Cycling The Globe

Distance: 106.2 km
Ride time: 5:23:12
Average: 19.7 km/h
Max speed: 37.8 km/h
Total: 38242 km

After a quick breakfast at Pete’s place we once again put my Bianchi in his car and drove down to Hollywood beach where he had picked me up yesterday. It was a beautiful morning for a bit of cycling.

Pete, thanks a lot for such an amazing stay in Fort Lauderdale. I truly enjoyed my time here – something to remember!

Back on the road I was passing beach after beach on my way north. This part of the States is very wealthy; I passed some really huge houses, cars, and boats during the day. The road was smooth and even the wind was starting to come around for a steady tailwind. What is not to love about Florida?

Yesterday I had received a message from Kiki, a follower of the blog who lives in West Palm Beach. She wrote that if I would be passing through town, her and her husband Jack would like to invite me out for lunch. Wow, what a nice message to receive, and passing through West Palm Beach was just what I would be doing today – perfect timing!

I met Kiki and Jack at a nice restaurant downtown, and the cycling and travelling talk was flowing effortlessly. I was able to tell a few stories from the ride, and as Kiki and Jack are planning a cycling trip to Thailand later this year, I was even able to give a few tips.

As we were about to part ways Kiki gave me an envelope and told me to open it later. When I did open it, the envelope contained a beautiful handwritten letter as well as 100$ in support for the rest of the trip! I was absolutely speechless – it is indeed hard to believe all the nice support I get here in the States. Thanks a million Kiki and Jack for the nice lunch, nice conversation, and for that final support as well. Wow!

From West Palm Beach it was about an hour of cycling to Jupiter where I was going to meet Dan W4UH. Dan had invited me to stay for the weekend where also Julio AD4Z would be coming around for the IARU contest. While Julio was running the radio contest I was able to spend some much needed time updating the blog. So much good stuff is happening these days that it is difficult to find time for everything. I even managed to watch a stage in the Tour de France, reminding me that last year exactly this time of July I was in Bolivia.

With the risk of repeating myself I can only say thanks Dan for such a wonderful welcome to Jupiter; Southern hospitality is certainly alive and kicking.