Join me at the Homestead Sports Complex this Saturday, October 19, 2024, for the EBC/Bike305 BISCAYNE-EVERGLADES GREENWAY Rides. Registration starts at 7:30 AM and last through 8:15 AM.
Choose your
ride - 3 to choose from - 43, 22 and 12. See the flier for more information.
ALL RIDES ARE FREE!
I will be one of the ride leaders for the 22 mile route (route photos below). Jump in. Have I ever led you astray? It will be fun.
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| 22 mile route standard view |
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| 22 mile route satellite view |
Congratulations to Kirsten Faulkner - She only began cycling as a hobby in 2017 - and dominates the Olympic road cycling event in 2024! Inspiring.
As reported online by NBC News:
It was the "upset of a lifetime" in women's road cycling as American Kristen Faulkner surged ahead of the pack to secure gold at the end of the race.
Faulkner was not a favorite to win this race but the former rower crossed the finish line almost a full minute ahead of Netherlands' Marianne Vos and Belgium's Lotte Kopecky.
This is the first Olympics for Faulkner, who did not qualify on her own for the race and was added to Team USA at the last minute. She only began cycling as a hobby in 2017, saying it provided an outlet for her venture capitalist job in New York City.
“It was kind of my outlet every day to get into Central Park and ride for two hours away from the bustle of the city,” Faulkner told NBC News last month.
A great story.
Cycling on the levees of the Florida Everglades
Eric Barton, Special to the Globe and Mail
Published May 22, 2024
We came to a crossroads about an hour into our Florida Everglades bike trip. Tracks made of crushed seashells drifted off to the horizon, so straight they looked planned with a giant level. Around us, on every side for as far as we could see, the sea of grass waved lazily, as flat as a calm morning ocean.
“Last time I was out here, somebody had put up a huge American flag in the middle of nowhere,” one of my companions said.
So we sped off, taking the right fork instead of our planned left, in search of this mysterious flag.
Our ride that morning took us on top of the levees that hold back the Florida Everglades, a 1.5-million-acre swampland sandwiched between Miami on the east coast and Naples on the west. The levees are nothing more than earthen berms, looking like massive speed bumps. They create a grid system that spans 3,427 kilometres, farther than a drive from Toronto to Calgary. Like the best off-road cycling adventures, there’s a sense of the unknown, even a bit of danger, because alligators as long as a Volkswagen could be waiting just up ahead.
For tourists coming to South Florida, riding the levees isn’t as simple as, say, renting a city bike on South Beach or a mountain bike at Miami’s Virginia Key Beach Park. But for the adventurous, the levees rise a couple meters above the swamp, offering undisturbed views of Florida in its original form.
CLICK HERE to read more, the full article Cycling on the levees of the Florida Everglades, by Eric Barton, special to the Globe and Mail
Special mention Dora & The Graveling Explorers (CLICK HERE) to view some of my prior blog posts relating to gravel riding with the Dora & The Graveling Explorers group - this article and my prior blog posts provide some real insight as to what to expect - the fun of biking the levees.
Cycling on the levees of the Florida Everglades, by Eric Barton, is a travel article - and one for those who want to staycation here at home and enjoy a view of the Everglades via bikes. I offer this article as a great read for anyone still on the fence as to riding the levels (AKA gravel riding South Florida style). The article covers a ride that sets off from Everglades Holiday Park, west of Ft Lauderdale - but I ride (when I ride gravel) usually out of the Tamiami Trail near the Miccosukee Casino & Resort, the Trail Glades Range or Dade Corners, which ever landmark you prefer. The rides have even gathered as far east as 137th and 8th Street (where we have seen deer just across the Tamiami Canal from civilization).
Levee riders can travel as far south as the Everglades Nation Pak, south of Homestead Florida or as far north as you want to go - many traveling up to West Palm Beach and back. You can decide. Groups such as the aforementioned Dora & The Graveling Explorers group ride all these routes and distances, but include many opportunities for training rides that take you no further than between SW 137th Street to the Miami-Dade County Trail Glades Range area.
I have seen single riders, pairs, families and even moderately seized groups taking park in these gravel rides.
From the Article:
If You Go
Riding the Everglades levees isn’t as easy as more tourist-friendly biking destinations, like Shark Valley in Everglades National Park, with its paved trail and bike rental right at the entrance. But the payout is unobstructed views and a ride where you’ll likely not see another person.
