Season 2 Episode 27 (10/24-10/26): The Keys to Life. Miami to Key Largo to Marathon to Key West

Season 2 Episode 27 (10/24-10/26): The Keys to Life. Miami to Key Largo to Marathon to Key West – 

10/24 Miami to Key Largo. 66 miles and flat. 

Heading south, I forgot since last being here how far the city extends below Miami Beach. It was an enjoyable ride through old Miami without the glitz. We started off along the Commodore Trail (5 miles) and very pleasant Old Cutler Trail (13 miles). It soon became gritty on the MPass Trail. 

We biked through the U of Miami campus. The modern campus felt different from most other schools I’ve seen. This might be because I’ve not seen any other college on a day when it’s 80 degrees and sunny, so students are in shorts, flip flops and tees. 

I don’t think I could  possibly attend class where it feels like July.

On campus, we rode over Fate Bridge, a 210’ pedestrian (cyclists too?) walkway over Lake Osceola. There is a quote etched in stone at both ends that spoke loudly to me. 

I knew it was familiar to me but could not place it. A quick Google search revealed it as the last lines of the classic poem Invictus which I do recall studying with an inspiring high school English teacher who made a big difference in my life. (I visited her after graduating university to thank her and let her know I actually made it. Canadian thing to say university rather than college.) Turns out the founder of Rite Aid, for whom the bridge is named, carried a copy of Invictus in his briefcase. 

Shortly before noon, we were confidently riding near Black Point Park and Marin, the largest public marina located in Miami, and very close to Biscayne National Park. I was feeling good about how we were doing, and maybe even getting cocky in my turns, speed and on road handling. And then we came to another of those cautionary wake-up signs. 

We came upon the ghost bike honoring the memory of cyclist Bharath Reddy Narahari, killed in an accident with a vehicle on this spot on January 13, 2018. He was a 37 yr-old software professional preparing to participate in a cycling event to raise funds for a cancer charity. If that doesn’t make you slow down, nothing will.

For the last week or so, the Florida riding has been relatively easy. Comfortable temperatures, wind mostly at our back, sunshine in our face and extremely flat. We finally faced a two-hour grueling ride. It was tropically hot, the road was monotonous and bumpy, and it was buggy. Hey, it’s the Everglades. After Homestead/Florida City from the Last Chance Saloon to the first bridge to the Keys, we had no services or reprieves of shade for 23 miles. We fortunately had food with us, and ate lunch leaning our bikes on the guardrail. When I learned Heather also thought it was a tough stretch of riding, I was relieved to be validated. 

It was in this area that I was about a half-mile ahead of Heather, and came upon two motorcyclists who had pulled over. I stopped to chat and one of them asked if I had bandaids. A bird flew into her hand and cut her. Hmm, one more risk for me to consider as a I ride - avian collisions. I was so excited to use my first aid kit, and quickly opened my pannier to share supplies with her. It was then that Heather approached us, and not knowing what was going on, saw me quickly opening a pannier and handing something to one of the bikers. Heather told me afterwards that she thought I was being robbed by two biker bandits and she was going to ride right by without stopping to call 9-1-1. And she thinks I’m the one with the imagination who worries. Or is this just another sign of Heather becoming more like me by spending more time together?

The two biker bandits - notice the bandaged digit.

As we approached the first big bridge to the keys, Heather surged ahead and my chain came off, so I pulled over to reset it. When I came across the bridge several minutes later, Heather was frantic telling me she thought I died because no cars passed by her either, so she thought the traffic all stopped because of a collision with me. Hmm, more of her worrying imagination? Or the ghost bike playing on her mind? At least she cares! Although when I did ride across, she was waiting with her phone, set to take my photo. That didn’t seem too worried to me.

We got to our Key Largo hotel nice and early, and laid out in the sun by the pool and relaxed. It was great to chill out and really relax for an hour. We had wanted this trip to be at a slower pace than last year, and could have completed the ride from Miami to Key West in two days, but we were taking 3 days to enjoy moments like this. 

Dinner, drinks and Key Largo sunsets at Snook's Bayside!

Snook’s Bayside is the perfect place for sunsets and was great for dinner and celebratory Frozen Key Lime Coladas. But it wasn’t the place for dessert. We walked over to Keys Chocolate and Ice Cream where we shared a slice of Key lime pie, and white chocolate fudge with key lime. As Key lime pie originates here in the Keys, we officially started our quest today for the perfect Key lime pie, and the half dozen slices we enjoyed in the past two weeks since hitting South Carolina were just a warm up act. Historical reasons for the local origin included the prevalence of limes, and the scarcity of fresh milk meant condensed milk was the dairy staple. 

