donnie here. this is my final post to our diary of our florida bicycle excursion. i wanted to collect and leave my final thoughts and reflections..... first, i'd like to congratulate my sweetie susan for taking on and nailing this new challenge ! riding a bicycle, day after day (Badfinger), loaded with camping gear, is not for everyone. i had already acquired a love for it, and hoped that by exposing susan to the lifestyle first-hand, she might as well. in fact, i was never really concerned that she could handle the day-to-day grind of hours in the saddle; rather, i wanted to see if that's what it might be, just a 'grind', or an enthusiastic new way to travel and experience life. our journey went off wonderfully !!! from the start of our road trip from katy, TX to pulling in the driveway on the flip-side, susan and i were joined at the hip, and we never seemed to tire of each other (at least, not me of her !!!) we logged long riding days, found sweet camping along the way, saw lots of wildlife (that passing motorists missed ALL of...), and we easily slipped into our camping duties. all of our preparation paid off ! the trip was a great shakedown for future adventures ! this trip brought susan and i closer as a couple, and i look forward to sharing other new adventures with my girl !

Leaving the Everglades, riding through Big Cypress National Preserve then entering civilization again.

Woke up this morning to hunters in camp getting ready to shoot wild turkey.  If we stayed, and they shot one, we could have fresh turkey tonight.  However, the road calls and we are on our way again after breaking camp for the last time for this trip.  Donnie continued to have tire issues today.  We kept filling the damn thing with air intermittently to make it through the day.  We hoped to find an open Bike shop in Naples to get another tube.  We are charmed and got to one just as they were closing.  He replaced the tube on his bike and we continued our journey.  Just as we cross over from Bonita Beach to Ft. Myers it went flat again !!!  We pumped it up and crossed our fingers that it would make it 2 more miles to the car.  Just as we started up again after changing it, it started to rain.  We both looked at each other and said, "rain....really? we are almost back to the car".  Fortunately it was just a short sprinkle and didn't impede our final approach.  We rode over the last bridge from Ft. Myers Beach to Ft. Myers (which was the steepest of all the bridges we crossed). 

Miles Day 5 = 77.7
Total Miles = 295.8

Yes, you are reading this correctly....but we didn't run into any today (whew ! )

This is the smallest post office in the United States



Back to civilization - Ft. Myers... and the end of this trip.

We rode 295 miles in 5 days - just another ride for Donnie, but a huge milestone for me. 

Stay tuned for our next adventure.....to be announced!

Camp cooking - Donnie is just as good cooking outdoors as he is in a fully stocked kitchen.  Maybe even better since we work up quite an appetite riding all day!

tortellini and pesto. not bad for touring cyclists in camp !!

Made it through most of the Everglades today.  There was a canal running the entire length of the road filled with water.  Also filled with alligators.  We must have seen between 100-125 alligators today.  Big ones, small ones, baby ones.  Also an abundance of turtles, birds and other wildlife.  The people whizzing past us in their cars at 75 miles an hour are missing all of this!

Donnie got another flat tire today.  We just couldn't seem to get it patched and fixed.  Plus we had problems with the other spare.  He worked for a while to patch, re-patch and try to make it work.  We think we have it this time!  Fingers are crossed

susan setting up camp at monument lake CG in the Everglades

donnie and susan setting up camp

Monument Lake State Park was beautiful and calm.  That lake in the background is home to 10 alligators.  The Park Ranger assured me they don't feed at night and rarely venture more than 10 feet from it's banks.  If he is wrong, this will be our last posting in the blog.

Miles Day 4 = 51.3
Total Miles = 218.1

On the way from West Miami to the middle of the Everglades we saw our first alligator (of many more to come)

We stopped at a little place that boasted Fried Gator so we had to try it to see if it really tastes like chicken.

fried alligator. a first !!!

susan likes the alligator !!!

Yes !!! It does taste like chicken, but a with a chewy consistency (like snails/escargot)

This was in the restaurant we stopped in at.  He looks pretty mean, but was stuffed, so we were in no danger.  Later in the day I actually DID see an alligator on the side of the road.  I thought it was dead as we rode by until it moved....I don't ever want to be within 2 feet of a real alligator again.

this was another little stop we made for snacks/drinks.  I got a bag of cheetos but couldn't eat them because the birds would swoop down and grab them out of your hand. 

on the Tamiami Trail thru the Everglades. LOTS of alligators on the way !!!

today's destination and stop was West Miami, FL

Was woken up at 5:30 am by a garbage truck emptying the dumpsters in the campground within very close proximity of our tentsite.  That wouldn't have been so bad except their backup warning signals had to have been higher in decibels than anything else on the planet.  After that wake up call, we got everything arranged back on the bikes and made our way on the road to Miami.  We had intended to follow the atlantic trail up through South Beach and on to Fort Lauderdale but took a last minute detour at Homestead and made our way up hwy 997 instead.  We passed lots of nurseries and farms.  We stopped at one and picked our own strawberries!   On the way to West Miami we got caught in a rainstorm.  We sought refuge at a Pilot truck stop where there were many others on motorcycles doing the same.  We called to find a hotel for the night and finally found one.  It turned out to be about 8 miles out of our way but we were ready for a nice soft bed, real pillows and no annoying lights or garbage trucks.  On the way to the hotel I had the next flat.  Donnie was riding ahead and a sheriff cruiser that had just passed me told him I had a flat.  He promptly turned around on his trusty steed to come and save the day.  Continuing on the Tamiami Trail we got caught in another rainstorm, this one was much harder and longer.  After a day of dealing with rain, flats, more rain and heavy traffic in Miami we finally settled into our hotel.  Had the opportunity to sneak in a load of laundry.  We went to one of the best little family run Italian restaurants we have ever eaten at.  Life is good.

Miles Day 3 = 56.7
Total Miles = 166.8


My hero and expert tire-changer

Picking fresh strawberries....YUM !!!!