Bike rentals
Several bike shops in South Florida rent bikes that can be ridden on the levees, including Mack Cycle and Brickell Bikes. Hybrid bikes would work, but better are mountain bikes for a smoother ride or gravel bikes for those who want to travel faster.
What to bring
Once out on the levees, there are no facilities and little shade, so bring several water bottles and backup sunscreen. Patch kits are recommended since a walk back with a flat is a monotonous trek. Mosquitoes and horseflies can be fierce, so bug spray is also smart if you plan on stopping.
How to plan
The levee trails can be found on cycling apps like Strava and even running along the Everglades canals on Google maps. But for first timers, joining a group ride is better. Find them on Facebook on pages including Florida Gravel Biking and Dora & The Graveling Explorers.
Dinosaur encounters
Wildlife is common on the levees, with everything from skinny deer to vultures the size of labradors. Alligators are the most treacherous among them, but attacks are unheard of if you stay on the trails and don’t approach too closely.
This pampered pooch has a great seat providing a great view. Love the googles.
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| Photo permission granted |
I enjoy road cycling. I can roll out of my driveway and have reached as far as Hollywood Beach, Florida. No need to drive to a starting point. It is easy to cycle when we live in one of the best places to cycle year around. The pandemic dramatically increased the popularity of cycling. This year saw yet another increase in the activity as it can be done socially distanced as well as outside.
But for me, there were no big trips this year - no cycling in central Florida or upstate NY,
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| The 2021 B-day mileage ride |
Remember Rule #1 listed in the movie Zombieland: Cardio. I am fortunate to maintain my health - and I credit long term gym and spin class for my health, though since the pandemic, my activities are nearly exclusively outdoor cycling. Published studies have shown that cycling at a moderate pace for an hour allows overweight people with diabetes to halve their blood sugar levels in the next 24 hours. Even cycling faster for only half an hour can reduce levels for an entire day, but only by 19%.
Other health benefits include strengthening your heart muscles, lowering one's resting pulse and reducing blood fat levels. Research also shows that people who cycle to work have two to three times less exposure to pollution than commuting via car; improving lung function.
And let's not leave out the social aspects - not the mad pelotons, but friends who ride together - fun times.
One such ride was the 12-22-21 "Holiday Lights, City Ride" where the group explored the local holiday light displays:
So on to the photos for 2021:
Above left - Hollywood Beach. Above right - Rickenbacker bridge
Above left - Virginia Key. Above right - Black Point Marina.
I am kicking off the year in review with some photos of the 2021 gravel biking adventures - a great socially distanced activity (no drafting). The pictures tell the story. No cycling travels this year, it was all local - south of Black Point, east Everglades, parts in and near Everglades National Park, in and around Shark Valley and the Tamiami canal / Levee areas.
It was a beautiful day to ride. You can tell I
am not much of a climber ( at 4:36 ) as you can watch some experienced climbers blow by me.
It is all about practice. It had been a while since my last ride over the
bridge: January 17, 2021.
And then - back to the mainland:
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| The Strava segment known as "Vulture Alley" |
The ay was flat smooth. Shore birds doing their thing, staying just out of reach. The water was clear, so you could see some fish close to shore doing their thing.
Which one: natural - color or the filtered to black & white?
Did you know that bike photos are a thing? Well apparently it is. Look to the various social media and look for hashtags including (but certainly not limited to the following):
#bikelife #cycling #mtb #biker #ride #cyclinglife #ciclismo #mtblife #roadbike #mountainbike #bikersofinstagram #bikelovers #bicycle #gopro #bikes #bikeride #bicicleta #road #bikers #pedal #cyclingphotos #cyclist #instabike #cycle
Of course, I also use (partial list): #BAAW #whyIBike #bikephotos #OldCutlerRoad #CyclingLife #PalmettoBayCyclists #doragravelingexplores #doraandthegravelingexplorers #BikesOfInstagram
Remember the Rules of (the movie) Zombieland:
# 1: Cardio
#18: Limber up
#32: Enjoy the little things
and, of course,
#36: Sunscreen
Enjoy what you do.
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| Sat. ride route |
Fun times. Bay views, the beauty of the Old Cutler area.
Sunday (11-7-2021): A change up for Sunday - meeting up with the gravel gang for a nature ride near and into Everglades National Park.
Sunday was a beautify cool morning to ride.
