Tag: Everglades

THE EVERGLADES, FLORIDA

The Everglades is not a swamp but rather a very large slow-moving river. And sometimes it floods.

My plan for today was to ride the loop at Shark Valley four times. But I was in for a surprise. I rode out to the observation tower and saw a couple of patches of water crossing the road. I didn’t think much of it other than I didn’t see any alligators.

It is still the wet season, defined as May through November. Last month, two hurricanes hit Florida. During the wet season, there are plenty of places for animals to hide. In the dry season, fewer pools of water mean animals may be out more. That seemed to be the case today – water everywhere and it was hard to find a gator.

I made it to the observation tower without a single sighting. I talked with a couple who had ridden out there and they too failed to see an alligator. At this point, I was going to finish my loop and just get in my miles. The loop is 15 miles or 25 km so I could get in a 100 km ride.

But I was in for a surprise. Leaving the tram center the road was covered in water. It was, literally, a river, because the Everglades is a river. I went about two kilometers and the water seemed to get deeper. It was over the rims of the wheels, about two to three inches deep. It was eight miles back to the center to complete the loop. Without knowing how long I would be riding in the river, I turned around.

I warned a couple of cyclists headed towards the river with my recommendation. They also turned around.

Heading back to the tram center I saw two young women stopped and looking into the shallow river that is mostly grass. They found an alligator. ONE! My trip was saved.

They asked about the loop and I recommended they turn around at the observation tower. They were on rental bikes so getting those soaked was not as big a deal as getting my bike soaked.

It was enjoyable meeting them and I headed back to start. I passed a second alligator so my trip was starting to come together. Back at the tram center, I decided I would try to ride the full loop. The question was how far was the roadway flooded.

I had gone the first 2-3 miles on dry roads when I caught the Tour Mobile Tram. I think they were looking at an alligator so I stopped and took a photo. Maybe it was a rock.

I went another couple of miles and caught the tram again. I waited behind it and the guide announced to me that I should pass them as they would be there a while. As I passed I stopped and asked the driver where the road was flooded. He thought it was around Mile 10. I previously made it to Mile 9 and I decided I would try to ride through it.

Indeed, when I reached the flooded roadway I crept through it. And I could see on my Wahoo that I soon reached the spot that I had reached before where I turned around. This time I could continue through the flooded river and complete the loop.

I was on the backstretch, from the observation tower back to the tram when I caught up to the two young women I had met previously. They were from Poland, in Florida for a two-week vacation.

Some rides are about the miles. Some are about the climbs or the scenery. Today was supposed to be about the wildlife. But there were few alligators and the ride became about the company.

For the last five miles, I rode at the speed of Poland. These two young ladies, I never asked their names (I would forget even if they told me), were alligator whisperers. They seemed to find them where I missed them. But mostly, they were delightful to ride with. I forgot about riding for miles and just enjoyed the day. Thank you, my friends!

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SHARK VALLEY, EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

This was my third time with this ride.All have been fun and they would be hard to rank if I wanted to. I don’t.

I drove from Miami and passed a huge group ride. It also could have been a bike event but I couldn’t find an event simply by searching. I did see a photographer at the end of the street so maybe it was. My first thought was to stop and see if I could join them. But it looked to be already in progress. It was 9:30 a.m. And more importantly, I went deep yesterday and haven’t recovered.

At lunch yesterday I had avoided any cramping. And then, a slight turn the wrong way and my hamstring about killed me. I tried to stretch my leg and bend my foot backward. Back to the car before the drive to Miami I drank a Hot Shot cramp killer. It worked in that I didn’t cramp anymore yesterday. But last night, twice in my sleep I awoke with a cramp in a calf, both calves, different times. My body was not recovered. I checked my Whoop Band score this morning. It was only 34% recovered. I knew I should stick to today’s plan which was to ride two loops at Shark Valley.

Two loops would be simple to satisfy my daily mileage (30 miles). And also for Strava. I knew a loop was timed and I could set a PR by not stopping but I would dedicate the first loop to watching nature including stopping often for photographs. And the second loop would be just riding without stops.

Arriving Shark Valley the sign on the roadway announced the lot was full and to expect delays. There were scores of cars already parked outside the park but I got in line to see how long it would be. There were at least 12 cars in line and they would be admitted one car at a time for every one car that left. And since it was 10:15 a.m. the lot probably had just filled up and the early morning folks might be a while before leaving. I did a U-turn and went back out to the highway to park.

Most of those parked on the roadside had bicycles but a few were walkers. And this observation. The government is not serious about vehicle emissions. The admission for one car was $35 whereas for one individual it was $20. For the cars that parked outside the park a couple walking in would pay more ($40) by walking in that by driving in. They want you to drive your car.

I have a National Park pass for free admission so it was an easy decision for me to park on the highway then ride past the long line or parked cars. But if I had a family of four in my car I would wait in the line to pay for the vehicle rather than have to pay individually for each of us with a bike, even though I would be free.

The ranger greeted me and asked for my pass as though I looked like someone who would have a pass. Of course, I did. She said that I would have a great tailwind going out and a pretty stiff headwind coming back. She was right.

I headed out of the visitor center on the straight road next to the water towards the observation tower. I only saw seven alligators in the seven miles out to the tower. Winter is the dry season and they are less active. So I saw less today than my other two rides but it was still satisfying.

I arrived at the tower and saw a few people looking at a big one. I realized that with it’s longer snout and pointy teeth on the outside that it was a crocodile. I would later learn that it was a female.

I counted eight alligators and one crocodile before turning to finish the loop. The second part of the loop looked uphill even though it was pancake flat.It was a struggle into the wind. Most people I saw who thought it would be fun to rend a bike realized that it isn’t fun riding into the wind. Most were walking.

When I reached the visitor center I had to decide whether to ride another loop, as planned, I met a couple on mountain bikes and they asked me which way to go. I told them the wind was brutal coming back and that I thought there might be a little protection riding clockwise vs. counterclockwise.

It was then I decided I would ride the loop again but reverse my direction. I decided a PR on a loop was dumb. Strava is just for social media and I should do what I wanted to do. So I reversed direction. While I would still be nose into the wind the last seven miles, at least it would be along alligator alley and not just in the desolate grasses.

I soon caught the couple and then caught the site-seeing tram. Once the tram stopped and let me pass I never saw it again. I guess the driver didn’t like me drafting. Hehe.

I tried not to double count alligators. Many were in the same spots one hour later. I would say that I saw 14 today. And two crocodiles. On the way back I stopped to tell three girls to look for the two alligators on the side of the road about one mile further and after that they would see a juvenile crocodile and not long after that the adult female. They were pretty excited.

It was a good day. No Strava records, well, maybe one. But that was organically because I had no segments marked.

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