It is true that south Florida has no hills, but it does have causeways, elevated for boat traffic. This one is just past the toll station on Card Sound Road.

We geared down to low and still made two “scenery stops” to let the pulse rate subside below 200. There are more of these ahead.

Entering the Keys across the mangrove swamps, we found some interestingly unique Florida signage:

Today was only 32 miles (but we went a bit further because we turned back to ask directions and then had food shopping duty later). Our leader, Jack, went ahead to make arrangements and then went shopping with us.

Our destination was John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which has no tenting facilities, so we camped in sharp coral gravel on hardpan, not the ideal, but it is on the Keys at last.
Our fellow riders have been great, and don’t seem to mind that we are slowpokes, though we have been a bit trashed at the end of the very hot days. At least is is not freezing rain, like at home. Unfortunately, we seem to be dressed for that.

At the end of the first day, after 58 miles of mostly city riding, the Everglades Hostel pizza party was most welcome. The hostel staff and volunteers baked made-to-order pizzas in a frog-shaped horno (outdoor wood-fired oven).

The next morning most of us explored the Everglades National Park, much of it unsuitable for bicycles, so we switched to paddles.

The paddle route took us through barely-navigable mangrove tunnels.

But, when the vegetation got thicker, we got out and walked.

And, the hunt for the elusive Florida alligator was also successful.

Momma ‘gator hung around because her brood was near. We gave them respectful distance and moved on.

After our Everglades adventure, we checked out “Robert Is Here,” the famous fruit stand in Florida City.

Back at the hostel, plates of jackfruit, dragonfruit, papaya, and avocado were shared around the table for a fruit lunch, along with tamarind and cajun-spiced boiled peanuts.

It was, as advertised, a unique experience. Where else do you get to see a cow orchid in the wild?

Today, we committed to the tour. up early and packed out. Breakfast in the patio at the Hostel, orchestrated by Jack, our fearless leader, then lined up for starting line pictures before starting out down the boardwalk, which quickly ran out, dumping us onto the city streets of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.

The pace was, for us casual tourists with a big tandem towing a 100-pound trailer, grueling. we roared down the busy streets at 16MPH or faster but stopping frequently for traffic lights, so we often lost sight of the group ahead.

Winding through the neighborhoods, we stopped at a supermarket for snacks and rest stop, then across the Venetian Causeway (much construction, with rough or no shoulders) straight into the Occupy Miami demonstration in downtown Miami. The group determined that Critical Mass was the key to survival in the brutal downtown traffic, which didn’t always work. We prudently road on the wide sidewalks past the sports stadium.

It was a relief to get out onto quieter streets toward Coconut Grove. Soon we joined the bike path, which, as advertised, was narrow, bumpy, and full of tree roots. A lunch stop about halfway was welcome.

After lunch, the bike paths improved and we made sort of good time. However, our companions made better time, and we ended up being the tail-end charlies shepherded by our patient leader, Jack. We briefly caught up with the group at the end of the bike trail system and joined them in watching a group of manatees.

We were soon out in the open country, among palm tree farms. Flat, with a mild breeze. We were flattened, still making our usual 10-12MPH, while the main group surged ahead at the same 15-16MPH pace they had maintained all day. Jack stuck with us to the bitter end.

We arrived at the Everglades Hostel, set up our tent by 5:00pm, showered, and headed for the nearest Starbucks (three blocks away–on foot). Tonight, wood-oven-fired pizza. Tomorrow is a rest day after the 58-mile metro gauntlet, and then a few shorter days of 35-50 miles each–at our own pace–into Key West. We plan to take a tour of the Everglades in the morning and rest our sore muscles from numerous starts and stops in the city and a high-speed battering by the rooted bike paths in the old towns south of Miami.

We are at last in Hollywood, Florida, ready to start our bicycle tour. The bike is assembled, and the car put in storage. The other riders in our group are starting to gather.

On Saturday morning, we will head down the Boardwalk (actually, concrete and brick walk) toward Miami Beach and Miami on the first leg of our journey to Key West and back.

After we put the bike together, we went on a test ride up the Boardwalk and beyond to the north, about 6 miles round trip, very fast. Of course, we didn’t have the trailer attached, but it is flat. A local told us that the winds in the city can make riding difficult, though.

It seems odd after seven days of dark-to-dark driving to slow down.  In our last article, we were headed for the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, TN.  We arrived well before opening time and spent only 40 minutes or so ogling the displays, which ranged from the first TravelAir that Walter Beech built, the first Staggerwing–with fixed gear–and a number of examples as the model evolved.  Another hanger featured the Twin Beech 18 in various forms, and the modern iconic V-tailed Bonanza, the twin-engined Baron, and the exotic Rutan-designed Beech Starship.

Later that day, we veered east of Atlanta to Athens, to drop off quilts at our great-nephew’s house for his twin boys, that Judy’s sister had designed and pieced and Judy had quilted and bound.

Darkness found us at Macon, but we pressed on to Ashburn to be able to make Fort Lauderdale before dark the next day, which we almost didn’t achieve, since we elected to take Highway 27 and its many stoplights rather than the tollway.  We did get to check out part of the last couple of days’ route on our bike trail before getting back on the freeways.