11/7 Florida Keys tour

We came down to breakfast in the hotel at 7:30, hoping to see people before everyone went their way. We did see almost everybody, but a couple people had left the night before, driving toward home. I was hoping to hang out with Rachel and Katie a little bit, but they were off trying to get ahold of their rental car. Once they managed that, they picked up Dwight, who had dropped his bike at the bike shop to be shipped back. Rachel and Katie left for a moderately long drive to Miami, where they will take the train back to New York City after a bit of a visit. 

 

At around 2 o'clock, I got a message from American Airlines saying our flight would be delayed by an hour. This would most likely result in us missing our second flight, so we took the hotel shuttle to the airport and had them put us on a flight tomorrow morning and discussed arrangements for them giving us a coupon to pay for our hotel tonight. If only I had known… I would've spent some time at the beach or some thing. Bit of a waste of a day, but at least we didn't get stuck in Charlotte, midstream. We got to spend a little time in a Cat Cafe, watching people interact with the cats.

I packed up my Friday, while Dwight rode to the bike shop to drop off his bike.

Erin is OK watching the dog a day longer (note: when we returned to Buffalo, the hotel shuttle took 30 minutes to pick us up, after we just missed it the first time. Def don't try to get a package deal with Buffalo Hotel inc a sleep over the night before and then hold onto our car for a week. Not worth it).

11/6 Florida Keys tour

This morning we packed up quickly, got breakfast at the Riviera coffee shop, and rode around a tiny bit before landing at the U-Haul store to load our bikes into a van. Mark the Leader will drive that van back to Fort Myers, while we take the ferry. Shawn and Tony expertly packed the van with room to spare. We all walked into town.

We visited the shipwreck museum, which was not quite as expansive as I thought it would be, but still super interesting. From its lookout tower, we could see the Key West Lighthouse, aaaannnnndddd a huge cruise ship. It dwarfed Key West. We toured and climbed the lighthouse, before taking a quick Lyft to the ferry dock to catch the 5 o'clock ferry back to Fort Myers. 

 

 

 

Abandoned safe in the Blue Heron restaurant courtyard

 

 

We needed to go back a little early, because Rachel and Katie had left their duffel bag with the porter and were required to grab it by 4:30. This put us in the head of the line, so when we got on the boat we managed to secure a table with chairs, on which we could play games. The lighting was oddly dim, which restricted our game play. Dennis joined us and we had some nice conversations with him. In Fort Myers, there were not enough Lyft seats to go around. Mark, Dwight, Dennis and I ended up squeezing into the front seat of the U-Haul van for the 20 minute ride back to the hotel. When we got there, I did an all call text to the group and they all filed out of the hotel to pull the bags and bikes off the van. Everything went pretty smoothly, except two of the yellow Ortleib panniers got mixed up and ended up with the wrong people. It all came out in the end.

11/5 Florida Keys tour

Time change! Did the laundry and Leader Mark got up and started the stove for coffee. He has been the bomb. For the most part, this 12 person group doesn't whine too much. There's a vast amount of touring experience when counted collectively. Most group members have done at least one adventure cycling tour before. 

Again we used Lyft to get to the far south western end of Key West and meet up with Rachel and Katie again. Cuban Coffee roasters again (still delicious) and visited the aquarium and a botanical garden in an abandoned fort. Pelicans were diving en masse off the beach. There must have been a school of fish below them.

 

 

 

We had 3 o'clock foodie tour, where we went to a whole bunch of different restaurants and tried their specialties. Rachel and Katie retired, but Dwight and I returned to the Speakeasy, then went to the southernmost point of the continental United States. 

 

 

11/4 Florida Keys tour

Way shorter day today. Only 30 miles and still a 15-20 mph tailwind. It was agreed that breakfast would be delayed by an hour, because people were so tired from yesterday and everyone realized how short today would be. Dwight and I were still responsible for breakfast, which was really just boiling water and making coffee, but we also had to get out all the food for breakfast and lunch from where it was stored in the bathroom last night. We were the very last to pack up our own things, but surprisingly not the last to leave. The trail continues to be difficult to resist, but we pretty much get screwed every time we get on it. We got into the campground first, and way earlier than I had expected. After dumping the common equipment, we pitched the tent, in part tying it to tree to keep it from blowing away. No mosquitoes! 

 

 

 

I voted that Dwight and I take a Lyft into Key West to meet up with Rachel and Katie, who have come down in the ferry, a mere 5 miles journey for us. I didn't regret that. Between the campground and the far West of Key West, riding conditions were pretty lousy. Rachel and Katie met us at the Cuban Coffee Shop near the waterfront. We shared Rice and beans and poppers (and Cuban coffee) and wandered around the oldest part of town, before getting on our dolphin cruise. The captain warned they hadn't seen dolphins, due to the rough nature of the bay from wind, but the many tour boats share dolphin sighting information and we had many cool sightings, pretty close to the boat. At one point, something jumped out of the water, but one of the crew noted that that particular jump was more likely an eagle ray. Apparently they jump out of the water to dislodge parasites. We also saw jellyfish (and a Cassiopeia jellyfish at the campground)!

