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Riding with the gators
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Rider and gators
If the finally-arrived winter weather is bumming you out, consider flying yourself and your bike to Miami for a few rides in the Everglades. There is one ride in particular that you should not miss – Shark Valley. A few years ago my wife and I did this ride on our tandem and it was truly thrilling.
Shark Valley is one of the entry points to the Everglades National Park, found on US Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) about 35 miles west of Miami. Before climbing aboard the bicycle, take a walk on both of the hiking trails that start from the Shark Valley visitor’s center.
When we did this a few years back, we discovered that there were gators everywhere! Lying beside the canal, lying beside the road, lying on the road, I mean everywhere! And you could get as close as you wanted, since they seemed to have no fear of the few tourists who were willing to tread the gator-laden trails. Although we started our hike by affording the lazy crocodilians a fairly wide berth, by the time the day was over, we were walking, observing and crouching within feet of the big beasts. Usually, the tooth-some creatures acknowledged our presence either by ignoring us totally, yawning or squeezing out some particularly noxious flatulence. A couple of them did move when we got near, giving us opportunities to breathe a bit more raspily while taking note of the very large mouths and very sharp teeth sported by these primeval critters.
Not only did we see hundreds of mid to large size gators, we saw dozens of babies as well, always in groups, quite often with Momma Gator lying nearby on guard. It appeared to us that litters of gators hang out with mom for more than a year, because we saw a number of clusters that contained young gators ranging in length from 7 or 8 inches to more than a foot and a half. Besides alligators, Shark Valley is an amazing place to see birds – egrets, hawks, anhingas, turkey vultures, wading birds, pelicans, gulls and plenty of other varieties too esoteric for my meager bird-spotting skills. To round out the fauna on display, we saw any number of turtles and a couple of snakes.
The bicycling segment of the trip was great fun – 15 miles on a paved road with only an occasional tram contesting the thoroughfare. That’s not completely accurate. Plenty of bigger gators had chosen to sun themselves completely or partially on the warm asphalt road. I kept asking my wife if she wanted me to run over one of the obstructors. As you can imagine, she tired of this game rather quickly. At the halfway point, we got off the bike to climb a concrete lookout tower. Just to get to the tower, however, we had to walk a gauntlet of alligators. A good dozen or so had taken up tanning spots on the walkway, giving us one more chance to walk softly while I practiced some big schtick, mugging in front of the gators while my wife took my picture. I was sorely tempted to reach out and stroke the tail of those who chose to favor us with derriere-side views, but contemplating my chances of successfully piloting the bicycle back to headquarters with but one appendage, I chose to keep my hands to myself.
By this time of year, gators have loaded up on fish and other delectables and they assume a semi-hibernative state, accounting for their relative lethargy. Even though the temptation to get up close and personal with them will be overwhelming, don’t forget that even in this country gators mangle more than a few human beings every year.
The Shark Valley ride is short, dead-flat and loaded with adventure. There are plenty of additional cycling opportunities in and around the Everglades, so if you are casting about for a domestic cycling vacation, give strong consideration to Shark Valley.
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