April 5, 2015
West Palm Beach to Ft Pierce
Breakfast the next morning was a delight, particularly because we were able to meet TIII's girlfriend, truly a bundle of joy (yes, a cliché, but true). Nikki was the epitome of energy and very engaging. This Is It Cafe is a no-nonsense, good breakfast-eating, locale and we were well stoked when done.
After our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts, we pushed off northward for what became a 61-mile day. That was good for Happy, as the foot was not keeping him back as feared.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
TIII had tried to dissuade us from crossing the channel (there are more services available landside), but we stopped at a Walgreens, picked up what we needed, and headed east across the channel. The cycling on the barrier isles truly is superior, and the views from the high bridges are worth the climb.
Ultimately, though, you end up back on US-1 and/or FL-A1A, with US-1 the more dreary experience. But that is true everywhere on Route 1, so no surprises there. FL-A1A, on the other hand, is typically better with fewer lanes of traffic, more green in general, and fewer businesses . . . but just enough to satisfy your wants. In general, though, it really did not get memorable again until we reached Stuart, Florida. After passing through a relatively quiet residential neighborhood, we diverted our route slightly and chose to take County Road (CR) 707 to Ft Pierce (as opposed to crossing the causeway and using FL-A1A as we had originally planned).
CR-707 has a lot of potential except it is a bit heavily traveled and has no bike facilities. However, because all the housing is landside, the views of the Indian River are spectacular with unobstructed views. And in spite of the heavy traffic volumes, almost everyone behaved themselves (only one horn-blowing incident), and traffic dropped off the further north we went.
Ft Pierce was a welcome sight, however, and we cruised in around 5:00 PM or so. There appears to be a token historic district, but I moved on and found the KOA campsite pretty easily (and unfortunately pretty shadeless).
Happy arrived shortly thereafter, and we set up camp, showered, and walked the 1/2 mile to Dino's Family Restaurant for dinner, noting the nearby Wendy's as the only game in town for breakfast!
We slept well!
Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 499 miles (803 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |