Did I say today would be an easy day? Hah! I only did about 24 miles, but it took me forever because Miami doesn’t do bike lanes. And trust me, you don’t want to ride your bike in Miami traffic. So I had to skillfully navigate my bike and trailer around all the obstacles in the sidewalk (palm trees, trash cans, construction, people not paying attention). I did very well, and I didn’t hit anyone, but it was very slow going.
I woke up at my usual hour, and went up to the roof. I sat in one of the hanging chairs (like they have on Grace & Frankie) and looked at the city lights of Hollywood and Miami. Some members of the hotel staff came up to put the cushions back on the chairs, and I’m afraid I gave them a bit of a start. They were very sweet and offered to go downstairs and get me a cup of coffee, which I eagerly accepted. I asked them when the pool opened, and they said “You can swim now!” Very cool. I went for a lovely morning swim, and a fantastic cup of coffee was delivered to me. I could get used to this.
After my swim, I went down to the restaurant for breakfast, which was fantastic. I had a few hours to kill, so I went for a walk. I love looking at all the cool shops and seeing what the mannequins are wearing. Remember that movie, Mannequin? I think Jason and I went to see that in the theater. I heard one of my favorite 80’s songs playing and looked over and saw an open bar. (I mean they were open; I don’t mean the drinks were free). Since it was 7:30 in the morning, I was surprised to see people sitting in a bar, drinking wine. It was called the Octopus Garden, and the bartender was very sweet. I told him I didn’t want a drink, but I accepted his offer of an ice water. I hung out for a while, and then went back to my room. I got everything packed up and headed south on Route 1, towards Miami.
People had warned me that riding through Miami would be difficult. It really wasn’t that bad. I tried to stay off the road as much as I could and not hit any pedestrians. I skipped lunch today, and I was getting pretty hungry, so I stopped in a park to eat my Nutter Butter cookies. A homeless man with a bike asked me if I could keep an eye on his bike. I said “Sure” but then he went way down the road, and I really had to get going. There was a man sitting near me, and I asked him to resume my bike-watching duties, and apologize for me.
As I got closer to our hotel, Google Map took me on something called Atlantic Way. It’s not actually a paved road. It runs alongside a walking path on the beach, and it’s sand, which you know I just love riding on. I slipped and slid around for a while and the sand covered my legs, so I got off that “road” as soon as I could. I made my way down Collins Avenue, and finally found the hotel. They let me check in before Jason got there, so I was able to clean myself up. It was so nice to see him. I can’t believe he came all this way to hang out with me. I wish everyone could have at least one friend like that. I’m very lucky. We had a great time together. Day off tomorrow, and then Homestead on Sunday! Let’s see what ya got, Miami!
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