Whitski Rides: Day 25 - August 30 Maybe we had it comin'?

We couldn't have expected that we would be able to ride all the way around the country and not hit more than 20 miles of rain while riding, could we? We've managed to dodge and outrun the rain since North Dakota. Like everyone else, we've been watching the weather very closely. The words of caution have been ringing in our ears for a few days already.

Two days ago we had decided that we would grab the pics of the bikes at the buoy that marks the southern most point of the US today on our way out of town. The plan was to be on the bikes at 7:30am so that we would be done with pics and riding by 8am. It was 83 degrees at 7:15am and NOT raining when we pulled out. When we turned the corner towards the buoy we were surprised at what we saw. The surf was crashing up over the embankment onto the buoy and into the street. It was our first true indicator that there was merit to all the cautions and warnings we've been hearing. And, as you'll see in the pic below, Alan's timing for his pic was off just a bit. He rode away wet.

Our experience at the buoy was all the message we needed to get out of town. As we reached the edge of Key West it was starting to rain. It didn't look like the rain we saw yesterday that only lasted 5 minutes. This looked more ominous so we opted for the rain gear. It rained until we got to Scout Key which is about 30 miles (45 min) down the road. We watched for iguanas like we saw on the way in a few days ago, but none were spotted. Torrey surmised they don't like rain. I did see a little crab standing up tall with claws in the air that was trying to cross the road. No pic and no one else saw him, but I stand by my sighting. What we all did see plenty of was cops. Florida gives NJ a run for their money when it comes to the most officers on the road ways.

By the time we reached the 7 mile bridge the roads and bikes were dry. We pulled off in Marathon and dropped the top half of the rain gear. Because we often ride on roads that have recently been rained on, we kept the rain pants on. When we reached Homestead, FL on the mainland we'd had 100 miles of dry pavement and it was too hot to keep those rain pants on any longer.

At Homestead we turned to FL 997 to take us to Hwy 41. That was an interesting road. It runs through an agricultural area and the roadside fruit stands were offering fruits we'd never heard of. They also had all sorts of palm trees and other landscaping items for sale.

We wanted to take US 41 through the everglades as it is a scenic route and part of the Tamiami Trail. It is also home to the Big Cypress National Preserve. Shortly after we turned on to 41, there were a number of companies offering air boat rides and alligator shows. The clouds were growing and were very dark gray. We could see the rain coming down in the roadway ahead of us so back on with the rain gear. By the time we hit the Miccosukee Indian Village it was really coming down. The rain continued in various intensities until we got to Naples (72 miles). In a few places the rain would lighten enough that we could see the wet cypress forest. It would have been even more amazing if it hadn't been raining.

There was a brief break in the weather about 30 miles outside Naples, but by then we were soaked through the rain gear. Our feet were wet inside our boots. We pulled into Wendy's for lunch in Naples. While we were there, the rain became much heavier. Several inches were puddling in the roadways.

The rain quit before Fort Myers (44 miles) and we were able to dry out briefly. On the way to Port Charlotte the rain started coming down in buckets again. We were again soaked through. We did pull off briefly at the Black Widow HD. There was no sign of a break coming any time soon. It was a short distance to our hotel in North Port. We checked in with everything drenched. Eventually the rain did break later into the evening.