The Keys

One of my host's dogs decided that at 6am, before dawn, I needed to be awake. There proved no use in arguing, so up I got. I hollered to get my host up a little before 8, so that she could take a picture of me and my bike before I headed out, as she had requested. We said farewell for now, since in all likelihood I will come back on my return from the Keys. Then it was off on the road again, Keyward bound.

I had been advised to take Card Sound Road to get into the Keys instead of Highway 1, which was what Google advised as well. ...I don't know that that was good advice. I found it scary as all get out. There was no shoulder, plenty of traffic, a 55mph speed limit, and lots of cars exceeding it because there were no cops or speed traps to get them for it. And while the scenery wasn't awful, it was quite monotonous, the road flat and straight and perfect for drivers to zone out on. The roadside grave markers I passed were testament to the danger. I was watching my mirror, ready to bail onto the small patch of grass to the right of the road if I had to. And more than once I got passed frightfully close. It seemed forever until I crossed the high rise bridge to get into the Keys. And still the other side offered no shoulder and not much to see.

But at last, I hit 905 and got a nice, wide bike lane, and I was able to relax. From that point on, despite many Miami cyclists telling me how minimal the shoulder is in the Keys, I felt secure all day. Contrary to their claims, the shoulder/bike lane was generally great, and what's more, there's even a paralleling bike path for much of it, a project they've apparently been working on for some time, hoping to have the whole Keys connected off road. Still, I was bored throughout Key Largo. It was not at all what I expected, nothing but a wall of trees to be seen on either side of the road.

But as I got further on, I came to see the Keys that I expected. At Islamorada I got off the road and into a park to check out the beach and the famed blue water. But as I got further, there became no need to get off the highway to see the ocean. The deeper into the Keys, the more scenic it became, and also the greater ratio of bridge to land, longer and longer bridges, smaller and smaller islands. It's beautiful down here. There's no sense in words when there are pictures.

I made good time, and decided I would pass Long Key State Park where I had initially planned to camp in order to get closer to Key West for tomorrow. I stopped at Grassy Key Outpost, a grocery store and restaurant, to pick up food for camping, then decided I would just treat myself to a meal there instead. I parked Bree right outside the window from my table, so I didn't have to worry about her while I ate, grilled cheese, fries, and a local beer. My server ended up asking about my tour, and I soon found myself getting congratulations from staff and patrons alike on nearly being at the end of it. Then it was just a short ways on to camp here at Curry Hammock.

Pictures will follow when I get wifi tomorrow.