KBT2019 = Keys Bike Tour 2019. Or even better: #keysbiketour2019. I made a hashtag! Go me!
Day 0 was all about hanging in Key West. Day 1 it was time to get ready to roll.
Breakfast didn’t start until 8:00, so since I got up early I headed to the hot tub. Good thing I didn’t see the “closed” signs that were posted until after my soak!
Then we took advantage of our free Continental breakfast. For me? Coffee, pastries, hard-boiled eggs, bagel with cream cheese, and orange juice.
We talked with a nice, older couple from northeast Ohio at a shared table. They were staying in a room with their children. Their son locked his clothes in one of the lockers in the room and needed the keys.
After breakfast, we went back to our rooms and agreed to meet in front of the hotel at 9:30. I got their first and looked over the bikes. Everything seemed to be in good working order, but I lubed the chain and checked to make sure all connections were tight.
Kathy came down to meet me. We loaded up the bikes, asked a passerby to take a picture, and then we were off!
We started riding out of Key West. There is a nice multi-use (i.e. pedestrian & cyclist trail) to follow so you can stay out of traffic. Just make sure to pay attention to the turn-off for Hwy 1. We missed it and saw parts of Key West twice. Doh! A mistake that added a good four miles to our trip. Finally we realized our error and got back on track. We had another 35ish miles to go.
The weather was perfect. Not too hot, sunny. But as expected, we had a headwind. We had that to look forward to for the next five days.
Even with the perfect weather, we saw evidence of climate change throughout our trip. Even in Key West there were areas of Hwy 1 that were partially flooded.
After getting out of Key West, the ride went smoothly. It was pretty flat. Lovely scenery and nature accompanied us most of the way. I imagined the Keys to be jam-packed with development and strip malls, and while driving it often seems so. But at a slower pace, it’s obvious there is a lot of nature left in the Keys.
Much more of the ride was on a trail that was off the road, which was a nice surprise. I was expecting them to call a paved shoulder “trail.” And sometimes they did, but not as often as I expected.
A whole bridge to ourselves! 
No motorized vehicles allowed.
I was glad we got our four-mile detour out of the way in Key West, because tagging on an extra four miles when you are already tired can be a beast. Even with the extra four miles, Day 1 of riding felt good.
We rolled into Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge with plenty of daylight to spare. We spent way too much on food delivery from the Big Pine Rooster.
Yes, Day 1 was a good day!
