Feel-Um, No-See-Um (USA Day 171)

During the night, the wind picked up to a mighty gale, whipping the tent back and forth until we could only surmise that the world was ending. When sun rose, it did so darkly, The northerly wind blew so hard that we could barely hold our place on the wave-wet beach, with a tide so high that even the mouth of the trail felt like a risky place to stand. The little waders still tottered down to the newly-wetted sand, but had to fly to safety each time a wave came in, not scuttle. A couple of pelicans did their best to fly against the gale, but gave up after staying stationary for a minute or two and went to land and wait it out.

We’ve been bitten. Last night, the no-see-ums absolutely ravaged us as we ate dinner, leaving a rash of tiny red bites all over our feet, ankles and thighs. They’re itchier than mosquito bites and Amy’s ones are giving her little shooting pains. That’s horrific. Last night we sprayed ourselves silly with bug juice but it clearly wasn’t enough, and even though we could feel them biting we assumed they were the same as Scottish midges: annoying but ultimately without any lasting effect. Wrong.

Thank goodness, we rode with the wind today. It wasn’t hard to make the miles, even with squalls of rain that poked around whenever we thought we were safe. The hunt for cardboard boxes in Miami is in full swing, with calls out to a number of bike shops in the hope that they’ll reserve a couple for us to collect next week.

The day remained grey and windy until its end, when we slotted ourselves away in the home of Ezra, who let us make coffee in his proper machine, just like real baristas, and cooked us a pizza which we dispatched like hungry letterboxes.

Much of this coast is stunningly beautiful, but it’s all hidden behind unimpressive mansions and tower blocks. Perhaps we should have got some fat tyres for this leg and ridden along the beach, because it’s torture not being able to spend the whole day by the sea.

Today: 63 Miles

Total: 7574 Miles