Day One Hundred-one, 090609, Jupiter, FL

Day One Hundred One, Date Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Time in Saddle: 10:59
Distance for the Day: 109.73 miles From Miami To Jupiter, FL
Accumulated Trip Distance: 4755.59 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 21’/9’, Highest: 83’ Accumulated: 856’
Speeds: Avg: 9.9 mph, Max: 21.9 mph
Weather: 74° warming to upper 80’s, mostly clear becoming mostly cloudy, but no rain
Expenditures: $16

As planned, I got up about 6am, and was ready to roll by 6:40am. No one was up, so I just left, heading north to SW 48th St, and then east until I hit the coast. I decided I wanted to see Miami Beach, so took the MacArthur Causeway Bridge (Hwy 41) over to it, and followed the coastal road A1A and went up this island peninsula as far as I could. This was the best route because going up Hwy 1 would have taken me through the busy, congested city areas of Miami with lots of stoplights and a road that has no shoulder. I took N. Ocean Dr. (A1A) as far as it went, and then things got very confusing. To keep a long story short, either my mapping program or the port security guy was wrong, but I wound up for several miles on two freeways, and finally exited into south Ft. Lauderdale (whew!) From there, I found Hwy 1 and followed it north through several townships, the worst being Boca Raton (for being shoulderless and apparently without mini marts) before stopping at 1:30pm for a 6” Subway sandwich meal deal ($6). The minute I left Boca Raton, the road got a shoulder, and mini marts appeared. It was slow going through the townships, as there was lots of stoplights and traffic to contend with, and it was now getting to be mid-to-late afternoon. I gave my next host, Lynne D, a call to give her the situation, and let her know I *could* make it to her home, but I probably wouldn’t get there until 10 or 11pm. She said that was okay, and advised me to use some more of that coastal route (A1A, which hops along the eastern Florida coast as best it can through the über-rich neighborhoods, what with all the gaps between islands, and all). This segment would be long, uncongested, and eminently cycleable; and indeed, it was. My speed picked up markedly, and I made very good time. By the time the sun set at about 8:30pm, I was already to West Palm Beach. I was advised by a local, and by Lynne, that I should continue to use A1A as much as possible through WPB, as it is a rough neighborhood at night, and whenever you stick close to the water, the neighborhoods are usually more upscale. So, I did, and they were. When I finally returned to the mainland at Juno Ridge, I was only a few miles short of Lynne’s, and was able to make it there by about 10:30pm, and my third century of the trip (109.73 miles!) (I did stop for an ice cream and more trail mix [$6] at a mini mart before reaching Lynne’s.) (I also got a couple bottles of soda and one of Gatorade during the day [$4]).Lynne has a lovely condo in a beautiful area, and we chatted a bit before saying goodnight. She had to get up early in the AM for meetings the next day, and as for me, I took my shower and read my new book for a while before hitting the hay, myself.