 

 

 

 

There are also many, many abandoned boats in the bay. Apart from hurricanes, many people abandon boats, because it is cheaper than scrapping them. I had a long convo with a crew member re sailing, cycling and his efforts to canoe down the entire length of the Mississippi, over a period of a few years. Beautiful sunset over the bay. Rachel and Katie went back to their hotel, but Dwight and I went to a bar called the Retro Room that someone had suggested to Rachel. We got to watch part of a Godzilla/ Mothra movie and drank yummy beers. Lyft back!

 

11/3 Florida Keys tour

70 miles, plus 3 mile detour
I had great trepidations about this day, only partly because of the 70 mile projected mileage. We also offered to get all groceries alone (by Lyft, due to the store being a six mile round trip beyond the campground), and we needed to cook dinner. This was the most extensive causeway ride we would do on this trip and we surely benefited from the 15-20mph tailwind. Iguanas crossed the trail in front of us and frigate birds and buzzards soared above. 

The Florida Heritage trail supposedly parallels route 1, but its maintenance is so obviously a low priority for the state. It starts and stops, often abruptly, and crosses the 4 lane, mostly divided highway, forcing you to play a real world game of frogger. However, one section offered a quieter space, separated from the road by a wide and dense barrier of foliage. We found a shaded bench to lunch on, looking out over low mangroves and were joined by Dennis. There were plenty of places to get drinks and water along the way. We stopped at none of the attractions, in order to get the groceries and cooking done on time. 

Mostly we stayed off the trail, due to getting shafted so frequently by terrible surfaces, abrupt terminations and road crossing requirements, so as a result we traveled along the 3-4ft shoulder with the vehicles generally bumper to bumper, going over 55mph next to us. So why I decided to divert from this strategy and take a beautiful remnant of the old railroad bridge, which terminated a a small resort key, I have no idea. We were forced to turn around at the end and go back against 15 to 20 mile an hour winds. Looking back at that entryway, there was no sign indicating it was a dead end. I texted the group, to ensure that nobody else made that mistake, which was a successful effort. Oddly enough, I had seen that coming, when I looked at the RWGPS map in the morning, but I thought we were beyond that point on the map. 

The causeway could be beautiful, and the shoulders are much wider, but the Jersey barriers push all the noise back at you and the shoulders are full of crap. We got to the campground, dumped our stuff, went to the bathroom, washed our faces and got a Lyft to the grocery store. Came back, made dinner, got cleanup going, pitched the tent, showered and collapsed to bed. Long day.

Lower Matecumbe Key

The siren call of the Dead End

This is what most of the causeway looks like

Big Pine Key CG

 

11/2 Florida Keys tour

Breakfast was pushed to 8:00, so a lazy start to the day. Called Pennekamp State Park about kayaking; they said to call back in an hour, because they hadn't decided whether to cancel. Called again at 9:00, and they said only strong paddlers. We trekked back to the park, because even if the kayaking was canceled, it looked like an interesting place. 

After some deliberation, we decided not to kayak. The wind had completely puffed up the surf water, which would have made it difficult to see anything. In the first photo, you can see the calm provided by the mangroves to the left. We watched a movie about the Keys and watched a presentation about how to ID reef fish. Then we looked around the visitor center ate lunch and hiked their only real hiking trail, called the Tamaran trail. Ate a very early dinner at Fish Restaurant, which had clever "porthole windows", with ocean videos playing in them, then returned to camp to shower, do laundry and clean up.

 

 

Tough to see the coconut! The vegetation has grown around it to the left.

 

11/1 Florida Keys tour

We left the RV park on much more pleasant roads and eventually ended up on a bike lane/bus lane only. Damn good thing we have a RWGPS file to use alongside the RWGPS cue sheets, because the cue sheet's generated by RWGPS can really be crappy. We worked our way to Rt 1. It is a 1-2 lane divided highway in each direction, with a wide shoulder strewn with debris. I'm quite sure we will get multiple flats on the approximately 30 miles of it we ride today. It was loud, with no shade, but an amazing 15-20 mph tail wind. We came into Key Largo just after 11:30am, stopping to purchase an extra tube each at a bike shop, then did some shopping at Publix. At the campground, we trotted off to visit the "beach", which is little more than a strip of land for launching kayaks, filled with organic debris. We did see a wading bird called a limpkin, kind of speckly brown and got up close and personal with mangrove seedlings. The seeds drop off the trees, land in the water and float around vertically, until the bottom of the pod touches a good spot to anchor, then roots there. Tomorrow is a by day, so Dwight and I went out to eat at The Catch. The snorkeling trip tomorrow has already been canceled due to high winds.

