Day 16. Saturday, May 6 – Cocoa Beach to Merritt Island, Florida
Saturday 6 May 2017
Don’t google the distance between the two, until you read on.
The northwest wind was howling,
61° with a windchill in the 50’s was cold; it was going to be a long day.
In our short stretch on A1A, we saw the biggest Ron Jon Surf Shop
and more commercialization than we had seen in the previous four days, collectively.
Our turn west to cross to Highway 1 was met with an strong blast of wind. The seven mile causeway with two high bridges
in just under an hour was brutal into the wind, but cooler than our Seven Mile Bridge crossing near Marathon Key. On the way over, we saw this amazing location
of the Cape Canaveral Hospital.
Short of Highway One, our course had us turn right on a beautiful neighborhood street
that wound us up and down along the Indian River.
Here is yet another example
of a “winter home” closed up for the season.
Slightly protected from a direct onslaught of the wind, we were enjoying the homes
and views and feeling a little relief. That is until one of the bike’s gears froze and we came to a screeching halt. There was no fixing it,
but Jerry did manage to engage one gear, so it could be ridden to a bike store. We could go forward for 10 miles or backtrack to the town we just left for the repair. The dilemma was solved by Christy
who stop to assist anyway she could; she recommended the turnaround. Five miles later, we were at the Village Cycle Shoppe where Dr. Jason diagnosed our good news/bad news situation. The bike is definitely fixable, but the part has to come from California from a distributor that does not open until Monday. Our option was to wait or …..wait! So we found a hotel, but now we had lots of bike bags and no bicycles to travel with; Michael to the rescue.
He had stopped by the shop and volunteered to load all our gear (and us) and take us back over the bridge to our hotel for the next few days.
Once again Dan tracked us down, though now we are beginning to think he is stalking us. He was on his way over to Cocoa Beach for lunch and thought to swing by and take us with him.
It was a fun outdoor bar/restaurant
with gorgeous views of the beach;
a good break from the sulking that had already begun.
We will make the best of this bump in the road, as concluded over Margaritas,
and just hope we really can get the bikes fixed at the beginning of the week. With nothing to post until we ride, we hope to catch you when we begin again.
As always, thanks for all the great comments that we have enjoyed so far.





















Karen Says:
Good luck with the repair. Sounds like it’s out of your hands, so best to just surrender to the experience and make the best of it. More margaritas are sure to help.
Sharon Groh Says:
I’ve been sick for over a week and have not kept
Up with much computer wise.
Glad y’all are safe and enjoy your few days
relaxing off the road.
And I have to say, y’all always meet the kindest
People on your adventures.
Stay safe. ??
Morgan Says:
When you put 700 watts over thousands of miles through the gears they are bound to fail at some point;-)
A few days in Coco Beach will give the wind time to switch direction.
Robyn Says:
Love the scenery! Ken Bailey lived in Stuart! Sorry for your delay but after all that wind a few R & R days are probably needed! Take care!
Rob Says:
Hi both, sorry to hear of the bike problem but it can be fixed and it could be worse…you have hotel, food, friends and drink….enjoy the rest..smile.
Laters
Rob