February 14, 2016
Clewiston to West Palm Beach
Another beautiful morning . . . finally some consistency! So short-sleeve jerseys and off to breakfast. Back to the tiki bar at the marina, as they open early and cook to order!
So breakfast was good, the weather was good . . . already in the upper 60s when we left the marina . . . and the wind was out of the north, so we had some push! So down FL 27, but not too far before we turned off onto Old FL 27, a much calmer road, parts of which are closed and/or abandoned. We discovered this alternate route last year when we tried to bike the Okeechobee just as they were starting the construction we see now. A visit to the Corps' office in Clewiston resulted in a conversation with an environmental planner who suggested this course. So we were keen on repeating that as part of today's ride.
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Along the way, we observed a bit of the Corps' work progress:
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That was only a short digression off the old route onto the new in order to get around a closed section that fully blocked us. After re-entering Old FL 27, we were able to get another four miles out of it for a total of about eight miles.
We stayed on FL 27/FL 80 as far as South Bay, with a steady wind behind us most of the way. But as we got closer to South Bay and effectively rounded the lake, the two roads split, and we were on a due east bearing headed down FL 80. And the wind shifted too. It was now mainly out of the east and maybe northeast.
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Our only relief came when FL 80 turned north at Belle Glade. But it only lasted four miles. Then it was a hard turn east and straight into the wind. And looking ahead, it was clear there would be no shelter!
At this point, we had barely put in 23 miles! We had 64 or so to do today, and the next 40 were going to take their toll! My average speed through this section was under 10 mph, and my speed would often drop to 8 mph or so when it gusted. This went on for about 15 miles, after which the road turned southeast for about four miles before resuming its eastward alignment for another eight!
And in all that distance, the road section didn't change much. I will also say that I have never seen as much roadkill as I did along this section of highway. Maybe it was because I was hunkered down!
Regardless, after MP 50, I turned right onto Forest Hill Boulevard, which took me through Wellington and Palm Springs (Happy was well behind me at this point). The part through Wellington was mostly residential developments, but that gave way to more commercial activity as we entered Palm Springs.
It was all road riding (some sidewalk where it made sense) with a small diversion through this nice park! It was a real relief from all the road riding.
From there it was just a seven-mile push to our hotel. I was well ahead of Happy by now but still arrived late in the day, close to 4:30. And exhausted after fighting all that wind. But we recovered soon enough and were shortly eating Cuban fare at Don Ramon's Restaurant.
Tomorrow we head for Ft Lauderdale, and Thursday we fly home. Hopefully the wind will be in our favor!
Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 1,819 miles (2,927 km)
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