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Day 9. Duck Key to Key West and the completion of this trip.

Posted by Tim on March 7, 2020
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The last morning send off. The Hawk’s Kaye Inn was quite lavish but the perfect distance from Key West for our last day’s ride. The winds were very strong between 20 and 25 mph but fortunately out of the NE. They were more of a cross wind than a tail wind but definitely helped push us along,
This was our first rest stop today. We had travelled around 20 miles and, more importantly, we had just finished Seven Mile Bridge. It was every bit of seven miles. I was gripping my handlebars with both hands the whole way.
Way off in the distance is Seven Mile Bridge. Brian came close to taking his shoes off and walking into the water. It did look inviting.
I took this picture since it was typical of the dozens of bridges we crossed today between keys. I don’t know why they call all these islands keys.
We wondered for the last two days when the road was built. It is a remarkable engineering feat. I hope you can read this road sign explaining the history of the road, formerly 4A but now called US 1.
Our last rest stop of the day and the trip. The pictures I took for the last two days just don’t show the true aqua color of the water in the keys.
A celebratory beer at the end of the trip. Altogether we biked around 540 miles over 9 days. We saw a spring training game, had dinner with Arlene Sullivan and saw the Truman Little White House here in Key West. We both have a sense of accomplishment for finishing a long ride in good spirits. We stayed in some very lavish places which helped regenerate us for the next day’s ride. Good job to Beth for making the arrangements and to Nancy for good cheer and great sandwiches. Thank you to both for making this possible. Beth says this was her last trip. We’ll see if we can’t change her mind.

Day 7. Fort Lauderdale Beach to Florida City. Our ride thru Downtown Miami

Posted by Tim on March 5, 2020
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Our send off photo. We couldn’t decide whether to follow the Advantage Cycling route or Google Bike route.. We chose the latter, so we avoided Miami Beach.
We crossed over the inter coastal on this bridge which is not a drawbridge.
Our first rest stop. We are in North Miami about to get on a short bike trail. Up to this point we were on a mix of artery roads and residential streets which was the norm until we had to pass thru Downtown Miami.
This was the first bike trail that lasted less than 5 miles. It was in North Miami.
A rest stop in Downtown Miami. I was nervous with all the cars, no bike lane and almost every driver on their cell phones. Even the scooter riders were on their cell phones. I couldn’t.wait to get thru Miami, but it was also a thriving, vibrant area with a lot of construction going on. Not what I was expecting.
This was the bike trail that comes out of Miami and goes to Homestead/Florida City. It runs under the Metro which is elevated it’s entire length. We were on it for over 27 miles, at least 18 were under the Metro. The shade it provided was one of the best features.
Our final rest stop today. We decided to stop at a bus stop since we had a place to sit in the shade. When the Metro ended, the bike path was along the busway, a dedicated two lane road exclusively for buses.
Brian did all the navigating today. This was our final stop to check on directions to tonight’s hotel. Almost there. A long day because of having to traverse the city of Miami but wind was not a factor. Tomorrow we reach and start down the Keys. The winds are supposed to be coming out of the North. And we are going south!!!

Day 5 Vero Beach to Jupiter. The Wind Keeps A Coming.

Posted by Tim on March 5, 2020
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Day 5 Sendoff Photo.

First Rest Stop along Rt. 1. It’s always a banana.


Spring Training Game in Jupiter. Cardinals vs. Astros. Some Yankees fans were brutal chanting ‘cheaters’ every time an Astro player or coach was near them. I guess that is what the Astros will be in for this season.


View from my room in Jupiter. Lovely setting.


Day 6. Jupiter to Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Posted by Tim on March 5, 2020
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Morning Sendoff. We are ready for another day in the saddle. Getting butt callouses.



Rode thru some run down areas of Palm Beach. This was our first stop at a closed former gas station at a major intersection.


Another rest stop. Since we were in metropolitan areas, the library was literally our rest stop.



It was so hot today, we ran out of fluids and had to stop and replenish Gatorade and water as we passed a Walgreens.. We were on Rt 1 for most of the day.until the last 10 miles when we got to A1A.



In order to cross over to Fort Lauderdale Beach, you have to cross over the inter coastal waterway. This is a draw bridge in the up position to let a couple boats pass.


