Final Thoughts

Well it's been a week since I finished the East Coast ride and I'm back in Pennsylvania where the leaves and the temperatures are dropping.  I wasn't home 24 hours before I started looking for maps for the Eurovelo 6 bicycle route across Europe!
In my opening statements of this blog I said "  ... most touring bicyclists will tell you that it is the journey that is more important, not the destination.  It's stopping in small towns, eating at a local diner, asking people directions, accepting hospitality, thanking people with a handshake and a smile.  That's really what I'm looking for.  I'll let you know if I find it."  By and large, that was exactly what I found.  The people along the way were just great.  Whether they were in a gas station, country store, diner, convenience store, they were always friendly and happy to give directions or advice.  There were some times, however, particularly from South Carolina to Florida, where the destination was the key point.  Mostly because there wasn't much between the beginning and end points of the day, and because I was riding on more main roads (Route 17, Route 1, Route A1A) that didn't offer much in the way of interesting stopping points.
But, even with that said, I would qualify the trip as a real success.  When I began the trip, I thought it was going to be mostly about seeing the various states and interesting places along the route.  And I certainly did see some beautiful and interesting places.  However, I quickly learned that the real enjoyment of the trip was coming from the people I met along the way.  Particularly the people who hosted me and allowed me to either use their backyard for a safe tenting spot, or those who gave me a warm bed and often a meal or two.  Most of these hosts were from the Warm Showers web site although I also stayed with two hosts from the Couchsurfing website.  
I still can't get over the hospitality these people offered to me, a perfect stranger.  Some of these people weren't even home when I arrived and yet they told me how to get into their home, use the shower, laundry, get some food out of the fridge, and make myself at home.  Two of my hosts were out of town and weren't coming home at all and still let me use their home to rest for the night.  That's just amazing!!
It really has been a trip to reaffirm that there are wonderful, good, honest, thoughtful people out there in the world.  We don't hear about them on the news and we just have to go out and meet them.  Sometimes that means leaving our comfort zone; our home, our town, our village.  
I can't wait to start another trip but for now I'll be home for several months so my doors are open to host anyone out there who happens to be cycling through the Hanover area.  
Thank you again to all my wonderful hosts on this trip and thank you to those who followed the blog and left comments - it was nice to have a connection back home. 
Now dust off those bikes, fill the tires, and get out there!!

Best regards,

Doug

November 5

The alarm was set for 6:15am but I got up at 5:00 - the result of going to bed so early last night and the excitement of the last day of riding.  My stomach felt much better, the chills were gone; just the headache and stuffy nose remained.  So I showered, packed up, took some Excedrine migraine, ate an apple, and hit the road at 6:10am in complete darkness.  I turned on my blinking front and rear lights and within a few minutes I was crossing the bridges to Long Key and Grassy Key.  There were very few cars on the road at this hour.  On two of the bridges I stopped the bike about halfway through and turned off the lights.  There are no lights at all on these bridges between the Keys.  In the darkness all I could see was the stars up above and nothing else, not a light anywhere on the horizon - and just the sound of the waves gently lapping against the bridge supports a few feet below me.  It was calming and soothing but also a bit spooky.  I was happy when the sun started to rise about an hour later.
No spectacular sunrise to greet meet today but I was happy and excited to see it none the less.

 Riding along in the darkness across the bridges (there are a total of 42 bridges to cross to get to Key West) I kept seeing what I thought were small pieces of paper swept up by the wind and blown over the sides of the bridge.  However, as the sun began to rise I found out this "blowing paper" was actually groups of small white birds that were resting on the bike path until I came along to disturb their slumber.  They didn't make a sound and effortlessly flew over the side of the bridge as I approached.  They were about the size of a barn swallow.
This shot is a little dark but you can see the water just below the bridge.

I stopped for breakfast in Marathon Key after 32 miles and right before the famous 7 Mile Bridge to Bahia Honda Key.

 The bridge to the right is not being used any longer.

 Upon occasion I have traveled on roads that were posted "Road Closed".  Good thing I didn't do that this time!!

