Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

Today’s update is actually a double shot as I didn’t get a chance to post an update yesterday. Sorry. It happens sometimes. It’s kind of funny though, since it’s not like I really did much yesterday. And yet the day just flew by.

I’ll start with my Warm Showers hosts, as I haven’t given them any mention thus far – just to be clear, that’s not because they don’t deserve it. Chris and Ksenia (and Clementine, the dog) have been great hosts. They’re also the first hosts with whom I’ve stayed more than one night. I didn’t see much of either of them during the day but we did get to have extended conversations over the two dinners we shared. The dinners were excellent, by the way. We chatted about many things, solved more of the world problems, and somehow the topic of my history with radio contests came up. I really need to find a way to shorten that story!

Moving on to yesterday’s activities. Much of the day was spent on the computer, trying to work out a plan for the rest of the week and beyond. I could only stay with Chris and Ksenia for two nights as they (and Clementine) were going to be visiting family for Thanksgiving. I suspected the Thanksgiving Day weekend was going to make finding any further Warm Showers stays unlikely. I was right. To make things more complicated, there was still the issue of what my post-Miami adventures would look like. I’m happy to report that I have a plan. Whether or not it’s a good plan will be determined along the way.

Since arriving in Miami, the weather has been fantastic and the thought of leaving is more than a little unpleasant. Unless I were to leave and go somewhere with equally enjoyable weather. But where? North clearly isn’t an option. And the road south leads back to Key West. And then it hit me. Roads? Where I’m going I don’t need roads. I mean, who needs roads when there is a steady supply of cruise ships in Miami just waiting to take people further south? And so, on Saturday I’m going to Puerto Rico (with a couple of other tropical stops along the way). I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m never considered myself to be a “cruise-person” and I’m actually more than a little concerned that I might get bored. But I guess being bored on a 7-day cruise in the Caribbean is high on the list of First World problems.

With the plan of going on a cruise confirmed, I now had some other planning to do. That’s what filled much of yesterday. The main priorities were finding storage for my bicycle while I’m on the cruise and finding accommodation for me for the days leading up to the cruise. Surprisingly, WarmShowers.org provided a solution to the former. It turns out there’s a host in Fort Lauderdale that, instead of accommodation, offers storage space. And, as luck would have it, he wasn’t leaving town for Thanksgiving.

Fort Lauderdale is only a 60 km ride from Miami and, based on my research, also has cheaper hotels. A hotel was going to be needed since I was unable to find an available host for tonight and tomorrow. On the upside, I was able to find an available host for Friday night back in Miami which will make getting to the Port of Miami on Saturday much easier. The plan was slowly coming together.

My hosts had to leave early this morning to catch their plane which meant I would also be leaving early. Once again, this worked out very well. Normally with such a short ride I would delay my departure to late morning; however, by starting early I was able to take advantage of a strong tailwind and clear skies. Both of which switched about 40 km into the ride. And once the rain started to fall, the temperatures fell as well. Yes, starting early was a good thing. What wasn’t such a good thing was the route I took.

Rather than taking US-1 or A1A, I found myself on FL-7 for much of the ride. This wasn’t particularly pleasant. Dare I say, less pleasant than the Seven Mile Bridge. At least the bridge had a wide shoulder the entire way. FL-7 was busy and frequently lacked any shoulder at all. While stopped at a red light, one driver rolled down her window to chat about my ride. Before heading off, she noted that I should be extra careful as it’s not a particularly bike-friendly area. Fortunately, I found the traffic to be as generous as possible while passing and I had no issues along the way. That has been a bit of a theme throughout the trip. I don’t know if the drivers aren’t really as bad as people say they are or maybe the bright yellow bags on my red bike alerts people to stay clear. It’s like I’m the equivalent of the short-bus of bicycles.

The last few kilometres of today’s ride were interesting. Not for the scenery. Not for the traffic. Not for any observable element. But as the last few kilometres clicked away, I became very much aware that these were in fact the last few kilometres. It was clear that I was once again coming to the end of another major phase of my crisis. Much like my arrivals at Gros Morne, St. John’s, and Quest Air, I suddenly found myself smiling. A really big smile. If I didn’t know better I may have almost had an emotional moment – but I put a stop to that in a hurry! Yet the smile remained. I don’t know where my bike and I will go from here, but I’m pretty proud of how far we’ve come so far.

The rest of my first day in Fort Lauderdale was relaxing and pretty uneventful. The highlight was that I finally found another Little Caesars which meant dinner would be the second pizza that Julie-Ann donated quite some time ago. Thanks Julie-Ann! The downside was the temperature had really dropped off from this morning. I heard one person say that it’s supposed to go into the 50s tonight. Brrrr.

I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring. I suspect things will be pretty quiet with it being Thanksgiving. Sadly, I’m pretty sure there won’t be a turkey dinner for me. There might be a movie though. A not-so-little while ago, Kim donated a “Dinner and a Movie” which I haven’t yet had the chance to redeem. There are a couple of movie theatres nearby so tomorrow could be the perfect opportunity to do that.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 60.56 km
Time on bike: 2:40:19
Maximum speed: 32.66 km/h
Average speed: 22.65 km/h

P.S. And yes, the title of this update is a movie quote (from a great movie).