End of the day and I am settled in my room. You can’t see it in the picture but the ocean is way off in the distance. Lots are freighters are visible on the ocean. There is a pool on the other side of the hedge that was delightful.



This was one of the hotels across the street from our little two story hotel. IOur hotel was a nice little hotel with a pool and garden area outside the rooms.
We finished the day with a visit and dinner with Arlene Sullivan in Deerfield Beach.

Day 4 Titusville to Vera Beach. A Challenging Day.

Posted by Tim on March 2, 2020
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Obligatory picture. Beth took and no finger in the picture, even though Nancy says her finger is special.
First stop of the day after 15 miles. We were along Rt 1 Not very scenic rest stop.
This is what a 19 mile head wind today looks like. It was a challenging day
We met these two guys from Atlanta who were biking from Orlando to Key West. They are camping. We hope to see them on the road again since they will end in Key West on Saturday also.
It was a challenging day battling the 19 mile per hour headwinds this afternoon. We didn’t get in until after 5 PM. This was my view from the balcony of my room on the 5th floor of our hotel in Vero Beach. Vero Beach is a place I would like to come back to.

Day 3. Ormond Beach to Titusville

Posted by Tim on March 1, 2020
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Riding across country with Brian and Mark, a few years back, we all concluded Florida had the best roads by far. That observation continues. Most roads we’ve been on so far have been wonderful. We encountered some bumpy roads today that were better than most roads up north. We also road on some sidewalks thru one stretch where the shoulder got narrow and bumpy. We also were on the East Coast Greenway (Maine to Florida) for a short distance today. We saw more bikers on that trail, which was parallel to Rt. 1, than we saw all 60 of our miles today.

First of our stops today. This is along Rt 1. Most of our ride today was on Rt. 1

Our final stop today. We had a nice smooth log to sit on and lean our bikes against. US 1 is about 100 yards down this side road.


Tomorrow is the toughest ride of this trip simply because of its length. The winds will be out of the south so no help there. Lots of sleep planned tonight.

Day 2 St. Augustine to Ormond Beach

Posted by Tim on February 29, 2020
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We had a delightful stay in Casa Monica, formerly the Coronado Hotel It was built in 1887 in the heart of St. Augustine. 2nd day was another relatively short one at a little less than 50 miles. Perfect way to start such a long trek.

Obligatory morning photo at about 9:30. Later start than usual for us. No buffet at this hotel. Sit down breakfast
Plague Brian was photographing. Couldn’t do anything about the shadow
One of many vistas of the Atlantic Ocean today.
Lunch stop. Brown sand.
Covered table and bench for lunch today I doubt we will be this lucky every day.

The girls caught up to us at a traffic light less than a mile from tonight’s hotel. Right on the ocean. Tomorrow is our first of two long days. Supposed to have a tail wind again. Time to go to bed.

Day 6. Tyngsboro to Milford, MA

Posted by Tim on August 23, 2019
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Very nice hotel but breakfast is not their strong suit. Burned two slices of bread trying to make my own toast. Easy ride today. At least a quarter of it was on macadam bike trails.

Forgot to mention in earlier posts that we have seen traffic circles this ride. First time since Europe. Total mileage today was 46.

Even though it was short, I still took a nap after the ride. One of my favorite things to do on a bike trip. Helps me rejuvenate for the next day’s ride.

One of many lakes and reservoirs we have passed this trip.

Day 5. Kennebunkport to Tyngsboro

Posted by Tim on August 23, 2019
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Got a great start after spending 20 minutes attempting to clean the gears on our bikes–it worked– our gear shifters were operating without a hitch. Stopped in Dover,NH for our first break. Nice nice, young lady took this picture of Brian and I.

Entering New Hampshire. Brian didn’t stop. He is barely visible, way down the road.

We switched to Google Bike Maps instead of ACC. We were rooted on some more bike trails. One was gravel and we had to dismount to walk our bikes around some huge puddles.

Today’s ride was not as difficult as we feared. The hills were not as steep as they were in Maine.

Total mileage was 82. Ate dinner at the hotel after a visit to the hot tub. Beddy bye at 8:15.