We really did get up early this morning, despite our squeaky air mattress neighbor. He was finally quiet this morning, so we tiptoed around, not wanting to hear that again! We were actually riding away at 6:45! We made great time as the air was relatively cool, and the miles just floated by. We took Card Sound Road out of the Keys, and it was a great choice. There weren’t any shoulders to ride on, but there was very little traffic, too. We had lots of shade for the first few hours, and we entertained ourselves by watching the hundreds of crabs scuttling about. Last year riding across the US we saw squirrels and armadillos and snakes as road kill – today it was hundreds of crabs.
We got over the very steep bridge on Card Sound Road – we were down in our lowest gears – it wasn’t difficult – though it gave us quite a workout! We had expected food and water at the restaurant just on the other side, but it was closed, so we had English muffins and peanut butter on the tarmac in the parking lot. Very appetizing…
The next part of Card Sound Road was reasonably boring – long and straight and not much to look at, but peaceful. We made it into Florida City before 11 a.m. and had breakfast at Denny’s, again savoring the air conditioning. We had called our friend and colleague Wayne a little earlier, and he definitely deserves Hero of the Day. Not only did he drive down to get us, but he drove most of the cycling route for us – taking us the scenic way. He stopped for lunch at a local’s place right on the water near Miami City Hall – very relaxing.
We will sleep on Wayne’s floor tonight, after showers and dinner, and then he’ll take us up to Delray Beach tomorrow. We’ve decided to skip the urban jungle cycling, as we know the area really well, and have cycled most of it at one time or another. We’ll spend some time at home getting rid of the things we didn’t need, and getting the others things we really did need, and reorganizing for the much longer next section – we’ll be going steadily through to Bar Harbor before we have much of a break. I am very much looking forward to the chance to regroup!
We had a wonderful Italian meal in downtown South Beach – Wayne lives right in the heart of things, so all we had to do was walk a few blocks. I love the action and life down here – there is always something to look at! The diversity is amazing and the options of things to do seem endless.
We’re headed off to sleep – after getting up at 5 a.m. and getting lots of exercise and sun, 11:30 at night is definitely sleep time.
Signing off from South Beach, Miami FL…