Travelogue Avoid South Florida!

[Timothy Englert]

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

 

[Matt Derrick]

I lived there for about six months back in 2016 or so? I liked it more than I thought I would, but I was sleeping out on a boat. I did scope for places to crash (just out of habit) and didn't see much, so I'm not surprised to hear what you're saying now. It's such a small island I can't imagine there's many places to rough camp out there.

 

[ali]

Yeah Key West was a real bummer for me too after i cycled pretty much coast-to-coast from Canada to get down there. The landscape is still pretty at least. Loved cycling over that really long causeway with water on both sides, it feels like you're flying over the ocean. Just wish there weren't any cars screaming past to fuck up the illusion. There's some chill, laid-back bars and hangout spots on the main island, although you gotta be okay with the sort of wealthy-ish white-ish conservative-ish crowd that frequents them. If you're trying to live on a shoestring or follow the whims of the day it's harder than other places, though. Definite cosign on southern Florida being difficult overall. Even if you want to use a legit campsite you gotta book days, weeks or even months in advance, which is ridiculous for a long term bike tourer.

All that said, i would definitely go to Miami again. You need money, but if you have money i think it's the most exciting city i visited in the US. Beautiful vistas. Warm weather. Great music. Awesome food. International vibes. Not as pretentious as Brooklyn or San Fran. I wish i could retire there. But hey, i'm the person who thinks Las Vegas and LA are the other two best cities i ever visited in the US, so take that with a grain of salt.

For coast-to-coast cyclists i'd recommend just book one night at Boyd's, maybe two if you want a day to wander on foot, then smash it straight back up the causeway to Miami to properly celebrate your journey's end or turnaround point. If you're lucky there won't be any festivals or anything happening and a hotel room will be same price as the fucking campsite was down the keys.

 

[Timothy Englert]

I lived there for about six months back in 2016 or so? I liked it more than I thought I would, but I was sleeping out on a boat. I did scope for places to crash (just out of habit) and didn't see much, so I'm not surprised to hear what you're saying now. It's such a small island I can't imagine there's many places to rough camp out there.

I think the best way now to see Florida is by boat. Although Florida has removed a lot of free anchorages, or move them out far away and windward, it still seems a great way to travel there. I envied the boats as on the inter-coastal. Key West has fenced out a lot of shore line so you can't tie up a dingy anywhere. South Florida is just a rich ghetto now. I used to babysit boats in Key West in the fun filled ancient days of the 80s. They had a free anchorage right at the western foot of Simonton St.

 

[Timothy Englert]

Yeah Key West was a real bummer for me too after i cycled pretty much coast-to-coast from Canada to get down there. The landscape is still pretty at least. Loved cycling over that really long causeway with water on both sides, it feels like you're flying over the ocean. Just wish there weren't any cars screaming past to fuck up the illusion. There's some chill, laid-back bars and hangout spots on the main island, although you gotta be okay with the sort of wealthy-ish white-ish conservative-ish crowd that frequents them. If you're trying to live on a shoestring or follow the whims of the day it's harder than other places, though. Definite cosign on southern Florida being difficult overall. Even if you want to use a legit campsite you gotta book days, weeks or even months in advance, which is ridiculous for a long term bike tourer.

All that said, i would definitely go to Miami again. You need money, but if you have money i think it's the most exciting city i visited in the US. Beautiful vistas. Warm weather. Great music. Awesome food. International vibes. Not as pretentious as Brooklyn or San Fran. I wish i could retire there. But hey, i'm the person who thinks Las Vegas and LA are the other two best cities i ever visited in the US, so take that with a grain of salt.

For coast-to-coast cyclists i'd recommend just book one night at Boyd's, maybe two if you want a day to wander on foot, then smash it straight back up the causeway to Miami to properly celebrate your journey's end or turnaround point. If you're lucky there won't be any festivals or anything happening and a hotel room will be same price as the fucking campsite was down the keys.

Yes those bridges are a aqua saturated trip!
RIP to the Old Key West.
I'm glad I got to bid KW farewell.

 

[pcflvly]

I biked there in 2018. The first night I camped in Key Largo at a Kiwanis park or something like that. The next night was just past Big Pine Key under a bridge. When I got to Key West the next morning, I didn't see anywhere to roll out so I cruised around Duval St and stuff then turned right around. On Big Pine Key there's a ballfield and it's pretty chill there. I slept in the dugout. In Marathon I ran into three kids who were squatting in a motel that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. I heard last summer that the spot was still a thing. North of Key Largo there are several public fishing areas and that's probably the least regulated type of land in Florida. I camped at one of those. Luckily I had friends all the way from Cutler Bay to Delray Beach and had three different places to sleep along the way. I still had to find a spot in Ft. Lauderdale though and the only sure thing there is in the Everglades so I aimed for the edge, went across, and slept at a gate control valve.