Wow - what an amazing start to our trip! We really couldn't have picked a better place to start. Beautiful, warm, unbelievably nice people... we had a blast in Key West.
We connected with Clinton, a native Key West "Conch" and leader of a cycling group called the Mile Zero Heroes, via his blog the Conch Republic Cyclist, (http://conchrepubliccyclist.com/). He served as Key West's finest tour guide and arranged a pre-trip reception for us at Cowboy Bills bar with the Mile Zero Heroes. It was super motivating to meet local cyclists that are excited about what we're doing right before we kicked off. We were surprised to discover that though Key West seems like paradise for cyclists that are everywhere in the city, the fatality rate for peds/cyclists is actually very high. Safe routes are needed here!
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| Clinton, a great new friend |
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| A conch-playing lesson - thanks for the perfect gift! |
Special thanks to Nancy, owner of Cowboy Bills/Salsa Loca for hosting us in her most gracious style and making us feel incredibly welcome!
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| Mile Zero Heroes and RASR |
Though it apparently never rains in Key West, we started our day in
pouring rain that managed to follow us all day. We'll take it as an
omen that the sun will shine for the remainder of our trip. Despite the
"terrible" Key West weather (though it was still 75 degrees), we had
an awesome group of MZH turn out to ride with us on day 1. Thanks to all the Heroes that we met and that came out to ride with us! You are all awesome! We'll be back for SMART ride...
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| US-1 Mile Zero |
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| RASR+Hannah at the southernmost point |
US-1 made for some exciting riding. In 52 miles we battled alternately driving rain and decent headwinds, interspersed with breaks to change flat tires thanks to all the junk in the shoulder and occasionally squeezed by 45 mph traffic. Our team had five flats and our hosts fared even worse! It was a challenging road for our first day but we all survived in good spirits.
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| Second of five flats on the day |
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| Pit stop at Baby's Coffee - amazing coffee! |
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| Ophthalmologists with the Baby's logo |
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| Awesome lunch stop |
We're thrilled to finally be on the road and to have had such a great start. Tonight in Marathon, FL and tomorrow we'll head to Key Largo!
Your commitment to the cause is an inspiration to all of the Mile Zero Heroes. It was an honor to ride with you as your journey began. I will follow your travels, and look forward to hearing all about it when we meet again at SMART Ride 9! Safe travels.
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