A Short Stop In Miami

Sometime a leisurely bike ride does not make for a leisurely day. Today would be one of those days. It wasn’t a physically demanding day but it was certainly exhausting.

The downside to somewhat impromptu adventures is that it’s very possible (maybe even probable) to find oneself not entirely prepared for the adventure at hand. That would certainly apply to my current situation. When I left Toronto (and St. John’s, and Philadelphia, and so on) I hadn’t even considered going on a cruise. Yet here I was. One day away from boarding a seven day cruise. And 50 km (30 miles) from where I needed to be. And riding my bike wasn’t an option – which, as a side note, is a very sad thought.

As mentioned in a previous post, I had found a Warm Showers host, Clive, that offered storage for my bike. Under normal circumstances, going all the way to Fort Lauderdale to store my bike would seem a little strange. However, since I need to be in Fort Lauderdale at the end of the cruise, it seemed to make sense. The challenge was going to be getting back to Miami, once I dropped off my bike (and excess baggage). The solution? Public transportation.

By noon, I found myself sitting on a bus heading south. By 1:00, I was still on a bus. By 2:00, still on a bus – a different bus, but still a bus. By 2:30, I had finally arrived back in Miami Beach. In all honesty, the ride seemed to pass relatively quickly. The most unfortunate part was that all the windows were heavily tinted which meant taking photos along the way wasn’t an option. Probably the most surprising part was that it only cost $1.75 to make the trip.

I had decided to travel to Miami Beach before heading to tonight’s Warm Showers host because I knew there were a bunch of shops there and there were some things I figured I should get before taking a cruise. One of those things being a bathing suit. Admittedly, the likelihood of me actually going swimming is incredibly low but I thought I should at least be prepared.

As a self-declared “worst shopper ever” candidate, this process took much longer than it probably needed to. However, I finally managed to find a somewhat acceptable bathing suit (and t-shirt) before my head had a chance to implode. I probably should’ve bought a few more things but I figured the shorts and t-shirts I’ve been wearing on the trip thus far would suffice – faded and worn as they may be. It’s times like this that I’m glad I don’t wear the common cycling jerseys and shorts.

With my shopping “complete”, it was time to board another bus – this time over to Miami to meet my Warm Showers hosts for the night. Another hour later I had arrived and met Omar and Meena and their young son, Abdullah. Actually, I met them in the reverse order as Abdullah was the one who greeted me at the door. He seemed more than a little disappointed that I didn’t bring pizza. Fortunately, the disappointment was short-lived.

Omar and Meena have been fantastic hosts. Once again, I was welcomed into a stranger’s home as if I were family. My Warm Showers experiences have definitely been a highlight of my long journey. We chatted about trips, food, life, midlife crises, and more before feasting on an excellent chicken and rice dinner. The conversation continued after dinner as we discussed differences between the U.S. and home. In this regard, their stories were much more interesting as they had recently relocated from Pakistan. Omar has been in the U.S. for a few years while Meena arrived just a few months ago.

Later in the evening we got in the car and I was given a tour of the nearby Coral Gables (aka. City Beautiful) before stopping in at Wall’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream. A great place to stop made even better by the atmosphere created by the old Tom and Jerry cartoons playing on the outdoor screen. The temperature really dropped tonight but, despite the cold, we shivered outside and enjoyed our ice cream. We all found it rather amusing how much we were all shivering. It was 15C (60F). Welcome to Miami.

My last full day in the continental US was exhausting even though I only cycled about 15 km (9 miles). By the end of the evening I was pretty worn out. I’m pretty sure riding a bus for four hours is significantly more exhausting than cycling the same distance (or time). Plus, I had to endure the whole shopping experience. Ugh. That said, the day was definitely a success. The bike is stored. I’m back in Miami. I’m staying with great people. And tomorrow I’ll be on my way to Puerto Rico.

End note: I have no idea if I’ll have any internet access on the boat so this could be my last entry for a while. If so, watch the news. Hopefully there won’t be any reports of issues aboard the Carnival Glory.