Biking the Everglades

Text and photos by Emily Benson
(Note: None of these photos are photoshopped or instagrammed)

When my husband and I were deliberating how we would spend just one day in the Everglades, the inevitable question arose, to airboat or not to airboat. An airboat promised speed and thrill and strange feats of aerodynamics. It was tempting, but expensive and only lasted an hour. Besides, anything that was deafening enough to require ear protection seemed antithetical to our goal of immersing in nature. We wanted to linger, stop and stare at the beautiful herons inked a shade of slate blue, partake in their silence as they masterfully stalked insects with immaculate stillness.

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Photo by Emily Benson

Since this was unlikely to happen on an airboat ride, we opted for the slightly more meditative and much less expensive option, heading to Shark Valley to bike the fifteen-mile scenic loop.
It is possible to rent bikes at Shark Valley, but since we endured a four-day road trip to Florida from upstate New York, we at least had the luxury of arriving with our own bikes. Before the ride, we stopped in the Miccosukee restaurant to fuel up with Indian pumpkin bread and coffee. We parked outside, on Highway 41 and rode our bikes in for a mere $10.
Before we could advance much past the visitor center, we were already stumbling upon alligators in our path, like the one below, which we had to dodge like landmines.

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photo by Emily Benson

Other than kittens, puppies, ducklings, and Pygmy goats, there are few things more adorable than baby alligators, a common sighting along the trail in winter months:

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Photo by Emily Benson

There is nothing more striking than an Anhinga drying its wings in the trees, like a kite gracefully entangled in branches:

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Photo by Emily Benson

Once we stopped oohing and ahhing over every baby alligator, we got serious about biking. There is probably no easier trail to be found than this one, perfectly flat, smoothly paved, with 350 species of birds to distract you from the stress of physical exertion. But fifteen miles is fifteen miles.
And due to the large population of alligators lurking in the wetlands, and occasionally crossing the path in front of us, we decided it was best to finish before dark.

As we rode, we became increasingly glad we’d chosen to experience the Everglades by bike. There were almost no other bikers, and other than the occasional tram, we had the path to ourselves.
The temperature was perfect and because it was January and dry season, there were very few mosquitoes. We let ourselves be engulfed in the beauty and the silence, interrupted only by birdcalls slicing through the dense luscious quietude. For the first time since we’d been in Florida, there were no signs of civilization, none of the ubiquitous shopping malls, highways or pastel colored motels. There was only the vastness of sawgrass marshes stretching out for miles around us.

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After a while, even the gators, whose eyes at first seemed nothing more than hard slits, inscrutable with primordial evil, now seemed part of the overall peacefulness:

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Photo by Emily Benson

As we finished the 15-mile loop, the sun was setting and we saw even more wildlife at this magic hour than we had during the day. Savage hues of hot pink streaked the sky as flocks of herons alighted over the wetlands, and I felt so thankful to have gone back in time, to a pre-civilized paradise, so grateful to all the people who’ve fought hard to save the Everglades from would-be developers.
I was especially glad we hadn’t taken the airboats, which would have kept us apart, even slightly above the natural surroundings, rather than immersed and at one with this mortal heaven.

11 thoughts on “Biking the Everglades”

  1. You give us a wonderfully vivid picture of your ride through the Everglades. I’d love to join you!

    1. Thanks Andrea,
      Your comments are so astoundingly immediate and encouraging! After 15 miles of flat land cycling, I am sufficiently daunted by but also excited for the prospect of
      Nashville.

  2. A joy to read as I sip my soup and watch the snow come down in Upstate New York. Not that I wish I was there, but that I am so happy that you and my son are enjoying the state where he was born, while I am happily retired in the state where I was born.

    And I so appreciate your creative and generous way of sharing your bike ride through the Everglades. Way better than a postcard! Mom-in-law, Mary. “Hi Rob”.

    1. Hi Mary,
      Thanks for your encouraging comments! I could never write postcards because I would serialize them and well, it got complicated. There’s a lot more room to elaborate here. Rob said he’d never seen the Everglades and was so happy to discover this. I’m glad you are enjoying snow and puppies. That is a fond chapter in our narrative too and I think we agree it was one of the most ideal Christmas holidays of all time.

  3. What beautiful photos and narrative! I am sending this on to that guy we know in Colorado! Great stuff.

    RC

    1. Hi RC,
      It’s great to hear from you and thanks for your response! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos and narrative and am honored you’d want to send this on to Dan. Please say hello for me!

  4. Beautiful pics and a great commentary. Hope you guys are enjoying your time in Florida.
    All the best,
    Jim

    1. Hi Jim, Thanks for your comments! I’m so glad you enjoyed the commentary and that you liked the photos. That instills a lot of confidence coming from a pro like you.

    1. Thank you Holly!
      Thanks for signing up and commenting and for all of your support and encouragement!
      I really enjoyed seeing you at the Whitney and our conversation inspired me to work on a longer manuscript based on some of these experiences documented in the blog. I’m having too much fun! I will continue to blog and write in France, although will try not to bombard you or any other follower with minute-by-minute updates of the latest meal we’ve ingested, or with shallow, spasmodic musings. It means a lot to know you are following. Thanks!

  5. How are you professor ! Thank you for inviting me to your blog (:
    I really enjoyed your class during this spring, and you definitely helped me improving my writings.
    I love these pictures that you posted with articles 🙂 makes me want to travel
    this summer !

    Hope you enjoy your summer<3

    – Sara

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