Reward at the Halfway Point

 

Sunday morning's bike ride of just short of 20 miles had a reward at the mid-point. The reward, at the very southern tip of Singer Island, was a stunning view of the wild Atlantic Ocean across the shipping channel leading into West Palm Beach.

The View from Southern Tip of Singer Island
Palm Beach Shores, FL
March 6, 2022

The ride was enjoyable beginning near Juno Beach just north of the famous pier. The ride down A1A and then US 1 to Singer Island was not as scary as it might have been, being that it was Sunday morning. Biking along US 1 is always exciting, even with the bike lane, because the lane is too narrow. There is something disconcerting about a large semi-truck passing within a few feet of my handlebars, just saying. 

Once my riding partner and I turned onto Jack Nicklaus Drive leading onto Singer Island proper, the traffic lightened and the bike path widened. I actually did pause in front of Jack Nicklaus' mailbox and looked at his house. From there is was a really scenic ride though John D. MacArthur Beach State Park along the banks of Lake Worth. After leaving the park it was into the resort end of Singer Island. The resorts vary from towering buildings to two story retro sites that can appeal to every taste. The stop for the quick break and image was in the middle of a Marriott complex. 

The ride back to where the car was parked seemed faster and looking at the splits, it was--likely due to the quartering tailwind. Traffic had increased since our earlier departure, but it was still tolerable. 

The 1 hour 36 minute ride was the longest of my adult life. The only time I remember riding longer was one weekend when I was a freshman in college, two friends and I rode from the University of Miami across southern Florida through the Everglades to near Naples and slept for a bit before riding back arriving late Sunday night. We were a bit crazy back then. That we actually survived, since we had only small generator lights on our bikes and were riding through the wilds of Florida during the night, is far more impressive now that I understand the perils than back when we did it. Of course, almost 50 years ago, there were a lot more "wild" and a bit less traffic than now. To this day, I don't remember if it was 90 miles round trip or 90 miles each way--but 90 miles definitely sticks in my mind. Funny, I would never do something like that now without a GPS--but back then all we had was a roadmap.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL