I was up at 4:30 and out the door by 5:30. I easily found the route
south and lucked into finding a couple of cars that wanted to ride
just above the speed limit early. Why that is lucky is that cars have
brighter headlights than motorcycles do so if I stay reasonably close
to them, I can scan the sides of the road far ahead using their
headlights. That allows me to see deer, etc early enough to react
comfortably.
Stars were visible and I considered briefly stopping long enough to
view them. There was, however, no where to pull over so that was
eliminated. Over the ocean were a couple of storms and I also saw
lightning dancing in the clouds. It was a great morning to be riding.
I was quite a ways by the time the sun rose. I watched the sunrise
over the ocean in my rearview mirrors. At times, it was like the
brightest headlight ever coming up behind me and I was glad it wasn't
always just due west riding.
I made it to Key West in 2 1/2 hours. I filled up my tank so I had
the gas receipt, I stopped at a Denny's for their phone number, and I
found the post office to drop off my envelope. I also drove to the
"Southernmost" marker and had someone take a photo of me and the bike
at it.
I noticed a Dunkin Donuts on my way in and I had to stop there for the
first time in two months. It was as good as I remember coffee being.
It was only then that I remembered the AMA Scavenger hunt and that the
southernmost monument was a spot. Yes, I already had the photo but it
didn't include the required flag so I rode back and got another photo
with the flag on my bike.
It was now 9:15 and I was on my way BACK from Key West. Of course,
traffic had picked up so it wasn't as smooth. I did stop at the two
KOAs in the keys to get photos and I returned to Florida City about
12:30. I then made a 10 mile ride to the Everglades National Park and
another 15 minute ride to the Key Biscayne National Park. I'd been to
the Everglades before but not to Biscayne so I spent some time there.
In addition, they were hosting a special event for a local
photographer as she was displaying some of her work. They had
sandwiches and drinks so I was able to have lunch AND get new NP
stamps.
Even more exciting to me was that I passed Homestead-Miami Speedway on
the way to Biscayne. For those that don't know, that is a Nascar
track and I enjoy Nascar racing.
After this I headed north to the Florida Turnpike. The afternoon was
spent riding into and out of severe thunderstorms. It was quite
interesting how the temperature drops as I'm about to ride into a
rainstorm and how it increases as I'm leaving it. I did have one time
where the clouds ahead looked so dark and there was lightning that I
took refuge under a bridge for about 10 minutes. Two guys on Suzuki
Hyabusas stopped and we chatted about their bikes and how they enjoyed
riding. They were nice guys although we did different types of
motorcycling.
I'll mention that although the 'stich is waterresistant, it isn't when
the vents are open to let air in. I got soaked to the skin in the
rainstorms because water could come in the open vents and the open
legs but it wasn't all bad. The evaporation cooled me off also.
I stopped in Melbourne for the day as I was tired about 5 PM. I'd
been riding for 12 hours and had turned my 3rd corner. Now, I'm
heading for home.
--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach
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