 

10/31 Florida Keys tour

Still loads of mosquitoes. Dinner and breakfast were bare bones basic, since we had to buy groceries so early in the day, and there was no ice or refrigeration. It was a long day, even at only 52 miles. We finished off the Everglades. Long causeways moved us above the sea of grass and gave us glimpses of the variety of flora supported here. It was maybe even hotter today. The last 7 miles of the Tamiami through the Everglades was under construction, so the shoulder of this 45 mph road ebbed and flowed between 3 feet and nothing. We moved back and forth between the eastbound lane and the shoulder on the westbound side. Most drivers were careful and patient. A Pilot gas station was our saving grace, as well as the turn towards "civilization" and apparently the end of the mosquitoes. After that was a mostly boring rail trail followed by a two lane, heavily trafficked, no shoulder road into town. Very impatient, speeding drivers were obviously annoyed by our presence on their road We did get to go through some agricultural areas, probably growing corn, bananas, guava and such. Dwight bought a really big avocado for $1 along the way. We got to the grocery store 1.5 hrs early, but hung out waiting for the cooks to arrive. One cook short at the store; he'd gotten lost. I helped shop, which was an eye opening experience and preparation for our cooking turn. Everyone shares carrying the groceries to the campground. At the campground (down another two lane, heavily trafficked, no shoulder road), we plunked down our tents and common gear and went to shower. Dwight managed to get the laundry done. Quite a scam. The machines note they can take CC, but instead they charge you a minimum of $10 to buy into a special app!

 

10/30 Florida Keys tour

Rachel and Katie decided to bail on the trip. They rode back to the Publix and got an extra large Lyft back to Fort Myers. They were massively disappointed, but the further into the trip, the better the decision turned out to be. Dwight and I packed up and made good time to the grocery store, but it was only 20 miles away, with 30 miles left go afterwards. I decided that there must be stuff that was fun to do in Everglade City, but the restaurants are mostly family diner kind of stuff and the only interesting attraction was the observation tower. It was a bit of a slug fest to do the last 30 miles to the campground, but Laura encouraged us to stop to see the alligator she had spotted. I noticed two babies; the first one I mistook for a bird feather. All I could see was the tail, striped like a hawk tail feather. Many white ibis, storks and great egrets, as well as something that looks part wood pecker, part kingfisher, which I believe were green herons.
Almost 90° again, with very little cloud cover and no shade. We stopped many times, but made it all right. Unfortunately there are no showers at the campground, so sponge baths it was. Oddly enough, there were washers and dryers. Still loads of mosquitoes.

 

10/29 Florida Keys tour

We headed out of the hotel around 8 o'clock. Very urban and often not terribly bike friendly, but nothing outrageously dangerous. It was a lot warmer than I thought it would be at 90°, and the headwind was more than I anticipated. We struggled starting around 3/4 of the way through, but made it to the Publix grocery store, but not the one we were supposed to be getting groceries at. We were not quite last, but we did not make it to the correct store in time to pick up groceries with the group. Almost 70 miles. I came in pretty exhausted. Showers were amazing and there was a pay washer and dryer. Adventure Cycling resolves that its groups cook meals vegetarian, and then separately cook up meat for people to add in. It's a cool system. Hordes of mosquitoes made Adventura Cycling's suggestion of a head net seem brilliant in hindsight. There was a full moon which fully lit up our tent partly because we had decided to pass on the fly. It was pretty warm. The moon was bright, but not consumingly problematic.

 

10/28/23 Florida Keys tour

We are meeting up with family for this tour.
I put my bike together and we stuffed it in an extra large Lyft ride to go to the bike shop and retrieve Dwight's bike. The shop did a good job of putting things back in order, considering the gear is all kind of proprietary. FedEx managed to bend Dwight's rear rack and later we found out they also bent Rachel's rear rack. After trying to resolve problems associated with that, we rode back to the hotel. Stopping to get any kind of groceries or supplies was basically impossible. The whole area is a giant strip mall and on Saturday it was massively busy. There was tour group meeting at 4 o'clock, so we got to meet everybody at that point.

10/27/23 Florida Keys tour

The Florida Keys will be our first guided or even paid tour. Adventure Cycling is running this self-supported tour. It starts in Fort Myers, crosses the Everglades on the Tamiami Trail and then runs down the Keys on the causeway.
We shipped Dwight's bike and it arrived fine in Florida, so we prepared to take a flight and arrived at the American Airlines kiosk at about 4:30 AM. They had problems with an incoming plane that was supposed to go back to Dallas, so they took our not quite filled plane and gave it to the Dallas folks. Our plane was rescheduled for 2 o'clock in the afternoon. They did give us food vouchers and we spent a little time playing games, reading and walking the airport.
The flight from Charlotte to Fort Myers went off without a hitch and the Drury inn shuttle picked us up and delivered us to the hotel around 7:30 PM. It was too late for dinner at the hotel, so we walked over to JT's, which had a decent beer selection and food. Rachel and Katie were off visiting with Katie's grandmother and family, so we didn't see them today.

 

10/12/23 Pine Creek Trail

26 miles
I'm so glad we stopped where we did last night. It left us with a much shorter ride today.
We warmed up by riding! This is probably as late in the season as we could handle, using the equipment and clothes we brought. Burritos for breakfast! Very thankful. We did have to pump again and we started the stove again for tea. That same solo touring cyclist was heading back toward Jersey Shore. He's way faster than us and has a super lightweight bike, packed minimalisticly.
The end came pretty quickly, but we did take our time changing back into dry warm clothes and packing up the bikes. A quick diner breakfast and then we headed back home.