Panama City Beach

March 24, 2018

Ah, another cold morning! 46°F this morning! Bah Humbug! But it promises to rise to the low 70s, and Panama City Beach was already at 63° . . . so how could it be so cold in Mexico Beach? Ours is not to wonder why; ours is but to bike! But first, breakfast! Back to Castaways for their excellent breakfast. The same I had yesterday!

And I got there early, about 8:00 AM! I was wearing (yes, again) my leg warmers, plus a short-sleeved jersey topped with my red long-sleeved zip-up, and on top of that, my windbreaker rain jacket. It was perfect for the ride to Castaways, but I definitely overheated while in the restaurant.

But afterward, back outside and headed north, I felt about right. But I had layered my "kit" with the expectation that most of it would come off by Panama City. And it wasn’t long, as the sun came up, that I felt very warm. So I stopped after about 10 miles and doffed the red, long-sleeved jersey. I kept the yellow rain jacket on for visibility.

Today's ride to Panama City Beach.

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The new and improved US-98. I feel so safe.

Doffing the red jersey at about MP 10 while in the no-photo zone.

At that point, I was within the Tyndall Air Force Base no-photos zone . . . which I did not take too seriously. But the sun was up and bright, and I thought the shadows made for an interesting picture. As you can see, the pavement looks really good. This was the case all the way from Mexico Beach, thanks to the "US-98 Safety Improvement Project," which is essentially a repaving project with some (and I only saw one) right turn lanes added. It looked close to completion as I headed north for the DuPont Bridge.

The US-98 Safety Improvement Project flyer.

While the repaving re-establishes the shoulder and possibly makes it a bit wider, the project stops short of the bridge, which has no shoulder and no sidewalk. So you have these wonderful shoulders, in some areas marked with bike lane symbols and in some places, actual bike lanes, all leading to a dead end at the bridge. Fortunately, by the time you get there, the roadway has widened to four lanes . . . and so has the bridge. And on a Saturday morning, with light traffic, there was plenty of room for me and "them," so I felt no particular concern as I crossed the bridge, even taking the time for a picture at the top.

Arrival at the potentially harrowing DuPont Bridge.

And the approach. No shoulder, no sidewalk, no problem . . . at least not today. But don’t try this during rush hour!

And the view from the top. I snuggled up close to the railing for this one, but cars still changed lanes to pass.

By the time I crossed the bridge, I was making good time. Why? A nice tailwind pushing me all the way. The first serious tailwind since I started my tour. So before I hit the city, which slowed me a bit, I was well above a 13 mph average speed.

The wind was blowing in the right direction today.

The entry into Panama City is not stunning, to say the least, very commercial and industrial, and US-98 becomes a curb and gutter section on the far side of the bridge, so no shoulder and no bike lanes . . . although, theoretically, traffic should slow down in the city. But there were some nice moments.

The view opposite an industrial operation . . .

But shortly after that little vignette, I was dealing with a railroad crossing that proved challenging. Five tracks in two crossings, one of two, and one of three tracks, with no railroad activity apparent. Cars were backed up, and the wait had become so long that some were turning around and taking another route. Eventually, a single engine passed with some guy waving at us furiously and making circles in the air . . . which I could only interpret to mean we should find another path. Our wait had been so long that I had parked my bike against a post and taken my leg warmers off, rolled them up, and packed them away. And still the gates were not moving. So I did the unthinkable and went around the gates. This is a big no-no and I don't recommend it . . . but I did it anyway. I will say this. None of these tracks was a main line. They were all working tracks serving an industrial area, so speeds were slow and railroad traffic predictable . . . at least for someone with experience working around railroads.

A two-track crossing in the foreground and a three-track crossing about 100 feet further down the road. Note that one crossing gate did not descend!

Soon after this one single engine passed, once on the far crossing and then back again on the near crossing, I made my breakaway.

After that, it was mostly residential neighborhoods until I reached what looked to be the historic downtown.

This looked like it was worth exploring someday.

And I really liked this renovation of an old art deco theater, Martin Theatre.

From there, it was a nice ride along St Andrews Bay, which is clearly where the people with money live.

In spite of the double yellow and no bike lane, no problem.

St Andrew Bay under the shade of an awesome tree.

I knew there was one more bridge to cross, but I wasn't expecting a construction site. Even though it was a Saturday, there was a crew working. I could see where I was supposed to be but had to cross the construction site to get to it. Well, I lucked out (again?) and asked, "Is it possible to pass through here?" and amazingly got a "Yeah" and a point in the direction I wanted to go. Off I went, after a thank you, of course.

My path forward was closed, but that has never stopped me before!

After that, the crossing of St Andrews Bay. This looks more foreboding than it was, although traffic was horrible! I'm not sure where it all was coming from, but it was like a giant funnel bringing it all to this one crossing. Fortunately, the shoulders were exceptionally wide . . . plus, there is a barrier-protected sidewalk, although I didn't see the entry point on my approach.

Crossing St Andrews Bay. While the shoulder was quite wide when I crossed in this direction, it may very well change when the new construction is open and feeding more traffic into the crossing.

From there I made my way to Panama City Beach proper, taking secondary roads when I could. At one point, I was headed due south and could really feel the headwind, making me fully appreciate the push I had had most of the day (so far).

The main drag through Panama City Beach is FL-30. Normally it has bike lanes and sufficient room to navigate. Today, however, it was a construction zone . . . for two miles. But that worked out OK, as the congestion, from the construction project or from Spring Break or just being a Saturday, made traffic slow to a crawl, and I just took up the center of the lane and rode along with the cars until I was able to clear the construction zone and recover a shoulder/bike lane (they are the same down here).

A little intimidating at first, but not really after you figure out the parameters. At least today’s parameters!

And once past the construction, the shoulder bike lane provided an easy path forward. Just watch for wayward vehicles turning right from the main drag because they’re likely not looking for you (aka right hook).

From there, it was only eight miles to my hotel . . . and the beach. I arrived at 1:30 to a warm welcome. So warm, they upgraded me to a suite that made it easier to get my bike into my room (i.e., no stairs). While waiting for the room to be ready (arriving early usually means you beat maid service), I walked across the street to grab a quick lunch and then was at poolside by 3:00 PM.

North of the main drag, parts of the road open up to great views of the beach.

Later, a beautiful sunset and a long walk to dinner . . . 1.2 miles! But I’m in civilization now and caught an Uber back (although walking that dinner off would not have been a bad idea!).

I think this was called Paradise Shrimp . . .

Charbroiled oysters . . . the best part of the meal.

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 460 miles (740 km)

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