Day 5 Florida Base Miles Trip

The question of the day is should I stay on schedule and ride to Clewiston or make the big push to end a day early. I got an early start after a greasy diner breakfast of a sausage omelet with home fries and a shortstack. I left at 8:00am, going do south out of La Belle into Alligator Alley. The quick way from La Belle to Clewiston is along Rt80 about 30 miles. Going though Alligator Alley made the ride to Clewiston 55 miles. This is a big square instead of a straight line to Clewiston. I wanted to see alligators.

I had to carry extra water because there is nothing in between point A and point B. Of course the extra weight of carrying two more bottles was such a joy. The good thing is it is really flat in southern Florida. And straight. More roads where you can see where you're going to be 20 minutes from now.
When I was entering Alligator Alley I was stopped by two guys in a pickup truck. They were surprised to see me riding though there on a bicycle and not on a motorcycle. I wish I had my motorcycle. Despite all the water along the side of the road, I never saw an alligator. Plenty of buzzards. Very big scary buzzards waiting for me to sit on the side of the road so they can carry me away to feed me to their young.

On my way out of the Alley to Clewiston I got a phone call from Greg Weber. I very welcome phone call because I was able to talk on the phone and waste a half hour while riding. Remember my music comes from my cell phone. So I use the same headphones for both. Verizon is pretty amazing because I had full cell reception on the whole ride. No matter how remote I thought I was I was still able to send pictures, check emails, check Facebook and send texts. It diffidently got me to Clewiston.

I stopped on the far side of Clewiston for water and a much deserved reward. Ice cream! I sat there for a while not looking forward to riding down the highway any longer with all the big trucks passing by my elbow. After a half hour I got back in the saddle and continued to South Bay. South Bay was to be my new end point for the day. But I thought even with a nights sleep the last leg into Fort Lauderdale along Rt 27 was not going to be any fun. 40 miles of straight highway riding.

So I got the idea to stick my thumb out and hitchhike to Fort Lauderdale. I haven't hitchhiked since my days at Crested Butte when I use to hitchhike to work everyday. I went into the last service station in town for a Gatorade and a piece of cardboard to make a sign. All I wrote on the sign was 'Fort Lauderdale'. I went to the end of town, propped up my bike and stood there with my sign. It lasted less then 15 minutes and I was picked up by large pickup truck with a twenty foot trailer. He said there was no room in the cab but I was welcome to sit in the bed of the truck and he would take me to Interstate 75 about 40 miles. Works for me. I sat back there enjoying the speed that we were passing this very straight stretch of road. When they dropped me off, I thought about putting my thumb back out for another truck ride to FLL. But I decided I had sat long enough to think about this as a new ride for the day. I could easily ride 25 miles.

I hopped back on the bike for my last big push. I am now riding in standard city traffic and moving quite quickly. This is when I thought if I can get to FLL airport two hours before the last flight to BWI I will be able to go home today. For this to work, I had to be able to get the bike bag from baggage services, pack up the bike and clean up enough to get on an airplane. It was going to be close.
In the end I decided on not rushing and getting a hotel and a big plate of meatloaf for dinner. Yum!

92 miles today! And 356 miles in 5 days, not bad start for base miles.