Just some pretty shots:

OK - this is a shot to test your imagination.  Stopping on the 7 Mile Bridge I looked over the side to see some type of a ray swimming below.  Unfortunately by the time I snapped the picture it had passed below the bridge - So you'll just have to imagine a beautiful ray in the picture below!!
I finally crossed the last bridge onto Key West.  Here are some interesting house boats parked amongst the yachts.  One on the far right even has a shed out back!

And then I made my way to the Southern Most Point in the continental United States and had my picture taken by a nice couple from Tennessee.

Right after the picture I rode to the bike shop that is going to disassemble my bike and mail it home.  After I dropped it off and started walking away I have to admit that I got a little choked up.  I'm not sure if it was relief because the journey was over, or sadness because the journey was over, or what it was but I'm at a loss to adequately describe it.  I'm quite sure that if my wife was here to greet me I probably would have cracked and sobbed like a baby!

Here's my trusty traveling companion as I left it all alone at the bike shop:

Anyway, the Hostel I was staying at was only a few blocks away so I started to walk.  After about 5 minutes of walking a fairly old man rode past me on a beach cruiser bicycle wearing nothing but a black thong and a set of feathered wings strapped to his back!!  Welcome to Key West!!

I will be flying home on Monday, the 7th, and will wrap up this blog with some final comments once I get home.  Thank you all for following along.  It was a really great ride.

November 4

Another lovely morning to ride.  I was really expecting the temperatures to be much higher when I was down here but I have been pleasantly surprised.  Didn't sleep too well last night due to a persistent headache and a stuffy nose.  Took some medication and hit the road.  Not long after I started this sign gave me a jolt of inspiration - Key West - straight ahead.

The roads were very congested and the morning commuters were in their normal rush.  Right after I took the picture above I saw a man crossing the street in a wheelchair get hit by an SUV!  It wasn't a direct hit - the front bumper/headlight of the SUV looked like it just caught the hand pieces where you would push the wheelchair.  The force spun the wheelchair around like a top and it fell apart in pieces.  This occurred at an intersection so the man in the chair was immediately surrounded and assisted to by motorists.  The man appeared to be OK but that was my warning to stay awake and don't take anything for granted.  Everyone is in a hurry.
A little while down the road the traffic did indeed thin out as the entrance to the Keys got closer.

After this point all the land on both sides of the road belonged to the Everglades National Park.  The park covers over 1.5 million acres and is land set aside to preserve an ecosystem - unlike other National Parks which were often set aside to protect and preserve their natural beauty.

The sign below shows 108 miles to Key West - the end of Route 1.

Finally rode into Key Largo, the first Key in the chain of islands leading out to Key West.  The only thing I knew about Key Largo was it was mentioned in a Beach Boys song called "Kokomo" many years ago.  Of course there are a lot of boating and scuba diving places here but it seemed most people were just passing through to get to another Key.

I made it to Islamorada, my stop for the night.

Passed this giant lobster (shouldn't that be in Maine?)

Everywhere you looked the water was a beautiful turquoise color and crystal clear.

Thank goodness this was a shorter day of riding.  My symptoms were getting worse and I really felt terrible.  I got to my motel and took a nice hot shower.  I set the room heater on 78 degrees and got under the covers and just shivered like I was freezing.  Other symptoms soon appeared (which I won't detail!) and it was clear I had some type of viral infection.  I was hoping it would be a 24 hour bug because tomorrow was my last day and I had planned 86 miles of riding to get to Key West.  In a few hours I felt slightly better so I got up, got something to eat, then climbed back in bed for the night, hoping that I would be able to ride out in the morning.

November 3

Woke up to a a beautiful Florida morning.  Here's the view from Helen's breakfast table looking across a lake:

Hardly a breeze and 74 degrees.  Perfect for riding.  After an hour or two I rode through Boca and Boca Raton.  Both are really beautiful places.  Great roads and very scenic.  Unfortunately, as I got closer to Miami the roads got more congested and the traffic light grew closer and closer together making it hard to cover a lot of miles quickly.  To make matters worse It rained for the last two hours of the ride.
Imagine riding a bicycle on very busy, congested city roads, lots of trucks, no shoulder on the side of the road, and then add heavy rain.  I was pretty much on edge.  Didn't need any coffee to stay awake!!  The last 22 miles took three hours when normally it wouldn't have even been two.
But - it doesn't matter.  Tomorrow I hit Route 1 (the Overseas Highway) and head out onto the Keys!!
Woo Hoo!!

