After a great stay in an RV trailer in Daytona Beach I headed down to Miami to being the process of shipping the bike back to the UK.
As I rode into the city I got caught in a torrential downpour which lasted all of 30 minutes and then disappeared. So after a brief stop I headed across to a hostel in Little Havanna. Little Havanna is a great place to spend a Saturday evening with a lovely atmosphere. My limited spanish got a work out.
After sending a batch of documents to the shippers there was nothing to do but wait, so I thought I would head to Key West for a day or so until they came back to me. Key West - what a beautiful place. Great ride in on the only road, with the deep blue of the ocean either side of me, pelicans almost hanging in the air on the breeze and the chickens roaming around!
After a photograph at the most southerly point in the USA and checking into my accomodation I headed to the wharf for something to eat. Great plate of fish and after chatting to the bar staff they bought me a drink! (I think its supposed to be the other way around). I could have stayed in Key West for quite a few days but I had to head back to Miami again to resume my shipping admin.
This time I stayed in Miami beach. I suppose its a lovely place, art deco buildings etc.. but for one day I was sat in a hotel room emailing and photographing various documents and also waiting for emails back. Add to this Miami beach does not well cater for motorcycles when it comes to parking. Motorcycles are not allowed to use municipal parking garages and so I had to use on street parking. Unfortunately I couldn't use any of the apps as I had an international plate (so couldn't register my bike) and was limited to feeding the meters at $3 an hour. (I also couldn't pay the San Franciso bridge toll as there is no way for a non US vehicle to on their website!) Unsurprisingly I ended up with a ticket - the first of the whole trip.
After quite a few phone calls I managed to arrange drop off of the bike at a specialist vehicle transporter company. I had a quick wander around their warehouse at the vehicles they were moving from place to place, generally high value or old ones - a Rolls, a Bentley, a few older corvette's and other sports cars.
And with that the road trip was over. Distance covered including a quick trip around Ireland to test my gear (which told me I needed better waterproofs) has been 15,994 miles. I had one flat tyre, one dislocated shoulder, had to replace the front tyre after Ireland and then front and back again half way through. 1 set of chain and sprockets, a broken hand guard and helmet visor lock and thats about it!
A look down Miami Beach on an evening. Fabulous.
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