Peddle Day 36: Biking the Beaches Under the Banyan Tree

Sunset at Jetty Park

Tried to rest my injured wrist and dry my damaged kayak by biking the route today.   Needed a gel seat because of the problem with my gel coat.  Hoped to bike two days worth of kayaking so I could make the future kayaking legs a little shorter in future.

Planned to bike two days worth of kayaking.  The winds were up again today, so very glad to be biking with a tail wind and not having breaking following seas in the kayak.

The route started in Hobo Sound by biking through a tunnel of Banyan trees.

Biking through the tunnel of Banyan trees.

Despite the lovely scenery, it was not the perfect biking route as I had to bike on roads with no bike lanes or even sidewalks.  Most drivers were quite courteous, and only a few came too close.  One car even stayed back for quite some distance as I crossed a narrow bridge, and then slowly passed giving me a very wide berth.  Thank-you!  Then I noticed that he had handicapped plates.  My mind wandered and I imagined he had lost his legs in a horrible bike accident where he got hit by a car.  Now he is super careful of bikers.

Got lost once, as I didn't have a map, and my gps was buried in my waterproof bag on the back.  I did have a turn list with distances between that I had written out from Goggle maps, but it was not always easy to follow.  Passed beach towns with hordes of restaurants:

Tempted to eat, but had to keep moving

In places where the traffic was very heavy, I resorted to cycling on the sidewalks.  The constant bumps of the breaks in the concrete were tough to take.  My fingers were so numb from the cycling that I couldn't turn on and off the video camera I had attached to my bike.  The hose on my Platypus hydration bag was too short to reach from my bike rack to my mouth, so I had to stop to drink.  Made such slow progress that I stopped after doing just 17 miles: one day's worth of kayaking.  Maybe I can make up time tomorrow by biking on a rest day.  Should be easier as I just purchased a gel seat for the bike, and a water bottle rack.

Did a quick check of the gel goat on the kayak today.  I think it may just be the skid plates that wore through.  In that case I will do a quick repair tomorrow with two part waterproof epoxy putty.  Will not be pretty, but should be functional.  I'll have to check in the morning light if my diagnosis is correct.

Walked out on a jetty with Chris at sunset.  Windy and wavy.

Gratitude List:

1. Relaxing with yoga
2. Banyan tree tunnels
3. Courteous drivers
4. Sunset over the jetty
5. Walk with Chris along a beach path through dune vegetation

Date: December 28, 2015                                             Restart Paddle Day: 36
Start location: Hobe Sound, FL                                     Launch time: 10:30 am
End location:  Jensen Beach                                         Land time: 12:30 pm
Average speed: 8.5 mph                                               Max Speed: 17.8 mph
Miles: 17
Total expedition miles with kayak: 2150                      Motor-portage miles: 404
Kayak Storage:  Fort Pierce KOA
Host: Chris Percival