Dolly's Bike Blog

We rolled out of our Key West hotel before dawn on Thursday, confident there would not be a line at the Southernmost Point. We touched the tandem back tire to the monument to signify my start from the most southern point in the U.S.  The joke was that the tandem rear tire will “kiss” my single rear tire to transfer that southern point.  The sun rose as we pedaled out of town.

We stopped at Mangrove Mama’s for breakfast, finding little else on the road – and recommended by Ian and Cheryl.  The restroom art was enjoyable.

On Big Pine Key, we stopped at the Key Deer Refuge Visitors’ Center, but chose not to ride the extra 4 miles into the Reserve.  We did see the back end of one of the deers, feeding in a driveway.

Before the 7 Mile Bridge, we stopped as I was feeling light-headed from the heat – some extra water and shade helped.  The wind was at our face across the bridge and the traffic was continuous.

When we got into Marathon, we stopped at the Winn Dixie to pick up lunch items, expecting that our hotel rooms would not yet be ready.  The Kmart was next door, with Wyland marine art decorating this shopping center wall.   While enjoying our lunch in the shade behind the motel, we had a visitor….We had seen a number of iguanas running into shade along the trail, but obviously this one was close.  Don used a plastic chair to chase it away.

Delightful dinner walking distance from the hotel at Herbie’s.

Started early again this morning (Friday) from Marathon – I took this photo as we were leaving the Key (I had missed it when we rode in on Monday).

We had not stopped at the Hurricane Monument in Islamorada headed south, so we intentionally stopped as we were going north.  Lots of lives lost in 1935 in a tremendous hurricane.

We all agreed that today seemed especially hard, the heat and the wind.  We were glad to arrive in Key Largo and cool off in the Holiday Inn pool.  At lunch at Skipper’s Dockside, the African Queen took a group out for a cruise.

We didn’t realize that the 100 Mile Marker was just up the road, so we walked for the photo op, then enjoyed our last Keys sunset.

Kent and Anne leave in the morning to drive back to Fort Wayne.  Don and I will ride back to Florida City to retrieve our van, and I will continue on to Miami on my single.  The adventure continues…..

No biking today, just wandering in Key West.  Our first stop was at the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. The photos tell the story.

Lots of walking….

When others opted for a rest, I headed out to go to Dog Beach, so labeled on one of our maps.  When we started CCST13, it was from Dog Beach in San Diego, so it seemed appropriate to dip my feet at Dog Beach in Key West.  No sign at the beach, but I took this selfie, as close as I can get to wheel dipping at the south end of my tour.

I continued walking down the beach, back to Higgs Beach and the West Martello, remnants of a military fortification, now housing the Key West Garden Club.

Also along the beach is an old African cemetery, the Key West AIDS Memorial, and the start of the East Coast Greenway.

We ended up back at Salute at Higgs Beach for dinner, with steel-drum music and beach volleyball entertainment.

This is a continuation of the post from yesterday.  We started Tuesday quite early, hoping to beat the traffic on the 7 Mile Bridge.  Going south, we frequently had the wind at our backs.

Across the bridge we were riding on a wide shoulder, with lots of road debris.  The Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail stretches from Key Largo to Key West, sometimes on the right side of the road, sometimes left, crossing back and forth without any signage.  At times there is a bike lane, other times a separate trail – this definitely adds to the adventure.  Some of the bridges have a separate, older bridge for cyclists, other times the trail ends suddenly because the upcoming bridge is closed – it certainly adds to the adventure.

At Ian and Cheryl’s recommendation, we stopped at MM17 to see the Bat House, an unsuccessful effort to control the mosquitos in the Keys.  We have been lucky to have no mosquito problem on this tour.

Close to MM10 we had a blow out flat and discovered a large hole in the side wall of our rear tire.  We were able to use a Clif bar wrapper for a boot – and luckily there is a full service bike shop in Key West.

After checking into our motel, El Patio, we went for lunch at Salute, on Higgs Beach – good food and nice to relax.  The weather has been very hot mid-day and we are glad to be off the bike by noon.  We did venture to the Southernmost Point, only to find a line for photo-taking.  We snapped a few shots, including some “extras.”

While continuing our wander in Key West, we passed the Little White House, used primarily by Harry Truman.

We had a delicious dinner at The Flaming Buoy, owned by two men from Cincinnati.  I enjoyed one of their specialties, lobster Mac and cheese.  Then we power walked to catch the sunset from the harbor.

A long and fun-filled day!