I travelled across Florida on a $45 bike

I travelled across Florida on a $45 bike.

I had tickets for event in Waldo.FL – Swamp Fest booked months in advance, but I’d pretty much written it off — thought getting there and around would be too expensive as a solo traveler!

I’m a British guy, At the time, I was in Peru. Out of curiosity, I checked flights… and somehow flying to Orlando and back to London was £100 cheaper than Peru-London (even with a layover).

That was all the convincing I needed.

Flights booked.

Camping gear, tools, racks and bags ordered to an Airbnb in Orlando.

Plan: land 10th March, buy a bike off Facebook Marketplace, and ride 3 days up to Waldo.Fl leaving 11th March.

Festival 13th-15th weekend, then take my time heading back to Orlando for my flight on March 20th.

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How it actually went:

The bike I’d lined up fell through last minute.

Ended up grabbing one off Craigslist for $45 the day after I landed. Quick stop at Walmart and Dollar Tree, loaded it up with way too many bungee cords… and just like that, I was rolling.

The bike looked almost new — but for the first half of the trip I only had 4 gears. Luckily, Florida’s flat, so it didn’t matter too much.

The tyres, though? Different story. Years of sitting unused had hardened them. By around 500km, the back one finally gave up.

I even ended up hitchhiking twice — once to escape the weather, and once when the rear tyre finally gave up.

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In total, I rode about 700km.

Camped in state parks, private sites, and even spent two days in a garden shed hiding from a storm. Met some great people and saw a side of Florida I never would have from a car.

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I’ve flown with a BMX all over Europe, and half the time the bike fees cost more than the flight.

This trip made me realise something:

Buying a cheap bike when you land and just sending it… might be one of the best (and cheapest) ways to bike-pack abroad.