I traded sharks for alligators!
 

I’ve gone from this:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...32f465848.jpeg

Too this:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...08ca3a23e.jpeg

Cape Cod (missing the "Jaws" pic) to Cape Canaveral?

Not many saltwater crocs in Florida ..... swim in the ocean, not in the rivers .... and not at night. During the day there are sharks all around the beaches ..... they just don't mess with people much.

Arizona/New Mexico ... great year-round climate, good cycling, nothing hidden out of sight waiting to eat you.

So you went from Trek to Specialized?

Good luck finding some hills to make your rides interesting.

I used to work with a guy that came from Florida and went back during the holidays. When back there he liked to play golf, and if an alligator appeared on the course they'd just shrug it off (meh!) and 'play through'. No big deal.

I’m going to (briefly) be in the same boat. I’ll be spending Jan and Feb in Ft. Laurdale…from coastal Rhode Island. My cycling will be pancake flat. Swimming…I had hoped to be swimming at the ISHOF. But its website says they’re not reopening until March or April. So I guess my swimming will be in the brine…which I’ve swam frequently. But purple flag warnings will result in NO swimming I guess.

Dan

Couple years ago I was just off the intercoastal waterway near Cumberland Island and noticed an alligator on the bank. He swam off and returned to his spot with a Ray in his mouth, which he ate. A bit later, he swam off again to return with a horseshoe crab. We could hear the crunching of the shell from some distance away.

Gators do hang out in saltwater

I thought maybe OP was talking about switching tires on his bike.

Except for the chollas. At least you can smack a shark or an alligator on the nose to discourage it.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...00dc49b106.jpg
around here if you ride trails they are part of the scenery

nice

It's always something.

Heh, heh...

Last winter I rode in Florida for a few months. 1,200 miles and about 1,000 feet in climbing. Mostly bridges, of course. Yeah, it's a pancake.

Snowbird to AZ or CA to eliminate the Gators :)

Quality vs quantity…

Is that gator on the back stretch a Carter Road Park (or whatever it is called now --Loyce Harpe?) in Lakeland?

I used to ride past it now and then, back in the days long ago and far away ..... but never brought a camera.

No that's at the Circle B preserve but I do ride Carter rd. and have seen plenty of alligators there

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8abe9e64fe.jpg
here's another big one that I almost didn't see !

Thread shoulda been about golf shirts

That for sure puts some thrill and big risk into your hopping skills

^ Reminds me of a vehicle speed trap. (But more lethal)

Myakka River State Park for Gator sightings AND even up close & personal

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6d1bba4b.jpeg
Can’t wait to decorate my Christmas palm trees!

Florida with its 10 foot aligators, swamps, sharks, plenty of large poisonous snakes, and more than a few looney tune half-wit humans, is probably more attractive than California where the representatives and lawmakers who forget how to do basic math and financial calculations ARE THE REAL SHARKS & ALIGATORS!! FLORIDA has NO STATE INCOME TAX and has a pro business climate. The Weather climate is also at least as good as most of California. Yeah, the sometimes daily 3pm afternoon severe half-hour thunderstorms in late June & July when temperatures reach 97F or 98F by 2pm help cool things back to about 90F, but they trigger hunndreds of car accidents. Auto Paint & Body Shops in FLA do fantastic business from this and the sometimes golf ball and billiard ball size hail that can occur anytime between Apr and Oct. About every six or seven years, there is a strong hurricane (class 4, or class 5) to really worry about and evacuate for as a precaution. Riding out the typical minor hurricanes (class 1, or class 2) will still scare you, even if you've done it twelve times before, especially if it makes landfall at night with high tide.
The lack of state income tax certainly has made the state incredibly attractive to retirees and the very wealthy who have multiple homes in various US states and abroad but call Florida their primary residence, and thus spend the needed majority of their time in FLA to call it home. Florida residents get to sing "here comes the sun" and California residents get to sing " the taxman's taken all my dough..... all I've got is this sunny afternoon.... save me save me save me from this squeeze.
There is little to worry about as your chance of getting bit by a snake, shark or gator is very very very low but the bite of the one for you and 19 for the taxman in CA really takes a gigantic bite outta you if you have significant earnings, assets, or wealth. Yeah, I'm not too fond of spiders and snakes and gators and sharks too but the Golden State is nice enough but many folks share the opinion that it isn't where its at any more, ya dig. Old folks with bread wanna be where the sunlight is shining and you can live the good life, where the living is easy. Ain't nobody of those folks born in the 1940's, 1950's and early sixties are singing California Dreaming anymore, as Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona and elsewhere probably offer a much better cost of living and quality of life. South Carolina's coast is the finest in the nation. People are better educated in SC than most of FLA, yeah that is shocking because SC is probably forty something-ith in the nation, but SC folks aren't lazy like most long time native Floridians.

Yup. Sold the Cape Cod home and high tailed it here while I could still move my trailer with my two wheel drive Tundra…got out of the little hollow I was camping in with just hours to spare…everything glazed over and the water supply hose froze the night before.
I drove straight down, Rt. 95, 27.5 hrs stopping only to get gas! I stopped 10 times. Averaged 10.5 mpg.
I’m parked at a nice little adult only park until I sign on my new bought on the internet home here in St. Cloud on the 17th. Until then, I’m campin’! The weather is spectacular and I’m actually taking time to sort out my new life…it’s 35-40* warmer!
I’ve visited the home and it surpassed all of my expectations!
My Cape Cod realtor knows a St Cloud realtor and they did a great job!
Taxes and whatnot will be very important to me.
I may get out the only bicycle I could fit into the trailer tomorrow and get some miles in…