Walk and Ride

April 20, 2008 Sunday

And now for something completely different...

I'm a little tired of all the backtracking over the same sand, since I'm really on a "mission" now. I thought to try combining walking and biking, because when I'm not walking I am biking. Dropping and locking my bike at the Fort Pierce Inlet, I drove to Blind Creek. Kerryane and I used Blind Creek as a destination when we did our car to car walk.

Parking the car at Blind Creek, I headed North. The beach was fairly flat and open. I knew I was going to be on the beach for an extended time so I filled my fanny pack with snacks, water, camera, phone, suntan lotion, bicycle pants, gloves, and bicycle paraphernalia. It was too heavy! I could feel it tight against my hips. Not completely comfortable, but I got used to it. The views were beautiful and the day fabulous; I was distracted. I was happy.

At Middle Cove I had to limbo under numerous fishing lines. I'm not sure if they were catching any fish or just having a relaxed day at the beach. There were a couple of display of garbage “art”, which I’ve thought about constructing myself, but now will re-think because they weren’t particularly attractive. Further North I caught a whiff of horse manure. I was getting close to Fredrick Douglas park. They bring horses for a beach ride once or twice a month. I followed the horse tracks to the park and took a little break. My barefeet were getting a little tired and the slope of the beach was no longer flat. The sand in this section was coarse and starting to wear on me. The sun had been at my back and I was feeling a little sunburned. Four more miles to go?? And I wasn't even finished because I had to get back to my car.

Finally I arrived at the Fort Pierce Inlet and my bicycle was ready to roll. I was looking forward to a change of pace. My timing was off, the walking took longer than I had anticipated. I still had 8+ miles to get back to the car, usually a breeze...but the breeze was against me, slowing me down. I traveled along HWY A1A. This was still better than retracing my steps. I will be using this "walk and bike" strategy again. I was extremely tired but had covered a lot of ground.

Section: Blind Creek North to Fort Pierce Inlet

Water temperature: 72

UV: 9 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low going high

Time: 12:00noon-4pm
Length: 8 miles walking, 8 miles return biking
Marine animals: none

People: plenty at each beach access, very few otherwise...
Beach litter: very little