Bright and early, Saturday, June 28th, 40 bicylists of all ability levels and ages met at Vizcaya's "Garage" to hear about the GreenLink (now The Underline) and take an 8-mile MPath bike ride from Vizcaya station to Dadeland station.
Sponsored by the Gold Coast section of the APA and Friends of the GreenLink, the morning kicked off with a surprise visit from Florida Representative Jose Javier Rodriguez who greeted the crowd and then hit the campaign trail. Wendy Wolf of Vizcaya told us about the "Garage", where we met. Formerly a garage for the many cars and trucks of James Deerings' estate, the beautiful structure had 2-story ceilings, wood storage and a rotating floor, to turn cars and trucks around that didn't reverse! We also heard about the original Farm Village and how it served the Vizcaya estate. Our friends at Vizcaya served healthy fruit and snacks to jump start our engines. Of course, yours truly gave a presentation on the GreenLink, what we've been doing (lots) and where we want to go next. FDOT also gave riders all sorts of biking paraphernalia and goodie bags. Thanks FDOT!After dropping my bike, which was locked to the bike stand, and putting my bike helmet on backwards, I managed to catch up with the GreenLink peloton as it crossed US1 via the US1 flyover and hit the MPath heading south. Our leaders from the Everglades Bicycle Club directed riders to bike single file or, when there was room, side-by-side and then we got a brief course in calling out instructions to the person behind you. But the coolest thing of all was "corking", when a designated rider sits in front of cars at intersections, allowing all riders to travel as one cohesive group. In our case, our "corkers" were City of Miami police bike patrols and City of Coral Gables police. Each time our peloton crossed through an intersection, the City of Miami bike patrol raced ahead of us and "corked" the next intersection. In Coral Gables, we had police opening up our path at every intersection (I felt very safe and very VIP.)At the end of the ride at Dadeland North station, we were greeted by a crowd from the MPath Park Project commandeered by Eric Katz and Friends of the Ludlam Trail Tony Garcia, plus representatives of Friends of the MPath. All riders got refreshments and were asked to spread mulch around trees planted by the MPath Park Project. Tony Garcia directed riders to a map of the GreenLink and riders made comments of what they want to see on the MPath now or as part of the future vision of the GreenLink. Riders broke up into small groups to head home, back to Vizcaya for a tour of the estate (courtesy Vizcaya) or onto a much longer ride. Can't wait for our next group ride. Hope you will join us.Meg DalyFounder, Friends of The Underline
