Close up of lizard we saw yesterday. This is the lizard in the video posted yesterday. Anyone know what type of lizard this is?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Larry reading by the pool tonight at the motel.
We have many lizards and Geckos in FL. Most are relatively small - six inches or less in length. However, on the bike path today a lizard measuring two to three feet ran in front of my bike and scared the hell out of me. Shortly after that we passed a different type of lizard that was also at least two feet long. This one was just hanging out by the side of the bike path. Hal - who is much braver than me - took a video of the lizard. He slowly moved closer to the lizard until it dove into the nearby canal. The video can viewed at:
Also, here is a video from last month which Hal took when we cycled on the beach from North Myrtle Beach, SC to Myrtle Beach, SC:
This is one of the canal floodgates we passed near Homestead, FL. After riding through an agricultural area south of Miami we passed the Homestead Air Force base and then rode into Homestead, FL which is a city of about 50,000 people I think.
We tried a Cuban restaurant for dinner tonight. Even though everything on the menu had a Spanish name it didn't seem like the food was much different than typical American food. Similarly, we ate lunch today in Miami in what appeared to be an Irish pub with a Spanish twist - the waiters had such heavy Spanish accents that we had trouble understanding them!
Shortly after riding south of Coral Gables we found ourselves riding through what appeared to be quite newly built suburban neighborhoods. It looked like much of the land had been drained to create land suitable for building. We passed drainage canals with flood control gates which i assume were for regulating water levels. Eventually, the new housing construction ended and we found we were riding in an agricultural area. We passed what appeared to be palm tree farms which contained rows of identical palms trees evenly spaced. It reminded me of the evenly spaced rows of trees we passed in GA, NC, and SC. The only difference was that the trees in GA, NC, and SC were pine trees rather than palm trees.
Starting in Coral Gables, FL we picked up a bike path. There is a pretty extensive bike path system south of Miami. Parts of the path were in poor condition. Plus, the path contained a lot of blind turns and other unsafe attributes. Nevertheless, it was nice to ride on the path because it paralleled a narrow shoulder-less road with a lot of traffic. Eventually, we had to leave the path because it was getting late and we couldn't ride very fast on the path.
We did 58 miles today. We are staying in Homestead, FL. Most of the day was spent riding in urban areas including Miami Beach and Miami. We rode through some interesting areas but much of the riding was stop and go so our average MPH was very low. After leaving Miami we rode through Cocoanut Grove and Coral Gables. In Coral Gables we picked up a bike path that went quite a long distance. One section went through a grove of Banyan trees that formed a canopy over the road. The above picture and several of the following picture show the trees.
Today's ride has been primarily in urban areas. After the weather cleared this morning we thought we were done with the rain. However, just north of Miami Beach it poured on us. However, it only lasted about 15 minutes and then the sun came out and everything totally dried within an hour. Then Hal broke a break cable but we were able to find a bike shop so Hal could buy a new cable and install it. After that we cycled into downtown Miami and stopped for lunch.
Friday, October 12, 2012
We rode about 48 miles today. Due to road construction we couldn't follow the Adventure Cycling route through Fort Lauderdale and we spent a lot time navigating around the airport in Fort Lauderdale. We finally made it out to the ocean and got to ride on a boardwalk (although it is called a boardwalk it is actually paved rather than being made out of wooden boards) along the beach in Hollywood Beach, FL. It was so nice we decided to stay at the above motel which was right on the ocean. We got to eat dinner at a restaurant on the boardwalk looking out at the ocean. The wind blows continually along the ocean so we had a tailwind most of the day and it made it pleasant to walk in the evening.
Tomorrow we plan to ride through both Miami and Miami Beach. We will then continue on to Florida City, Florida.
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