South Florida & Summer

All across the country bikes come out in the summer. The warmer temperatures and summer's dense foliage make riding the perfect activity, especially in the northern states where other seasons progressively remove the opportunities to ride. Florida, however, has a different state of mind... or weather. Alberto, the first named tropical storm 2006, just made its early June ride across northern Florida. Once anticipated to reach category 1 hurricane level, it has broken up enough to prevent growth past tropical storm. However, its effects reach almost all of the state and well into Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. I live hundreds of miles from where the storm will make landfall, but even here in south Florida heavy rains and high winds keep all but the desperate off the road. Northern Florida is getting extremely heavy rains and winds in excess of 50 MPH. The rainy season is the winter of Florida. Riding days are great, but often challenged with random thunderstorms that populate the state in higher numbers during the afternoon. Tropical storms and hurricanes eliminate days at a time. Our riding season is upside down from the rest of the country. As the rainy season passes in October bike season typically ramps up in a big way (except last year with hurricane Wilma). The winter months bring beautiful moderate temperatures luring bikers from all over the country.