely with people completely unknown to them in stressful situations where your body systems sometimes let you down – talk about discomfort – when we completed these two long ocean passages there was, both times, a feeling camaraderie, achievement and satisfaction. Fantastic – thanks Karen, Chris, Karlos, Gerry, Jason, Martin, and Michael Many photos now to sort out for to put on www.svfalcongt.com Cheers from your adventure and sail-satiated sailors ps you can use my gayfordjw@yahoo.ca email now Folks, Mission Complete At Whangarei Heads -8:45am Wed 29 Sep 2010 Welcoming Committee – 2 pods of huge whales Cheers Jason, Martin, Michael, John Folks - The river cruise Thursday is canceled due to the BBQ on Friday and that now we have a chance of going up the river to Whangarei on Wednesday after we clear customs – same time if anyone would like to come with us Cheers The Falcon GT crew Day 10 at sea heading for Whangarei NZ from Niue on board FGT Tue 28th September 2010 Noon Position Lat 34-00S Long 176-42E 152 Cape Petrel, Albatross and Tuna miles to Whangarei NZ Trip log 22146 at Noon today Days run 130nm -not too shabby Wind 4-10 knots N-NW – Boat speed av 5.0 knots. Av boat direction 222 Barometer 1023.5 Sails – full main , jib #1 cloud cover varies 40 -80% Air temp 23C water temp 23C – going down Late rising ( not us – the moon)smaller and smaller shiny full moon. Things seen – one Tuna, Cape Petrels all over, a few all black petrel types, no whales Greetings from the crew still motoring home in the South Pacific Ocean, Waiting for the wind, waiting for the wind – an old Jimmy Morrison song – that’s us. We enjoyed watching and making funny remarks throughout the film ‘Dr Strangelove – or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb’ – thanks Dougie – a great movie for 4 guys sailing home in very smooth waters – we ghosted along at 4 to 5 knots then motored the night and early morning, when the assymetrical spinnaker took over for a few hours. During which time Doc J hooked up a 10kg blue fin tuna – yeah baby – one minute no protein – next – lots – so you know what we had for brekky – the old pan seared tuna steaks, rice and try this at 9am – wasabi sauce! Internal head cleanliness assured! Then just as we settled down to watch ‘Out of the Blue 2′ – an educational diving documentary, a ship hove to on the horizon so the Sm revealed his role as Nosy Parker and questioned them on their name, crew nationalities and destination. Sounded like the Osna Broka heading for Tauranga NZ with crew from all over the joint. Then they said they were going to Brisvegas so the Sm wished them luck and returned to the documentary. The sun is out, the seas are calm, and tomorrow our adventure reaches another port. You are all invited for a BBQ at the Town Basin Marina and the FalconGT- downtown Whangarei on Friday 6pm as we realize you have to work hard during the week which precludes Thursdays river cruise. It’ll be some fun in Whangarei as each crew member relates their favourite story – so be prepared! Cheers from your sailors within tuna swimming distance of home. Greetings from your crew motor sailing home to Whangarei from Niue in the South Pacific Ocean, We want to celebrate with you our good fortune for the fabulous adventures we shared together in the South Pacific. (No shark stories please- the Sm is easily frightened) We invite past crew, especially Chris, Karen, Karlos and friends including Johnny, Chris G, Anna and Kirsten W, Margaret, Susan, and Abigail, Jeannette, Olive, Cara, Ben, Joe, Anthony, Giselle, Kasey and boys, Brian, Sharron and friends, and the spirit of Sm’s family and friends in Aus and Can, and the yachties at the Town Basin Marina, to a BBQ FOLLOWED BY A PARTY ON BOARD 6pm Town Basin Marina Friday 1 October 2010 There is accommodation on board and nearby for you. Your sailors in the FalconGT Day 9 at sea heading for Whangarei NZ from Niue on board FGT Mon 27th September 2010 Noon Position Lat 32-18S Long 178-35E 288 Cape Petrel, Albatross and Humpie miles to Whangarei NZ Trip log 22852 at Noon today Days run 120nm -not too shabby Wind 4-12 knots E -SE – nice Boat speed av 6.0 knots. Av boat direction 222 Barometer 1027.7 high for the Easterlies Sails – full main , jib #1, then not much wind from midnight on cloud cover varies 40 -80% Air temp 23C water temp 23C – going down Late rising smaller bright full moon. Things seen – one Adult Wandering Albatross, Cape Petrels all the time, no fish, 2 whales Greetings from the crew motoring home in the South Pacific Ocean, No wind is our lot lately so it’s in with the ear plugs and hang outside to escape the engine noise. We did try our best for windpower by hauling up the striped blue and white assymetrical spinnaker but just no wind – it is still loaded ready to go. Two whales blew a farewell kiss to us yesterday afternoon heading South – there was some discussion on the id of them – humpies or Brydes whales – did a nice fluky tail showing – white but a little far off for photos. Dinner demanded our talented Doc J get his creative and tuna juices going so we suffered the ignominy of having fish for lunch and dinner – but what a way to cook tuna – quickly seared both sides – a tad raw in the middle with rice and veges. And sweet chilli sauce – yes sir – that’s the right stuff. Feeling pampered we selected a movie which held our attention almost all through it – ‘The Last Continent’ a group of Quebeckers sailing a large boat in the Antarctic winter sponsored by the Canuck taxpayer. Last night was something special – no moonlight until later, a velvety black starry night sky, smooth motion, no visible sea surface, absolutely no lights except starlight, no horizon, and on the bow the effect was of silent soaring through the milky way – incredible sensation. One of those moments and we hadn’t even had a drink! Still hope to for a late