Largo to Long Key. Day 3.

Posted on February 21, 2015 by anthonycaferro

That title rhymes!

Butt cheeks still sore. Great ride though. Got a late start due to an early morning headache. Grabbed another Cubano sandwich (yay for no longer being a vegetarian!) and cafe con leche at a super authentic Cuban spot along the way. Mostly separated bike path today. Got to Layton, Florida which is a city with zero anything, other than a gas station. No restaurant, no bar, no grocery store.

Dipped into Long Key State Park and got the last primitive campsite available! Paid for one $8 shower and took three, also snagged some electricity from what was one of three campsites that apparently was reserved but yet unoccupied. Thanks! The primitive sites were pretty awesome, wooden board deck with a shelter and a picnic table. Not very primitive to say the least. Chatted it up with an Austrian couple as well as a couple on a tandem bike tour. They seemed to be waiting for the wind to die; it’s been pretty hardcore out of the north and east – 25 mph. So that’s been great for us, but they were heading out, so no bueno.

Since we had little choice, it was a peanut butter and banana burrito dinner. The real fail though, is that I didn’t bring my jet boil French press, so no coffee in the morning and after charging my phone, the nearest cafe is something like 15 miles south. More no bueno.

Total mileage: 36.
Mechanical incidents: still 0. (Knocks on wood)

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Homestead to Largo. Day 2.

Posted on February 20, 2015 by anthonycaferro

Yes. My butt cheeks are still sore. Probably at least for another day. Just in case you were wondering.

Today’s ride was short but sweet. Woke up, drank some coffee, made some oatmeal, drank more coffee. Went back to tent to warmup, ended up sleeping a couple more hours, probably because of the wimpy dogs howling throughout the night because of the “cold”. Felt good tho. Got back in the saddle, hit the grocery store then a straight shot down highway 1. Nice shoulder the whole way. No crocodile or alligator sightings though.

Key Largo is a strange place. And I’m trying like hell not to let that Beach Boys song get stuck in my head. After phone calls all told us there was no place to camp, we decided we would stealth for the night. Beforehand though, a trip to John Pennecamp State Park was in order. Glass bottom boat ride. Of course the entrance gate ranger told us that the boats were cancelled and there was still “no room to camp.” Shortly after we turned back a lady came running and screaming at me (yeah, that happens all the time). Turns out the guy at the gate was a volunteer who really didn’t know the job protocol (being a career firefighter, I’m leaving THAT ONE alone!) and she explained they try to accommodate cyclists. Yes! $20 later and we had a spot far and away from all of the RVs. This score was soon celebrated with steak and beer at the nearby Hobo’s Cafe. Another great day in the books.

Mileage for the day: 38.

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Hollywood to Homestead. Day 1.

Posted on February 19, 2015 by anthonycaferro

Personal inventory:
63 miles
0 mechanical incidents
2 very saddle sore butt cheeks
2 numb palms
7 cups of coffee
1 very happy camper

We arrived to Paradise Farms and were greeted by Ernest. He showed us the grounds and, most importantly, pointed out the coffee in the thermos was still warm. The farm doubles as a B&B so we met some French tourists and then chowed down on peanut butter sandwiches. Popped the tent up, made friends with a cat named Guacamole (but apparently missed avocado season!) and passed out super early. Today it’s a much shorter day and even though it’s a bit chill for Florida standards, there’s no more rain and it looks like a 20mph tailwind will be in the forecast as well!

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