The last day of the tour started early as those who chose to complete the ride down the Claude Pepper Highway (route 27) prepared for what promised to be another long and busy road followed by a confusing thread through the urban milieu to the beach. The group splintered into several factions to meet schedules and different end-of-ride destinations.
As with last night’s supper, the group commandeered the well-lit camp laundry for breakfast.
By ones and twos, the remaining riders departed for Hollywood: Shaun first, then Chris and Lorrie, Sam, John and CJ, Bill and Karen, and, lastly, Jack. The rest of us broke camp at daybreak and went our separate ways, after making arrangements for pickup or checking routes.
The Bike Friday gets torn down once more and into its cases, and we head east in the car toward West Palm Beach and Highway A1A. This route is 100 miles, more than a one-day bike tour, but much more pleasant. The first 50 miles is much like the Claude Pepper Highway, but with some services in Belle Glade, then into the maze of north-south freeways and over Lake Worth to the beach. The next 50 miles along A1A was much like the first day’s ride through Miami Beach, with many high-end residences, beachfront parks, and the occasional community with restaurants and services. Through the downtown Fort Lauderdale district and past the airport, US1 was the choice for car travel, rejoining the bike route at Dania Beach.
Meanwhile, the group of riders spread out along the Florida Connector route. CJ and John arrived at the starting point before we did in the car, having traveled only 30 miles less than we did. Very impressive.
The rest of the riders trickled in over the next couple of hours, some having been drenched by the brief but heavy afternoon downpour. Some got confused and spent a harrowing few miles on I-75 instead of the surface streets. The group further splintered as some moved on to hotels closer to the airport for early flights; one group adjourned early to dinner at the taco stand next to the hostel, and the rest of us headed for the Turkish restaurant a few blocks north on the Boardwalk.
All agreed the maps needed more detail and some route revision, in part due to poor or ineffective signage in Florida, but we all survived, though all did not complete the entire ride. All in all, for a rough ride, there were few serious problems: a series of flats, some on the keys and some on debris-strewn route 27/80; a crash on the 7-mile bridge that resulted in some road rash and a new helmet for John; heat exhaustion that dropped the tandem team; difficult food logistics, resolved in part by gaining a support vehicle; upper respiratory issues that nearly dropped Lorrie, who persevered and completed the entire ride; strong winds that sapped rider strength on long stages, effectively ending the ride a day early for some.
There were good times, tempered by inconveniences: some of the campgrounds were unsuitable for tent camping, with only hard gravel pads, but the camping hostel and church retreat grounds were great for tenting. Pushing to arrive before the heat of the day meant waiting for check-in times at both camps and hostels. Some interesting attractions were bypassed to make the requisite mileage for the day, though the layover days offering tours of the Everglades and Key West were great.
The route would be a great two-week tour with shorter ride days and more time for exploring, which would require some rerouting. Having an ad hoc support vehicle was a big plus to carry gear on long days and go the distance for food supplies. Hard-shell storage for food was important in raccoon-infested camps.
For us personally, we found the bike trails too rough to maintain a safe speed with our two-wheel trailer and long tandem, driving ourselves and our machine to the verge of breakdown. We had trained for a fully-supported ride in cooler climate, switching due to an unavoidable cancellation, and weren’t conditioned for hot weather and harsh sun.