Bike Trip to Sebastian Inlet

            I head out Thursday morning at 8:00. The weight on the bike changes the way it handles, but rather than that it is not hard. The day is hot and humid; low 90’s with the south Florida high humidity takes the heat index to over 100. I do the first ten miles with ease, then stop and have breakfast. I am already totally wet with sweat. My shirt and shorts are soaked. After breakfast I do my next ten miles with the occasion stop to hydrate. By the end of twenty miles I am really feeling the heat. I start stopping every two to three miles to cool down. I go into the ocean, the water is cool and feel great, and I hit a couple of showers that are at the beach, but no sooner that I am back on the bike, I am hot. The last ten miles was difficult because of the heat. I consumed over a gallon of water on my trip of thirty miles and still felt dehydrated.  

            As soon as I got to the camp site (Sebastian Inlet Marina) it started to rain. It felt good. I just hung out in the rain and cooled down. The rain didn’t last long, so I pitched my tent and enjoyed the rest of the day. Sebastian Inlet Marina has primitive sites for $20. I was the only one in the place, and the marina personal left at 5:00 so I had the run of the place. That was nice, but I wouldn’t recommend the place. There are a couple of other places close that I have stayed that are much better: the Sebastian Inlet State Park, and Long Point Park. They cost $28.00, but have better access to the water.  

            Friday morning I didn’t start till 9:00. I had planed on an earlier start. By the time I had breakfast and got packed it was late. The heat was already getting bad, and I have some soreness in my legs. It had rained during the night and the humidity was extremely high. I know that the first ten miles are the easiest so I wanted to get it done quickly. I have been adjusting my seat, so I stopped a couple of quick stops to adjust and hydrate. I made it to Vero Beach Jaycee Park, a distance of seventeen miles with any major stops. The park has covered picnic tables so I stop and cool down. After cooling down, I go to the Beach Grill that is at the park and have lunch. When I lived in Vero, I use to go here for breakfast and lunch often. They have great food. I had a Maui fish sandwich that was great.

            After lunch, I stretched out on the bench for awhile and rested before completing my last twelve miles. A breeze has picked up and I am getting some passing clouds. I stopped several times on my last leg of the trip to cool and hydrate. Neither the breeze nor the clouds were consistence enough to give a much help. I got within a mile when I got sever head winds, later reported at fifty miles an hour, that was blowing sand into my face. I couldn’t ride into it. I stopped at a church under the overhang on the lee side from the wind and waited out the storm. It cooled everything down nicely. I waited about an hour until it was only a mist of rain and finished my last mile.

            The total distance of my trip was 59.4 miles. I am pleased with the trip. I knew that it was going to be difficult with the heat, but I proved that I can do it. I don’t know how much easier it will be in cooler weather, but I am sure that it will help a lot. I have some soreness in my legs and stomach, but not too much. I am sure that when we get on out trip we will build up a lot of leg strength. It was a good trip in spite of the heat.