Closing In

October 28th/09-Marathon, FL
Ranch House Hotel
Mileage: 80 km
Total mileage: 6,650 km

Tonight we are staying in a small motel in Marathon. We cycled south through several Keys en route; Travernier, Plantation, Windley, Upper Matecumbe, Teatable, Indian, Lower Matecumbe, Fiesta, Long, Duck, Grassy, Crawl, Fat Deer and finally Stirrup Key where Marathon is located.

Many small communities. Very picturesque ride with the Atlantic Ocean on the left and the Gulf of Mexico on the right. Brilliant green emerald waters.

Most of the Keys have bicycle paths adjacent to the Hwy. We took the paths when it suited us but mostly we stuck to the Hwy. It's hard to make time on the paths and the bicycle paths have dangers of their own. Motorists coming from the rear and making a right turn are rather oblivious to the fact that a cyclist may be beside them and motorists approaching the Hwy from a side street don't always look for a cyclist on the path. Thus, cycling on the path does tend to take some of the joy from the experience.

In Islamorada we talked with a group of ladies after having lunch at a restaurant. We learned from them that crocodiles from the southern tip of Florida are beginning to show up in the Keys. That's crocodiles, not alligators. Crocodiles are saltwater creatures and more aggressive than alligators - interesting. We had an enjoyable conversation the these ladies. They seemed to have a lot of fun together and both Deby and I thought they must have some pretty wild wine and cheese parties. I say this because I think they are reading this and laughing because it's true. Come on girls, ain't it so?

A four foot iguana ran along beside us today. Amazingly fast and powerful animals. Big racket, rocks flying. Beautiful reptiles. I hope they are native here and that people just don't let their pets go.

Tomorrow we will end our trip at Key West, the southern most point of the continental United States; southern most point of North America for that matter. Deby is happy with the achievement; I am sad that it will be over, but if we go any further we will drown.