slikr – Ernie's Website and Blog

Riding Off-Road at Big Cyprus

OK so the day started out as a wash. Our 7am dive trip was cancelled due to weather so I headed home and realized that a front passed through and the weather was not too hot, around 80 and overcast.

So the Kawasaki KLX230 went on the rack and off I went, headed to my secret urban mud hole in Weston, near Fort Lauderdale. On the way, I heard a report of kids tearing up a golf course near Weston recently, with a $5k reward for turning in the perpetrators. Yikes. No riding anywhere near Weston today for me. I headed west on Alligator Alley (I-75) to Big Cyprus. 75 miles later I was getting the motorcycle off the rack and headed in to the woods.

The trails were perfect – crews had been maintaining the trails because of an upcoming prescribed burn. The entry point is on the edge of the Big Cypress Preserve, so it starts of as scrub and leads to the actual stand of Cyprus trees.

I only fell twice LOL. At one point, I went up and over a berm and came face to face with a rather deep trench with a not-so-friendly rock sticking out of the ground. I was nearly stopped but had to lay it down to avoid that @#$%. I picked up the bike and walked it through. Um the bike wouldn’t start after that. I guessed that because it was down a kill switch was activated? I should read the manual! I turned the ignition off and back on. NO LUCK. I waited and eventually it did start. I guess there is a timer?

The next time I put it down at very slow speed, I made it a point to turn off the ignition and get the bike up quickly. I started right away… woo hoo.

I saw a Swallow-tailed Kite, Alligators, and a Turkey (I think) among other things.

110v Outlets On Bus

i don't mind the bus at all, it sure beats driving, and the price is right. The travel time is about the same, maybe better when you consider there is a rest room on the bus. I typically stop a lot when driving. Today I only had a 10 minute wait at mia intermodal.

Getting Close

We are now in Islamorada but the traffic is backed up, 15+ minute delay😞

On The Stretch

OK so I'm getting carried away with the posts. The bus is now on “the stretch”, which is the part of US1 between Homestead and Key Largo. Not long ago there were fires raging on both sides of the road. This is the original path of Henry Flagler's FEC railroad. The sidings of a railroad line are areas where cars could be stored to allow trains to pass on the main tracks. These wider area are now used as 2 lane passing areas – the travel lanes are single lane for the 20 mile stretch.

On The Bus

I'm using my phone navigation software to track my journey back to Islamorada. time is flying by as i work to document my travels. Later it's nice to relive the trip, as I do from time to time. For example my trip to Europe

The Sailing Adventure Continues On Dry Land

11am, April gave me a ride to the TriRail Train station in Fort Lauderdale so I can get to the Miami Airport Intermodal Travel Hub. I am now on a Flix/Greyhound bus to continue the journey to Islamorada, where my car is. the train and bus rides are relaxing to me and gives me an opportunity to fix my blog grammar mistakes made during my sail. i can also fill in the gaps and add content like I’m doing now.

At this point the biggest concern in my life is will I be able to catch the 301 bus from downtown Islamorada to where my car is, at my buddy Tom’s place? I left Tom’s dock earlier this week (I can’t remember the day without check my blog, but I’m editing it now)😄 So in that regard life is good. i enjoy these trips beginning to end.

I was totally exhausted last night having sailed a few days. I have learned a few tricks to make my short voyage more enjoyable, such as picking up a small pizza and salad at Habanos Restaurant in Islamorada prior to shoving off. I enjoyed that with a cold beer at the end of the day while anchored at Snake Creek before turning in for the night (When leaving Fort Lauderdale I hit Times Square Pizza).

Monday February 16th 5:00 p.m.

Today making my way to Biscayne Bay heading towards Key Biscayne. halfway through the bay, the wind changed direction, in a matter of minutes. Now I have a cool breeze in my face. With the sun setting soon, I’m going to motor for a couple of hours up to Key Biscayne, to anchor in the lee of Cape Florida. The wind is forecast to come from the north and switch to the northeast overnight so that would be a good spot to anchor for the night.

Tomorrow morning the winds are forecast to be from the east. Fortunately that will get me to Fort Lauderdale but the ocean will be a little bumpy. There is no way I want to go up the Intacoastal waterway and the countless drawbridges.

Chart View of Angelfish Creek

In Angelfish Creek there are lots of little creeks and islands around here… mangroves everywhere, beautiful!

Angelfish Creek

Angelfish Creek was shallow, about 5 feet at the entrance now 10 to 15 feet deep.

Monday February 16th Angel fish Creek

After a pleasant sail from Snake Creek I’m headed to the back side (not the ocean) to Card Sound. Then to Biscayne Bay to (maybe) hang around Adam’s Key and Elliott Key. The depth at the entrance to the creek on the Atlantic side was around 5 ft, it’s dead low tide.

Mainsail Reefed and Headsail Furled Slightly

As I mentioned in my previous post it looks like there may be weather ahead. As a matter of fact the weather service mentioned that a front Will be moving through, and the winds will switch the northwest eventually. I will be ready unexpected changes.

10:00 a.m. February 16th Weather Ahead

It looks like a little funky weather ahead so I have reefed the main sail which means reduce the size of it. The wind could increase as a result of that weather so I’ve also furled the head sail out front just a bit. I can always furl that more if the weather gets too funky.