Lori & Jim's Great Florida Adventure - Day 5

I tried to post about yesterday's adventure at the Everglades Alligator Farm, but it wouldn't seem to post from our hotel room. I guess the signal wasn't strong enough. I'll catch up with that post and pictures later.

Day 5 

Today was great on its own, but Jim and I added a little extra adventure too!  We met up with everyone at the Miami-Homestead Speedway. 

Once all the bikes, bags and people were loaded, they bussed us out to Key Biscayne, to Bill Baggs Park. There we unloaded and hit the first of many trails. 

There was only 1 hill today and it was a good one - the bridge back to the mainland!

Jim did really well and pedaled himself the whole way. I think this was probably his first big hill ever!

We made it to the first rest stop with flying colors!  There I met a couple from New Jersey who admired the jersey I was wearing - one that Colin designed for Thick Bikes in Pittsburgh. It turns out their son opened a pizzeria on East Carson St. in Pittsburgh and Thick Bikes came to his opening. His favorite bike shop is Thick!  And later at the afternoon rest stop, the girl running it, I found out, used to live a couple of blocks from Thick and got her bike there too!  I also met someone from Brockport today! Small world for sure!

Most of today's ride was on paved urban trails through Miami and South Miami. One trail, through, is a work in progress, the Ludlum Trail. It was VERY rocky and hard to ride!  At the end we went into a park and it was our lunch stop. This is where the extra adventure begins. I got to lunch and discovered my phone had fallen out of the holder and was gone!  I figured it happened on that bumpy trail so I left Jim to eat lunch and turned around to go back to look for it. However, somehow I missed the trail and went an extra 5 miles or so down and back before I found the trail. UGH!  Then, as I was on the trail looking for my phone, people were finished eating lunch and heading back down that trail. Someone told me that someone found my phone and my husband had it. Now one of the ride organizers called Jim and said we would ride and meet up. I rode most of the rest of the afternoon without finding Jim and without my phone!  Eventually I got to the afternoon rest stop and waited for Jim and we were once again riding together. I didn't manage to get lunch but snacked while waiting for Jim. It was only 7 miles to the campground, most of it along the Black Creek Canal Trail. Kind of like riding the canal back home except there are palm trees, it's all paved, and there are very different birds!

It was nice to get off the city trails and onto a quieter trail that was more scenic. Finally heading into the campground was a really cool, twisty-turny trail with really cool, tropical vegetation. Unfortunately I didn't get a very good picture of it. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a better one. 

At the campground, tent set up, a shower and a change of clothes and dinner. 

40 miles today for Jim and 45 miles for me. We are both tired but happy!  And now I'm sitting here under the stars, under Orien, to be specific, enjoying the cool evening and listening to the crickets. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!