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.