The Keys

I left Florida City for Keywest. My plan was to ride the entire Keys in a single day. I figured it at about 210 km. The more I thought about it, the better the plan got. I'd ride into the night, and get into Key West at about 3 am. I'd hide my bike under a bridge or in the forest off to the side of the road. I'd slink into town with my book and read till sunrise, afterwards I'd find the beach or a park and sleep. I'd make the 6 pm ferry and leave without having to pay for lodging.



My plan was pretty good until sunset, when a fog rolled-in and my bike path evaporated. The dark-highway-riding became white knuckled, and I quit. I camped behind a Bell South complex in some dense jungle. It was too hot and muggy for a sleeping bag, and I just use my silk liner. I still thought about only getting a couple of hours of sleep before hitting the road again, but time bent and I was left with only 8 hours to do the remaining 120 km and still make the 6:00 pm ferry. Which doesn't seem that bad, unless you factor in the fuel stops and chatting with people on the road.

I had committed to a course of action. It being valentine's day and the president's day long weekend I thought finding lodging in key west would be difficult and expensive. Other travelers I had spoken to, told me Key West was the southern most retirement community in the continental United States, and I already had a retirement community in my itinerary. The keys were boring up until Marathon, but by the time I reached Marathon I had too much momentum to stop and had to continue all the way to Key West and out the other side. My survey of people post-Key West, tinged my decision with a little regret. I've heard it's good.



I hit a wicker chair. I crossed the 7 mile bridge, which works out to about half-an-hour of riding. It is for the most straight and flat. It is difficult to figure out how I didn't see the chair sitting on the shoulder, it was probably visible from 2 km away. I was busy reading my map (attached to my handle bar bag) I bounced off the chair, but remained up-right. I had no place to stop to regain my bearings, as stopping on the shoulder of the bridge would probably create more problems. So, I rode on.

Some of the bridges were twinned, with a separate walkway/bike lane. These were populated with fishermen. There was the constant danger of getting hooked when one of them was casting.



Anyways, I got into Key West with no time to spare. The ferry left 15 minutes after I got to the dock. I had to take my bike through an airport style security check. I asked the guard what I could and couldn't bring on the ferry, and he told me anything I couldn’t bring on a plane. And yet, I managed to take on my knives, as well as my camp stove and fuel.

I got into Fort Myers at about 10 pm. Time being so tight the previous two days; I didn’t get to look up the hostel location and phone number. It was disappointing. I biked about 10 km, through the city and found a small tree stand by a strip mall with a wachovia bank and blockbuster. It was pretty much the sketchiest and most urban camp site yet. As I was setting up camp, you could hear the people at a nearby bar talking in their loud bar voices - I stealthed out of my campsite to join them, but found it to be a private party. I hung out in front of a Superstore-style grocery store, stealing power and trying to catch an unsercued wifi network without luck.

In the morning, with daylight, I found I had camped on a deserted hobo home.



On my trip I had twice heard of a 75 year old cyclist who was going the same way I was, but was in advance of me. The road had given him a little fame. I finally met him in the Keys. He was doing a self-supported tour - camping along the way, like me. He started touring when he was 65, not doing it continuously.