The Keys Day 2: Marathon to Key West

The picture to the left was taken yesterday. Willard is to the left, Alan is on the right. Note how the wheels on Willard's trailer are bowed inward.

Alan found the campground on Key Marathon first. I rode right past it, oblivious because I'd taken a side road that paralelled Rt. 1, and ended up closer to the city. It was ok, though, because he met me at Radio Shack. Then, we hit the Staples next door and as we left, started talking with a random guy who kept a monologue going for what felt like days. Nice guy - but he didn't exactly know when to stop.

Willard limped in sometime behind us - a spoke on one of his wheels on the handtruck had broken, so fixing it became the morning project. He decided to scrap the pink girl's bike wheel altogether (but he did save the tires), and the revised rig would roll on the handtruck wheels alone. This was okay, because he didn't ride much faster than 10 mph anyway.

On to Key West: it was another gorgeous day. Crossed 7 mile bridge. Off to the right was a two mile section of bridge that wound down to a research station on an island. Two things that were notable about that section: 1) it was too bad the whole bridge wasn't functional, to get away from traffic, and 2) it would make for a long walk to get to work. Hopefully it will someday be incorporated into an alternative bike path route.

The tailwind today was amazing, 20 mph or more. Perfect for riding. I got ahead of everyone, so I stopped at a Mobil station for a break. Alan must have passed me while I was in the bathroom - again, he made it to the campground before I did...and this one was challenging to find. We were at Boyd's, right in Key West. VERY small tent sites, with ground as hard as cement, but we still managed to set up all 3 tents.

Again, Willard was last into camp. This time, his hitch had failed. Still, we had all helped him realize his dream, so Alan, Willard, I celebrated by going into town. Dinner was aboard a floating Thai restaurant. VERY cool!