End of East Coast Bike Ride, 2021

After 42 days of cycling 2,579 miles, two hurricanes, and two flat tires we arrived at the southernmost point in the United States at 12:15 pm on Sunday, October 10, 2021. After a rest and shower at our hotel, we headed back to old town Key West and spent the rest of the afternoon walking Duval Street. At the end of the day, we returned to our hotel and celebrated with a bottle of champagne and two slices of key lime pie. After popping the cork, eating dinner and enjoying our pie we slowly began adjusting to a life not focused on weather, traffic, and route options down the east coast. 

This trip was not only a cycling but also a logistical feat. We suspect none of you are currently logged onto the weather app on your phone to determine where you will be sleeping later this evening. Once we understood weather conditions, Jay would project his riding distance, Helen then began the search for accommodations, whether camping or a hotel for our stay each evening. Sometimes a 60-mile ride became a 70-mile ride so we could finish the day at a facility that met our needs. As Jay rode, Helen would seek out a grocery store to buy food for breakfast or dinner. She also did laundry and occasionally had an opportunity to take a day tour in a city we visited. The next day, we would repeat the cycle of checking the weather and plotting out our day’s journey to the next location. This was an adventure that took the art of team work to a new level.

One observation about our trek is that ocean saltwater and sand is an undeniable magnet to humans. As we traveled down the east coast, we witnessed the many ways a coastal location attracts our attention. There are amusement-filled boardwalks where saltwater taffy and pizza can be purchased on a whim.  There are also endless complexes of high rise beach front hotels that line stretches of the coastline for as far as the eye can see. Wealth configures the shoreline into exclusive enclaves with gated entrances accessible only to the top sliver of the American economic food chain. Occasionally, a shore front bungalow erected a generation ago appears. These last hold outs from a quieter time have survived hurricanes, shifting shorelines and surely the overwhelming family economic pressure to “sell out” and take the money.

It is hard to consume these observations if you are zooming along in a car at 50 – 60 mph on a road designed to move you as quickly as possible to the next location on your itinerary. More details are seen when you are hugging the shoreline on roads named “Beach Front Ave” or “Ocean Boulevard” at 15 mph on a bicycle. There is more time to absorb, and cycling provides “infinite” think time as you propel yourself forward.

We are grateful that we had no mishaps or injuries to report. Although it was anticipated but never vocalized, Jay was the most vulnerable to a traffic accident. However, it was Helen who had the occasion to be run off the road and thankfully avoided a last second collision with a bridge abutment.

The Last Leg

Having completed our cycling adventure, we departed Key West and headed up the west coast of Florida to visit friends in Venice, FL. With the drive back to our home in Roswell completed, Helen logged 6.434 miles of support driving over the 62 days we were out exploring the east coast.

The Prius is now unpacked, and we are beginning to adjust to our “normal” life.  Surely there is another adventure in our future. We don’t know what that adventure is, but the possibilities seem endless to us.

Home Stretch

We are in the home stretch of our east coast adventure.  We are now in Key Largo, just 100 miles from our destination.  If the weather cooperates, we will be at the southernmost point in the US by Sunday, completing our Canada to Key West trek.

Over the past several days, we have been adjusting our riding schedule to synch up with our kids' Miami vacation plans. 

They flew down to Miami from Atlanta on Thursday and we were at the hotel to greet them. They will continue touring Miami and then plan to drive down to Key West on Sunday. We are hoping that the whole family will be present when Jay arrives.

It is hard to believe that this adventure will soon end.  Thanks to all who have provided supportive comments and encouragement.

When we last posted, we were on our way to Savannah, GA where we had booked a room at the Marriott Riverfront hotel. We had an irresistible urge to stay there since it marked the end of our 2018 Seattle to Savannah bike ride.  As was the case three years ago, the hotel staff cheered and applauded our latest journey.

Jay continued to take advantage of the favorable weather putting in 378 miles over the last five days. Sunday was a rest day in Edgewater, FL just south of Daytona Beach. Since August 16, we have covered 2,100 miles and estimate we have another 490 miles to Key West.

Jay’s cycling experience has been a mix of smooth, traffic free roads to the rough and tumble of busy state highways some with and some without shoulders/bike lanes. He also has had his share of road closures due to construction, bridges rising into the sky, ferries and laid-back beach towns.

On our last night in Georgia, we camped at the Crooked River State Park in St. Mary. What a gorgeous campground! The lawn areas were neatly groomed, the paved roads were in excellent condition, and the level sites were large and far enough apart to be quite comfortable. The only downside were signs that warned people to watch out for alligators!

While Jay was busy pedaling away, once in Florida, Helen took advantage of the time to enjoy our stay in St. Augustine by taking a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour. Naturally, most of the tour is in the historical district of the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the

United States, established in 1565, 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The trolley drivers are well-versed on people, dates and circumstances.

As you can imagine, people weren’t as tall 400 years ago as they are now. There is a life size statue of Ponce de Leon in a park. He was 4’11” tall, one of the taller men of his time. Parts of the wall around the city were made of the trunks of palm trees, and they were only about 5 feet tall. Most adults now can look over the example that exists near de Leon’s statue, but that wasn’t the case when the original walls were built.

Henry Flagler (1830-1913) was an enterprising businessman, a founder of Standard Oil, and founder of the East Coast Railway. He made a significant impact on the economy of Florida. He built a number of buildings, including several churches, hotel, and buildings in St. Augustine that are now part of Flagler College, considered one of the top 10 most beautiful college campuses in the US. He was one of the first in Florida to use poured concrete instead of bricks to construct some of his buildings.

Sharp tabby wall discouraged enemies

Of course, St. Augustine also includes a historic jail (admission is $15 and Helen’s too cheap to pay that exorbitant amount!) and the Fountain of Youth (which also has an admission price, but our trolley took a short ride around the grounds). All in all, if you’re interested in history, it would be easy to spend a week here just walking or biking around and taking in all the sites!

When Jay gets back on the road, we are planning to meet up with family who will be visiting Miami later this week. 

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