Wednesday customs check in, and the Thursday to sail up the river to the Town Basin Marina at Whangarei . We are looking forward to having friends join us on the ride up the river Thursday. The crew said come bearing gifts like pizza. Cheers from your sailors in the seagoing motorhome. Day 8 at sea heading for Whangarei NZ from Niue on board FGT Sun 26th September 2010 Noon Position Lat 30-52S Long 179-52W 407 Cape Petrel, Albatross and Humpie miles to Whangarei NZ Trip log 22852 at Noon today Days run 146nm -not too shabby Wind 4-12 knots E -SE – nice Boat speed av 6.0 knots. Av boat direction 222 Barometer 1027.7 high for the Easterlies Sails – full main , jib #1, blue spinnaker for 8 hours. Then headed and kless wind cloud cover varies 40 -80% Air temp 24C water temp 25C Late rising bright full moon. Things seen – zero Adult Wandering Albatross, Cape Petrels all the time, one fish. Greetings from the crew on the home stretch in the South Pacific Ocean, Leaving Raoul Island behind we set the blue spinnaker which lasted 8 hours until the wind shifted in front of us and lightened up. A pretty good night as the seas moderated giving us a comfy ride – we all slept long and deeply – maybe not enough sleep the night before as we approached Raoul Island – and dawn brought the promise of a warm day so popped the bimini up to protect our delicate complexions. Brekky of scrambled eggs on warm bread straight out of the oven was very welcome( Edmonds cook book is great!) as the previous days kitchen cleaning reduced our protein levels to almost zero – bacon all gone – now we rely on catching fish. That orange spoon lure did its magic soon after dawn with a blue fin tuna giving us a decent feed but we still had mahi-mahi to fry which made a delicious lunch – Doc J can cook fish and rice. This morning brought little wind and a glassy smooth sea – water skiing was mentioned until the tiny Portugese Man of War jelly fish turned up all over the water. Some washing was done and boat tidying up with nothing remarkable happening – we think we deserve a day or twos quiet after that dang storm business. Our thoughts are turning to New Zealand which we think could be a goer for late Wednesday customs check in, probably Thursday to sail up the river to down town Whangarei . We would love to have our friends join us on the ride up the river from Marsden Point marina at 11am Thursday for a picnic lunch. Be great to have former crew and boat carers on board to share the fun. Especially those from Warkworth and Auckland Karen Chris and Karlos!! All welcome. Cheers from your sailors motoring home to Whangarei Day 7 at sea heading for Whangarei NZ from Niue on board FGT Sat 25th September 2010 Noon Position Lat 29-20S Long 177-59W 541 Cape Petrel, Albatross and Humpie miles to Whangarei NZ Trip log 22706 at Noon today Days run 93nm -because we delayed after 13 hrs at Raoul Island Wind 8-16 knots E -SE – nice Boat speed av 7.0 knots. Av boat direction 222 Barometer 1025.5 high = Easterlies -thank you. Sails – #2 reef in main , jib #2, we rolled all night cloud cover varies 40 -80% Air temp 24C water temp 25C Bright full moon. Things seen – Adult Wandering Albatross Big, Cape Petrels by the 10′s,white gannets at Meyer Is, 6 whales, no fish – no fishing allowed by Raoul besides we still had mm left. Greetings from the crew passing close to Raoul Island in the South Pacific Ocean, As the weather moderated and favoured us the good ship FalconGT pulled up her skirts and started rolling hitting 7s’ 8′s mainly and 9′s with a show-off 13. At dusk we realized that our arrival by Raoul would be about midnight and the joint is rocky! So we kept at it until 5 miles off, pulled down the sails, and motored gingerly arriving at 1am. Fooled about admiring the scenery in the moonlight until 6am when Ian on Raoul called us on the vhf radio welcoming us for the second time. He turned down our offer to take mail or passengers – The Raoulites like it there, or maybe a ride with 4 guys in the FGT was beyond the pale! We drifted about off the main settlement while we wolfed down pancakes and maple syrup courtesy of the chef of the morning Michael. The rugged magnificent scenery of cliffs, hills, the side of the caldera, all in various shades of green, washed by a pounding surf, – mesmerizing -in front of us prompted MtM to suggest this is a great place for a Survivor episode – certainly a Jurassic Park venue for sure but no pterodactyls seen. Plenty of gannets, and petrels, and the piece de resistance – an unbelievable show by 3 humpies who momentarily adopted the FalconGT as their newest best friend. They blew, they arched, they fluked mightily, they pec slapped, and then as we were sitting drifting with the diesel idling the boss tooled right under the bow about 10 feet down giving us the eye. The Sm had visions of the FGT rearing upwards and a huge open mouth scooping the crew up for brekky as it was 8am. There was an inadvertent trail of brown burly this morning. The whale family got bored with us after that and humpbacked off. That whale tale was a highlight of the whole adventure. We motored on our way to Boat Cove when out to the East 3 massive splashes signalled a male whale was busy doing his thing. Boat Cove was a bust – 4 meter swells and a good size surf so we tooled out to sea, switched off and got down to some serious domestics – Doc J marinated the fish, cleaned the fridge and freezer, we all 3S’d and – get this gals – did the washing turning the FGT into a floating Hills hoist. Brunch of delicious Doc J baked mahi-mahi marinated in ginger and soya sauce with steamed broccoli, and rice completed our morning – just one more high – spinnaker sailing to Whangarei – ah a sailors delight. Cheers from your excitement filled sailors racing to Whangarei www.svfalcongt.com for your comments |
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