Timothy Englert
Well-known member
May 2023 I took the Train to Jacksonville from Buffalo NY with my bike for $200. Not a bad deal. Northern Florida wasn't too bad. It's wider up there and there are parks and forests. Florida turns to shit the deeper south you go. I live in Florida in the 70s 80s and 90s and it was pretty easy to travel and get by. But I was warned and I found out how much it changed. The further south I went the harder it got to find even a scrap of land to stealth camp. There are state campgrounds, but are always full. Traffic is so congested and mean that I stayed on the side walk as I noticed the locals doing. Hardly anyone rode on the skimpy bike lanes. My destination was my beloved Key West of my past [1979-83]. But by the time I got to West Palm and stayed at a friend's, a native Floridian who remorsed the current Florida, it got so congested that I hopped on Tri-rail to Miami. The more south you go the less room there is in Florida They have built right up to the Everglades. I felt like a fugitive trying to find a patch of grass or gravel to crash safely. I biked as far as Marathon Key. There I caught the bus over the 7 mile bridge to Big Coppit Key, where I visited back road beach that was always a free campground, but it had been plowed under and a fake beach installed and of course warning signs. There are no trespassing signs everywhere. If you want to camp Boyd's in Key West it will cost you $80 a night for a hunk of gravel. I noticed in Key West's McDonalds that all the electrical outlet were covered, and noticed that there are no outlets anywhere in public to charge your phone in Key West. Meanness prevails now down there. It's a theme park for the rich and the tourists. I lasted 2 days when I said screw this! I took city buses all the way up to Miami and bought train ticket back to Buffalo. I'm glad I got to experience Key West in the 80s when it was fun and cheap. Never again.
The ocean is nice when you can see it
The ocean is nice when you can see it