Pie demolished and Key lime fudge being worked on.

They had a mantra I believe in with one modification…

I would edit ice cream to dessert. Since our kids were little, I have taught them, to Heather’s regret, that “dessert is part of a well balanced meal”. It’s a philosophy about life as much as dining.

10/25 Key Largo to Marathon. 50 miles and flat. 

On day two of my official search for the perfect Key lime pie, I had to convince Heather to stop at the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory, directly on our route in Tavernier, but a mere 38 minutes into our ride. They only opened at 9 a.m. Heather thought it was ridiculous to a) stop at all, b) stop for dessert, and c) stop for dessert so early. I told her I don’t mind if she goes ahead as there’s only only direction to ride, so we can meet later. 

Her competitive nature wouldn’t allow me to “out-dessert” her, so she joined me.

Wow, what a great call to stop here. It was full of pies, Key lime cookies and more.

 Ashley behind the counter, educated us on the 4 various options:

1) Naked

2) With whipped cream

3) With chocolate drizzle and 4) With chocolate drizzle and whipped cream

She advised if we like chocolate and sweets that 4 was very popular. With my sweet tooth, I was surprised that anybody would order it without whipped cream, and so I asked Ashley “do people really go naked”?  She said they do sell lots, and it’s the purists who buy it.

We chose chocolate drizzled and whipped cream and shared it. It was great, and we enjoyed it in their lovely quiet garden.

However, intrigued by her purists’ reply, we tried some bites without chocolate or cream and admitted it was better without those sweeteners.

When leaving, I told Ashley: “I get the purists now and I'm gonna go naked next time. Am I allowed to say that to you?”  To which she replied: “Only when it comes to pie!”

And by the way, I’d say Heather agreed it was a worthwhile stop.

For a few of the longer bridges, (like at Lower Matecumbe Key and Long Key) to our relief they had a separate bridge just for pedestrians & cyclists, as part of the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail.

At Craig Key, the trail had collapsed in a section…

So we had to go over the main road with the vehicles.

At Long Key State Park, we could see the residual damage of Hurricane Irma from 2017. The Keys offer a paradise to many, but that can easily be a paradise lost with the frequent tropical storms and hurricanes. 

One constant since reaching Miami was the presence of little lizards and iguanas along the bike path. Since reaching the edge of the Everglades National Park they have been bigger, more reptilian and Jurassic Park-like with spikes on their backs. We’ve aways seen the lizard type on our many visits to South Florida. But in the Keys, they are far bigger and richer in their green, sand and earth tones as they camouflage. 

Some are 4 feet long including their tail, and they are more like those we have seen in the Galapagos. They also freak us out when they dart across our bike path, especially when six do so at the same time.

With the reptiles, many wading birds (storks, egrets, and/or herons as I cannot tell the difference), a flying manatee we saw leap out of the water, we forget we are in a very different ecological region.

At the hotel, again early for us, I did something I rarely do: I went swimming in their pool. I love being on the water in a kayak or near the water, but seldom do I enter the water.  

Being this far south, we feel the heat more when riding, and it was so refreshing to enter the pool in my bike shorts and cycling tee. It was somewhat of a purifying event preparing for our final day.

That night, we enjoyed another beautiful sunset and waterside dining. However, our post dinner Key lime pie was forgettable. The crust was not intact and was crumb-like, falling apart and the pie filling itself was very simple. A one-fork rating. We hoped for better tomorrow on our final riding day. 

10/26 Marathon to Key West. 57 miles and flat.

We woke up and contemplated our final day of riding. The imminent end of this adventure must have been weighing on my mind because I did not sleep very much. We were excited to finish, but also sad thinking of ceasing cold-turkey our life on the road. We love the rhythm of our adventure life: very active and outdoors all day, far less screen time, easy to dress with few options, simple living, making new connections, growing, challenging ourselves, and enriching our own relationship. Last year I was in a bit of a funk post-epic ride. Today I wanted to savor it. 

About an hour into the ride, we arrived at the famous Seven Mile Bridge.

We found out the separate trail bridge for cyclists and pedestrians was missing sections, so we had to go on the main road with vehicles. The shoulder of the road was about 3 to 4 feet wide but the guardrail was at about hip level which means if I fell that way I could go easily over the railing into the water. There was also lots of debris in the shoulder to avoid, but we could not really swerve right and left around it, so I had to ride pretty much straight. It was frightening to look at the water views and take my eye off the road. My hands were squeezing the handlebars too tightly that they hurt. But I didn’t want to relax my grip. It was a full 30 minutes on this one bridge. I was thirsty, but did not dare reach for a water bottle to drink. I felt sweat drops building above my upper lip and dripping to my chin, but I did not dare consider wiping it as I’d typically do. There were no shade breaks. It was near constantly noisy with the sound of tires against the bridge concrete getting louder as vehicles approached me, and a bit softer as they passed. I didn’t realize how noisy it was until the first time it was fully silent, about 5 miles into the 7. 

