The travels of the Rambling Roses: Bicycling from Fort Pierce, Fla to Jupiter/Juno Beach, Fla. Dec 10

57.89 miles in 4:18....(855.8)....We woke up to temperatures in the 40's!!! That was nothing another hour in bed couldn't solve, however. When I left at about ten o'clock, I started out with a jacket, but it only lasted for about 45 minutes. I had some eastbound riding to do to get over to A1A, and the chilly north wind was smacking me in the left ear for about ten miles. The wind was especially cold over the water, as I traveled to Hutchison Island, and the ocean. Once I turned toward the south, the jacket came off. Hutchinson Island started out with a commercialized beach area, then it thinned out into a stretch of road with little beach access parks, canoe put in areas, and bird watching areas in a county run bird sanctuary and park. A1A was still a sweet ride with the nice shoulder and the tailwind, but this being my third day of riding in a row, I took a little off my normal effort, and just cruised along, even though it only slowed me down about a half a mile an hour. At about the 20 mile mark, I came to the end of Hutchinson Island, and it was back across the water, and onto US 1, which was a six lane, traffic filled nightmare through the town of Stuart. There wasn't anything worth mentioning on this twenty mile stretch, as I spent my time watching for traffic and road debris, and slowing or stopping for red lights. Once I rolled into Hobe Sound, I was directed onto a road to take me back over to the coast. I saw a bike shop, so on a whim, I stopped in to say if they could do anything about my rapidly deteriorating drive train. The folks at Village Bike, stopped everything they were doing, and commenced to researching and ordering every part that I need. My normal Shimano parts have been fantastic, but this time I'm going with a different make, because Shimano parts could not be shipped for my one day lay over. We agreed on all I wanted done, agreed on the price, and after about an hour at the shop, I was on my way again. I will bring the bike back tomorrow morning, and hopefully I'll be good as new. The shop is only about 20 minutes from our campground, so it is my best opportunity to get things done before disaster strikes in the form of a breakdown in the middle of this strange and far away land.

The remainder of the trip was definitely the most scenic. I ended up on Juniper Island, not knowing what I was going to get, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It was a shoulderless road that passed through a landscaped Mecca of very high end homes in an environment that was very isolated from the off island metro that was occurring on the mainland. It turns out that this island is the home of the rich and famous, including Tiger Woods and Greg Norman, two pro golfing millionaires, and Michael Jordan has a joint there to escape to every once in a while. Just a very impressive nine mile stretch. On the south end of the island, I was stopped by two consecutive draw bridges, before emptying into the beautiful town of Jupiter, which also happens to be the home of my college roommate, John Travanti, and his family. We had been in contact, and we deliberately got an RV site close to the area so we could hook up. I rode down Oceanside Blvd in Jupiter, which is a very impressive lane with an ocean view, and miles of sea grapes separating the road from the beach. Sea grapes are a protected plant that grows in this area, and they make up a integral part of the landscaping on Juniper Island, and this region, and make a great animal and bird habitat, as well as erosion control, not to mention their natural beauty. I turned away from the water for a half a mile to find our campground, which turns out to be the Taj Mahal of campgrounds. This place is the winter home of the upper crust, and was very nice. Pam backed into a very narrow, but beautiful site, (of course this was a camping resort that DIDN'T escort me to my site and guide me into it!!) and when I got there, we preceded to the outdoor jacuzzi to enjoy a spa hour. Then John, and his wife Dorothy, picked us up, and took us to a fantastic, local restaurant, in Hobe Sound, called the Catfish House. I had the catfish with cheese grits, and Pam had the biggest shrimp I've ever seen, all done to perfection. It was good to see the old roomie again, and we planned to get together tomorrow also. John is the only person I've kept in touch with from my fraternity days, and we reconnected after losing track of each other for 25 years. I stayed with John for several days last trip down this way, and we've hooked up for a couple of WVU football games, and I'm proud of how he turned out. We've both done well for ourselves, considering how we floundered our way through the college years. But, we had fun!