GTD 2016 - Day 5

Miami, FL to Naples, FL

After an "adventurous" sleep in the Spider-Man bed we enjoyed a quick breakfast and visit with Clint, Sarah and the boys.

I was excited about today's ride, I would ride across Florida on Highway 41 which cuts through the Everglades.  In order to get to Highway 41 I had to ride out of Miami to Highway 27 South.  Everything was going great and then I encountered road construction.  I dealt with it for a bit and then decided it was too dangerous and frustrating.  Fortunately I found a section of the old highway that I could pull off on and have Qinggela pick me up there.

Qinggele made his way back to me and we loaded up.  The road construction continued on 27 all the way to the turn on to 41.  We stopped at a convenience and filled the cooler with ice, bought some cold drinks for the cooler and refilled my Camelbak.

Highway 41 was awesome.  All along the way I got to see alligators in the canal.  There were some scenic stops along the way so I took lunch break at one of them.  I got to ride through the Miccosukee Indian Village, interesting.  Without a doubt I could tell I had entered another culture.

As I was leaving the scenery of the Everglades and entering into more of a cityscape I saw that a storm was forming ahead of me.  Fortunately I made it to a convenience store before it hit.  Qinggele met me there so I.  Was able to take refuge from the storm in the car.  The storm passed after 20-30 minutes so I resumed my ride.  It was a bit steamy out so I was glad to have cold drinks in the cooler and ice in my Camelbak.

As I was approaching Naples and 100 miles I decided I wanted to find a Starbucks on the way to the hotel.  Fortunately there was one on the way to the hotel!

I love to get a Venti Iced Coffee and because I have a Starbucks Gold Card I can get FREE refills.  After a couple of refreshing iced coffees we set out for the hotel.

It was a short ride to the hotel.  When we arrived I checked my ending mileage for the day, it was 112!  Ironman distance.  Good stuff.

We checked in, got cleaned up and went out for dinner.  After such a long day on the bike dinner hit the spot!  After dinner it was time to get a good night's rest.

Tomorrow we head to Venice, FL.