Little Torch Key to Key West 30 miles.

The ride today was very pleasant, more so because I didn’t get rained on. The rain stopped right as I was leaving and it was clear all the way into KW?
My first stop was at the ferry office to see if I could take the ferry to Naples and then ride home across the state. The answer for the ferry was a firm no! So I had to make a tough choice of riding back through Miami or invite Cathy down for a weekend in the Keys so she could bring the van. The van won so this will be my last travel post for this trip.
I’ll come back after I get home with some photos I haven’t posted and statistics for the ride.

First sign you see in Key West.

And the end of the ride.

A Key West rooster.

Mile Maker 0 the end of the road.

Islamorada to Little Torch Key, 55 miles
The people here say you can’t get away from the wind. I believe them especially on the bridges. I crossed 10 bridges today including the Seven Mile Bridge ( it should really be called the 6.9 mile bridge ) and the wind was a factor on all of them.
I have been to the Keys 6-7 times in the past and never saw a Key deer. Today I saw two of them along with loads of iguanas and a shark that a fisherman had caught. You see so much more when you slow down to human speeds.

The roads today were the best yet, the state is really working on the bike trail. The trail is controlled by the state parks department, I had a chance to talk to one of their employees today, where I learned they have some good funding and the plan is to make the trail continuous from Key Largo to Key West. Check below for a great picture.
After a week on the road I can tell my body is getting use to the workout. I’m not near as tired as I was during the Okeechobee trip, although the sun has been far worse. I’ll post highlights of my strange tan when I get home.

What do you do with an old railroad bridge? Make a great bike path.

A baby shark that will be shark burgers tonight.

Biggest iguana I’ve ever seen!

Half way across the Seven Mile Bridge.

If you zoom the photo you can see a Key Deer.

Florida City to Islamorada 46 miles.

Started out this morning with a quartering headwind that was the strongest I have had cruising speed dropped to around 12mph. The Windwrap fairing is still in question as to its effectiveness, one thing it has been great for is keeping the direct sun off my legs. The slight tint has been perfect for that. If I had one for my arms and face I would be in good shape.

Speaking of weather I haven’t had any rain but the south Florida heat is still tough even in the winter. Temp was about 90F but much hotter down close to the pavement where I am.

Here are a few pictures.

This is where you know you are in the Keys.

Not a sign you see everyday unless you live in the area.

First view of the Gulf of Mexico.

Ice cold water on the bike path. First I’ve ever seen.

Sunny Isle to Florida City. 44.4 miles.

This was my shortest day so far on this trip but, it felt like the longest. Miami is a terrible place to ride! They have some bike paths but they are not well maintained or marked. If you are planning a ride through this area be sure to download some detailed maps of the bike system.

i didn’t take any pictures that turned out good. The winter sun is too low to take good southbound pictures. I did see a lot of iguanas which suprized me.

I passed another touring cyclist named Otto from the Ukraine. I’m sure I will see him again as we are both going to KW.

North Palm Beach to Sunny Isles Beach (just north of Miami).

Today was my first day in the big cities and I was pleasantly surprised. The scenery was great and the drivers very courteous where there were not bike lanes. Like yesterday high dollar real estate is everywhere. The radio announced that a house sold for $139 million yesterday. I rode past it today but couldn’t get any pictures.

Speaking of pictures here are a few.

Nice signs, they can afford them.

In Florida you can not get away from the birds.

These next two ar from a really nice park on the beach where I rested a while.

I saw this and it inspired me to have one when I got to the hotel. I should have bought two.

This is the way to do a bike path on a street. Very nice.

This will be a short post today. I rode from Ft. Pierce to North Palm Beach 55 miles the some of the most expensive areas in Florida.

The ride was nice with very little in the way of bad roads. A couple of places I was forced to the sidewalk but all in all a good day.

Tomorrow I start into the South Florida mega-city which will take me two to three days to ride through.

No pictures today, Sorry.

First, let me thank everyone coming back to check out my rides.

After the Okeechobee trip I wanted to do something a little more interesting so Key West sounded like a good idea. The trip should be around an 800 mile or 1300 km with some of the best scenery in Florida.

The ride today was great, flat land and a gentle tail wind all day. Heading south on A-1-A once you get out of The greater Melbourne area there are great bike paths all the way to Ft. Pierce. There are good bike lanes or if you prefer a wide sidewalk that everyone but me rides on. I stopped at a store where another biker caught up with me and asked why I didn’t ride the sidewalk. My two word answer was “expansion joints”. I run 100 psi tires and even with suspension the bumps are annoying.

Interesting points today included crossing the Sebestian Inlet bridge which was under construction and down to one lane. The flag men were nice and the cars behind me were friendly. I also had to stop at a draw bridge. Cars were backed up close to half a mile but the bike lane was empty and I glided right up to the bridge.

I also passed the point where Jaun Ponce de Leon first set foot in America to start his quest for the fountain of youth. Further down the road is the National Seal UDT museum both of these were on the other side of the road so I’ll visit them on the trip back.

Me starting off this morning notice the new Ortlieb bags which are about half the weight of the Arkel’s they replaced. Because the wind was behind me all day I can’t be sure if the Windwrap fairing is useful or five pounds of dead weight. Either way it looks cool.

This is the view from the Sebastian bridge.

The sign says it all.

The draw bridge.

A strange bridge without any other way across. I had about six inches on each side.