Miami to Ft Lauderdale

February 9, 2016

Another bright morning.

A room with a view. It promises to be warm today.

First order of business was breakfast. So off to La Carreta, less than 1/2 mile away, for an authentic Cuban breakfast . . .

Cafe con Leche . . . sweet and delicious.

Followed by a Swiss cheese, tomato, and chorizo omelette.

Without knowing the exact limits, I'm pretty confident our hotel was located in Little Havana. Between the barbershop, the hotel, dinner last night, and breakfast this morning, everything sort of pointed that way. And the ride east from breakfast reinforced my impression. I diverted from our "planned" route and took Happy and me down secondary and more residential streets that had a lot less traffic. RWGPS is good, but you need to back-check the route using Google Maps and Street View! Always, always, always!

Eventually, we crossed the Miami River on NW 5th Street . . . and beheld the city!

Our approach to Miami Central over the NW 5th Street Bridge.

We continued eastward, passing through a small business district that appears to be going through a rejuvenation . . . with the aid of an urban planner or two.

Crosswalks near Gibson Park, located in the shadow of one of the most massive urban interchanges I have ever seen, I-95 and I-395 in downtown Miami.

From there, we crossed the Rickenbacker Causeway, the same bridge I had been diverted to when I headed south on December 24, 2015 . . . after being frustrated by detours. I had already learned my lesson!

And the preferred crossing, still under construction.

The crossing got us into South Beach and its wonderful architecture and eclectic lifestyle! I love Art Deco. These pics were all taken from the park along the beach.

That was fun. I had not biked through South Beach in a long while (if ever, really!). From there, we followed the "boardwalk" north as far as it permitted and then jumped on A1A North.

I had never biked A1A northbound before and was pleasantly surprised to see there was a (in engineering jargon) collector-distributor road for the hotels and other beachside businesses, separated from the through traffic by a concrete median. This made for nice riding, as traffic on the C-D was minimal.

We were finally riding beachside again. It's been a long time. We miss you!

But all good things come to an end! Eventually, we turned back west and crossed back to the mainland. Our path forward from here was arduous! Avoid US 1 at all costs! Side streets were available that would have made this leg more pleasant, but it was sort of too late for that!

Over the 95th Street Bridge. Very unfriendly to cyclists.

And up US 1, which seems to be a conflicted roadway, as it could not decide if it wanted bike lanes or not.

So northward we trudged, and when we hit FLL (airport), I was back on familiar turf. I could almost ride blind from here. Eventually, I crossed the 17th Street Causeway and was on Ft Lauderdale Beach. No bathing suits today!

Everyone is bundled up for the "cold" weather . . . a mere 65°F. Perfect for cycling!

It wasn't long before I was at our guesthouse, the Coral Reef, relaxing and enjoying the amenities!

Afterward, we walked over to Canyon Southwest and had a great dinner . . .

Flatbread with portobello mushrooms and manchego cheese! Delicious!

And for the entrée, their red snapper, which was outstanding.

OK, we spoiled ourselves . . . tomorrow is a "rest"' day.

Today's ride

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Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 1,583 miles (2,548 km)

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