Looking at the old bridge trail next to us with missing sections of concrete and railings corroded by the salt air made me wonder: how reliably do they inspect this bridge and do preventative maintenance? 

About halfway, there is a rising section of the bridge that leads up to a hump as the high point. That was the worst part! In general cars drivers behind me that pass will move to their left, to the middle of the road or even over the middle line to leave lots of space when passing me; but approaching the hump, drivers cannot see the oncoming traffic, so they cannot cheat to the middle, and they pass way too close to me. 

In my mirror, I’d see cars and trucks getting closer to me from behind, and I’d pray the drivers were not texting. Once over the hump, I knew I was about halfway and dealt with my fear by praying aloud: “just get me to the other side, my time is not up yet”. I noticed I seem to pray a lot when on my bike. Guess there is lots to be grateful for, and lots to acknowledge is beyond my control and that I can use some luck.

When finally over to the other side, Heather and I met up, and I pulled over, needing to mentally recuperate from that intense stretch. I learned Heather herself was terrified by the low railing, and rode the entire time with one foot unclipped from the pedal, so if she fell over the railing into the water she’d survive. She also sang camp songs (from 40 years ago) aloud the whole time to distract herself. She knew she needed to get her mind into another world so as not to focus on this one. She also felt the sway to the right from a truck passing, and then the vacuum feeling of being sucked to the left once the truck passed. And she, too, would not dare drink. 

This was the absolute opposite of savoring. There was no slow ride to look around. It was keep your eyes on the road and no slowing down to smell the roses. 

With an hour to go I decided to challenge myself and go all out as fast as I can go. One mistake is I didn’t tell Heather my plan, and when I stopped at the entrance to Key West to wait for her so we could finish together, I heard about it! She asked what the hell was I doing as I haven’t rode that fast in 30 years! She thought I was racing ahead to then say that I beat her and finished first. Truth is I never thought of that, but that would be funny. We of course were going to finish this adventure together. 

In that final stretch, I took a mental snapshot of the blue-green waters around Shark Key Channel. It was Caribbean-like. This I would savor. 

Three miles to go!

The final mile approach.

Alan Brown made the trip to greet us at the buoy marking the Southernmost point in the continental USA, just 90 miles from Cuba.

We enjoyed a champagne toast in Mallory Square, the spot where the crowds gather for magnificent sunsets over the water.

I took 28 photos of the sunset, and thought what a beautiful poetic ending to this trip that featured so much riding along the coast.

We enjoyed dinner and took in a night in Key West that happened to be during Fantasy Fest 2022. Let’s just say a couple we met from New Orleans who has been to Mardi Gras many times, say that Fantasy Fest makes Mardi Gras look tame in comparison. We took many photos of provocative costumes, body art instead of clothes, and the like, but will not post them as this is a family publication. I’m sure some of you already have gone to Google Images. 😉 

And in my quest for the perfect Key lime pie, I found the ideal slice. Mattheessen’s earned my 5-fork award! Tart and sweet filling in the perfect ratio. A crust so thick and solid, it would not cut with a plastic knife. I found my Holy Grail of Key lime pies.

The next day, we toured the distillery at Hemingway Rum Co. and enjoyed a private tasting with master rum maker Bahama Bob.

Hopefully I’m living up to their ideal.

SOME END OF TRIP REFLECTIONS

Here is a snapshot of our trip by the numbers:

• 2,667 miles (vs 2,970 last year); and interesting the ACA route is listed as 2,655, the ECG as 3,000 and I estimated 2,800’ way back at the start.
• 70,676’ of accumulated elevation gain (sum of Strava counting) compared to 85,070’ last year. The decrease was even more pronounced in the final weeks as our climbing was basically in the first two- thirds of our journey; we have not climbed more than 1,000’ in a day in the last 10 days, and the last 5 days were less than 500’ a day; by climbing standards it was pretty much flat since Wilmington, NC
• 65 miles per riding day average (happily by design less than 72 last year)
• 45 days comprised of 41 riding days and 4 intermittent rest days; (excluding 4 days away from trip for family & holiday visit)
• 5 nights with “WarmShowers”, 14 nights friends & family (including 2 at our own home), 26 nights of hotels
• 0 flat tires for either of us!! – Heather copied my daily prayer routine this year, and the results make one have faith.

