Searchin’ For My Lost Shaker of Salt

This morning began a mere four hours after I went to bed. This had the makings of a very long day. I wasn’t sure what my plan was for the day nor where I would be spending the night. Sara’s place wasn’t available for tonight so I needed to make other arrangements. Somewhere. I sent out a couple of Warm Showers requests and, once again, hoped for the best.

While I waited, I packed up most of my stuff before doing some work on yesterday’s update. I was hoping my tent would dry off by the time I finished with my update. It did. This morning began with a beautiful blue sky and warm sun – excellent tent drying conditions. However, the forecast called for very high winds and clouds so I wanted to get things dried off before the wind and clouds cooled everything off. Oh, and the high winds are supposed to be here for a few days and not from a favourable direction.

I was eventually packed up and on the road shortly after 11:00. The only thing left to do was figure out where I would be going. It was too late to start my ride to Miami and, oh … did I mention my next destination is Miami? I feel like I have but maybe I haven’t. Well, there you have it. The next phase of my journey is Key West to Miami. I doubt that’s much of a surprise – it was either that or live in Key West. As pleasant as that would be, the Green Card issue comes into play with that. And I don’t have one.

I also don’t have any food with me anymore so I figured I should probably head downtown. The ride was uneventful. Key West is small and easy to find your way to pretty much anywhere. I was almost downtown when I received a favourable Warm Showers response. What a relief. I really didn’t want to have to pay for a hotel in Key West.

With my accommodations arranged, I was free to do some more exploring. And get some food. I ended up at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, one of Key West’s popular spots. The main reason I went in though was that I was able to get a table by the window to keep an eye on my bike. And by “window”, I don’t mean an actual window but rather the top half of the doors were able to swing open to let outdoor air come in. Or, in this case, the very heavy winds that were now blowing.

The sloppy joe I ordered was good – not $9.50 good – but good. However, it wasn’t the most leisurely meal I’ve ever had because the wind was constantly trying to blow my meal away. I’m not kidding. It was that windy.

With my stomach somewhat full, I returned to my bike. I had no plan so I figured I’d just pedal and see where I ended up. I ended up pretty much cycling the same route Sara had led me yesterday. This time I was smart enough to stop and take some pictures. Along the way I stopped at the Route 1 Mile Marker 0 sign, passed several beaches, saw Louie’s Backyard (Jimmy Buffett used to live next door), and the East Mortello Museum where I was reminded of Sara’s tale of Robert The Doll. I’d never heard of it but apparently it was the inspiration behind the Chucky movies.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful as I leisurely cycled around Key West. The wind was the most notable aspect of the day. And not in a good way. The forecast for the rest of the week is for the 30+ km/h winds (f20+ mph) to continue. And continue from the northeast. As a result, I’m trying to come up with a very leisurely itinerary to get me through the Keys. The thought of cycling 100 km (60 miles) a day into a huge headwind is unpleasant to say the least. So, the plan is to only travel half that distance each day – although, it will probably take the same amount of time.

The day ended with my arrival at my Warm Showers host. This turned out to be slightly more complicated than usual. The address I was given led me to a marina. It turns out that it wasn’t the exact address of my host but it put me in the right area. I did eventually meet my host, Lou, and his dad but not before I had a little chat with a security person from the marina. She certainly wasn’t the friendliest person in the world and she seemed more than a little puzzled by the whole Warm Showers concept. Fortunately, Lou arrived on his bike a few minutes later and led me to my home for the night.

Home was a very nice, sheltered area for my tent. The best part was that the ground was covered with years of wood shavings so it was incredibly soft. For the second time in as many nights I wasn’t going to bother with my air mattress. Of course, the only reason I didn’t use my mattress last night was that it was 4 am when I returned to my tent and blowing up my mattress wasn’t about to happen.
Tonight, I just wasn’t going to need it.

Lou gave me a tour of the facilities and, as I mentioned earlier, I also met his dad who is in the process of restoring a 1948 yacht. I don’t know much about boats so I don’t know if technically it’s a yacht, but it’s a boat, and large so I’m calling it yacht. Either way, it looked very nice. I imagine it will look amazing when it’s finished.

From there I returned to my tent to relax. It wasn’t a physically demanding day but I was tired from the lack of sleep last night. I also wanted to be well rested for tomorrow which I anticipate being a highly unpleasant day on the bike. Headwinds are the worst. Super strong headwinds are the worstest.

Key West 2-day totals:
Distance travelled: 41.34 km
Time on bike: 2:57:53
Maximum speed: 31.32 km/h
Average speed: 13.94 km/h