November 2

Woke up to a beautiful Florida morning and began riding around 7:45am.  Beautiful sunrise and very little wind.

In about 2 hours it started to rain.  I really can't complain about the rain at this point.  The last rainy day I had was on the road to Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  And the rain down here is warm!!
It continued to rain as I rode through Jupiter Island - home of golfers Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Robert Allenby, Ricky Fowler, and Dustin Johnson, singer Celine Dion, basketball player Michael Jordan, and many other celebrities.
This is the road onto Jupiter Island lined with Banyan trees:

The rain came down pretty hard for a few minutes so I stopped under a pavilion at the beach for a few minutes.  The surf looked pretty angry.

Even in the rain the Jupiter Island was gorgeous.  Landscape workers seemed to be at every property manicuring the grass and shrubs.
This is the main road through Jupiter Island with a golf course on the right:

Most of the homes could not be seen from the road.  The driveways took various twists and turns and there were extensive plantings to shield the homes from view.

Well the rain finally stopped and it was on to the home of my next hosts, Helen and Harry, in Lake Worth, Florida.  Only 2 more stops to go and I'll be in Key West.  Hard to believe.

November 1

Back on the road.  Here I am leaving Joe and Pam's house in Melbourne.

83 miles today to Port St. Lucie to meet my hosts for the evening, Don and Amy.  The wind was pretty strong most of the day which slowed my speed.    I took some pictures of the surf so you could see the wind whipping up the surf.

A picture of the intercoastal waterway approaching Port St. Lucie:

After 70 miles of riding google maps put me on this "road".  The sand was 2-3 inches deep making riding all but impossible.  I walked most of the 2.5 miles. Here you can see my tire tracks and my footprints along side from pushing the bike.

It was a frustrating end to the ride but, as has happened many times on this trip, once I reach the home of my hosts and they open the door and genuinely welcome me into their home, all the frustration, aches and pains, and petty annoyances of the day just disappear.  And that's exactly what happened today when I got to Don and Amy's home.  Don and I talked while he prepared a great steak dinner and it seemed so comfortable - like we had known each other for years.  Amy soon came home and we talked at length about the cross country bicycle trip their son, Kyle, had done.
In the morning Amy made a breakfast casserole and gave me Powerbars, fruit, and juice for the road.  The generosity of people on this trip has just been so astounding to me.  I can't wait to get home and host more people and make their travels a little easier.
Here's Don and Amy and Kosmo the dog!

October 29, 30,31

October 29th was an easy 55 mile ride to my host, Rose, in Palm Coast Florida.  I had a nice evening with Rose as we discussed my trip and her plans to do a similar trip sometime soon.

October 30th was my longest mileage day on the bike, traveling 107 miles to the house of my Uncle Joe and Aunt Pam in Melbourne.  Being such a long day I left at 7:15am while it was still dark.  Got to see a beautiful sunrise off the Atlantic Coast.  This is Flagler Beach:

In this area the main road, Route A1A, was closed to traffic as construction crews were busy removing tons of sand that were deposited across the road from hurricane Matthew almost four weeks ago.  Further down the road I wanted to ride my bike on the hard packed sand of Daytona Beach which is normally a very wide stretch of beach that allows motorists in certain areas.  Unfortunately, again, due to the hurricane, the beach was closed.  I looked over the barricades and, sure enough, the ocean was a mere 10 - 20 feet from the steps of the beachfront hotels.
For a while I was riding on Route 1 and there were long stretches (15 to 20 miles) with no convenience stores or services of any kind.  As a result of that and the heat of the day I was running low on water and getting very thirsty.  But eventually I found a place a loaded up on Gatorade and made it Melbourne for 2 days of rest.
I had a super visit with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Pam.  Joe took me to lunch on the 31st with a group of his friends.  It was a great group of guys and we had some good food and lively discussion.

That night Joe made a terrific linguine with clam sauce dinner.  In the morning Pam made a wonderful Spanish omelette to power my morning ride. Fantastic!  Why would I ever want to leave?
Here's my uncle Joe and Aunt Pam: