Those EBC members who have lived or still live in South Florida know that Chicago is not the only "windy city" in north America - south Florida, not only a windy place at times, is the one of the few, if not the only place, within the lower 48 states that a cyclist can say the wind blows from the opposite direction (Austrailian style), due to the area's relatively close proximity to the Equator.
During the winter months, strong high pressure over the midwest or northeast can bring a strong northwest or northeast wind over south Florida on many days, while during the late spring and early summer a strong Bermuda high can bring a strong easterly sea breeze during the afternoon hours.
Because of this unique weather feature, some of our favorite roads, particularly those wide-open farm roads, also became some of the most difficult to endure, and with that explanation, below are listed some of the roads which also became known as those to avoid, depending which way the wind was blowing!
Interestingly enough, some of our most difficult roads in south Florida can also be found within the "My Favorite Road" portion of this web site - just like life in general, some of our toughest moments can also be some of our most memorable!
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Loveland Road (S.W. 217 Avenue)
In it's earlier days this desolate nine-mile stretch of road required cyclists wanting to reach Everglades National Park to endure it's full north-to-south length of strong winds and poor road surfaces. In later days, additional access roads from the east cut the mandatory length of the trip by about 3 miles.
But, the original route was the toughest - turning south onto Loveland from
S.W. 296 Street (Avacado Drive) began the long difficult road south to old FL 27 (now known as SR 9336, or S.W. 392 Street). With a strong north wind the trip south could be made in less than 30 minutes, however, the return trip could take up to one hour longer - or vice versa!
Wide-open farm fields, few tree breaks (like the one pictured below), rough road surfaces and strong head winds made this road a challenge for any cyclist. Those who rode south on Loveland in the early days of the EBC will also remember the twin "flying saucer" hen houses off to the left, about 2 miles north of FL 27. Once you spotted them, you knew that you were only 2 miles away from half the battle!
Mentally, to cycle this road in windy conditions meant up to 90 minutes of physical discomfort and loneliness, as the road was also known for it's desolation. This temporary hardship, repeated again and again over a number of years, seemed to build a kind of mental endurance when I later faced times of loneliness and pain.
I had always heard that touring cycling does improve a person's endurance, but was surprised that this indeed was true - really!
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