I have been asked several times – how does this trip compare to last year’s cross-country epic? It’s a very difficult question to answer and just like one should not compare one’s children, maybe I should not compare these two journeys – I love both experiences equally.

But the comparison is inevitable and so to reply, I feel last year was much harder physically. It pushed me to my physical limit, including needing an unplanned recovery day from dehydration on just day #3 with a temperature high of 108°. The climbing was greater; the distances between food or drink services was longer; the time apart from friends and family was greater, and we had only one “loved ones” visit from friends. We suffered more physically. But we were neophytes who were ignorant of how hard the journey ahead of us would be, so we carried on daily with the naïve enthusiasm of rookies.

This year, while significantly less climbing and more moderate temperatures, it was much mentally harder for me in the first half. On the one hand, knowing how hard it is to keep riding daily with what lay ahead, but that I have done it before gave me great confidence! But the downside of knowing how hard it is and what lies ahead was mentally challenging especially around our second week. The first week had significant climbing, rain, and serious rear-end woes for me. I could not sleep well, and was unsure I could go another six weeks at this rate. The frequent stays and visits with loved ones pulled me forward. From Durham on and Sydney’s surprise visit, it was smooth going, but to get to that point was a mental challenge unlike any last year.

Heather and I have so much to be grateful for:

• Our health that enables us to do this. 
• That we can take the time away and afford this journey.
• Our kids Sydney, Jamie and Matt, and our extended family for love and support.
• Sydney, for posting all my content and photos and sorting through my emails while managing her job, travels and life.
• The cheerleading and emotional support of our friends and community.
• Ken, for that initial inspiration that we could do this on our own and ride self-supported. He was so right!
• Adrian, Andrew & Joelle at 10538 Bicycles for getting our bikes trip ready.
• Dr. Ansell for care above and beyond to resolve the “saddle sores” and keep me riding.
• The new friends who hosted us through Warm Showers who trusted us and nurtured us.
• Lenny & Ernie, for giving us inspiration to ride when it was difficult by their examples of perseverance and positivity in confronting adversity.
• The Reeve Foundation, giving meaningful purpose to our adventure.
• Alan Brown, for traveling to meet us at the “finish line” AND for telling us 7 weeks ago that he would be there. I’m a strong believer in visualization, and there were many times for motivation that I pictured Alan at the finish line greeting us as he did last year. And thanks for him continuing to educate us.
• The generosity of so many (family, friends, colleagues & strangers) to donate over $30,503 as of this moment. Donations to the Reeve Foundation to help care for and cure spinal cord injuries may still be made here.
• And lastly luck, divine intervention or whatever it is that spared us the randomness of adverse events including: storms, Hurricane Ian, distracted drivers, flying pillows from pickup trucks, birds that hit bikers, dogs that are faster than us, debris on the roadside, illness, and Covid. My personal scariest experience was a moment in South Carolina, riding on an extremely narrow strip of about 6-8” wide between the rumble strip and the grass on a busy stretch of Highway 17 South. I could see a long truck coming up on me in my mirror. As the front half of the truck passed me, and the truck was beside me, I felt as if it was going to hit me. I veered right and rode to a stop in the grass and regrouped. Heather told me she saw this and it looked like the truck was only 2” from me. Luck was certainly with me!

Thank you to everybody who encouraged and supported us at any stage.

Thank you for reading along and allowing me this pleasure of writing for you. If in any way you were entertained, educated, provoked to think in a new way, inspired or otherwise enjoyed this blog- I ask that if you haven’t yet donated to the Reeve Foundation that you please consider a gift in appreciation.

In Durham, I attended a study service on Yom Kippur afternoon which was a discussion of the blessing of memory. We discussed the poetry of Yehuda Amichai. While memory is generally thought of as a blessing, we discussed that if we constantly, each moment of each day, remember a loved one who is deceased, we cannot move forward with life. So, we spoke about the power and importance of memory’s opposite – that of forgetting. How essential it is at times to forget. Like most things, there is a balance to seek between extremes. The leader of the discussion amused us with the saying that if women remembered the pain of childbirth, they would never have a second child. Along that vein, If I remembered all the negative aspects, and painful moments, cramps, tush woes, etc. there would be no second epic – or third 😉

Lastly, I have written this final blog at home while listening to a repeated loop of the song “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell (fellow dual Canadian-American). The more I ride, explore, wonder and ponder, the more I value her words: “I've looked at life from both sides now….I really don't know life at all.”

We made it!

© Copyright Mark Segal 2022