I awoke at 1 am in my cozy room at the Knights Inn of Vero Beach. I was STARVING.  So I ate the PB&J that Jackie had made me two days ago. And I drank a bike bottle of water. Then I passed out.

I awoke to daylight. What a strange sight after days of rain and clouds. I put on my WABA (Washington Area Bicyclist Association) socks because it is WABA socks Wednesday. 

I left a little late and was furthered delayed because I couldn’t bring myself to pass up the IHOP two blocks into my 83 mile route. 

Finally on the road at 9,  I had only bicycling and manatees on my mind. The first order of business was to climb a bridge over the Indian River to the barrier island to the east. A hill and a headwind are no way to start the day.

I have had a head cold for a few days. Today the cold started to get better. I noticed that I was unusually thirsty. So I pedaled and drank while riding along the dunes. Unlike previous rides this week, I was not sandblasted. Don’t know why; don’t much care. The surf was raging once again. 

Each time I crossed an inlet or stream I checked for manatees and sea turtles. I saw none. I had to content myself with egrets and pelicans.  There was some flooding on the road as well.  I dodged crabs and little lizards as they skittered across the roadway.

I left the barrier island at Fort Pierce only to return a mile later.

From time to time I left the road to ride on the bike trail along side. 

The houses along this island were posh, some were overdone. Many new houses were being built. They were advertised as hurricane proof and their concrete framing looked like it.

The sun and my cold were dehydrating me so I stopped every 20 miles to drink a 32 ounce soda. Hey, they were only a buck. 

Renee, an old friend from my college days, told me to look for manatees at power plants. I rode by this nuclear plant which also maintained a sea turtle sanctuary. Alas, no cool aquatic creatures were visible. 

A dirt road into a pelican sanctuary was closed.  It looked intriguing but the flooding I've been seeing for days made it a bad bet to scout out.

Once again I returned to the mainland for a short distance before returning again to the barrier islands. This time at Hobe Sound. The road was lined with banyan trees. Wow!

I left the route to follow the Google’s directions to my friend Renee’s house.  17 miles of biking in Florida’s rush hour traffic made me feel like I was in LA. It was not a lot of fun but I did happen to go by the new spring training facility of the Washington Nationals baseball team. 

Renee took my picture on approach to her house. I look much thinner than three weeks ago. Better eat more. 

So after chatting up a storm (we hadn’t seen each other in over 37 years) Renee drove me and her daughter Julia to a restaurant for fried chicken and waffles. Can you say calorie bomb?

Before crashing for the night I made arrangements for lodging at the Hostels  International hostel in Miami Beach tomorrow and for my train ride home. 

An 83 mile day which brings me up to 1,700 miles.