We started the day with a small breakfast of coffee and birthday cake (carrot cake) that Sue, Linda and Fred surprised me with on Saturday evening. We had eaten plenty at dinner, so we saved the cake for “breakfast.”
We stopped at a local gift shop, about 12 miles into the ride, that had a giant lobster in the front of the store. Any riders that were in the vicinity were part of a group photo. Not too much further along we stopped to have a more nutritious meal at Bob’s Bunz. They had delicious looking baked goods, but we all opted for a traditional breakfast.
Now as we biked along, we started to see iguanas sunbathing by the side of the road. They run very fast, and each time we stopped to try and snap a picture, they were into the woods.
Sue had a flat and lucky for us, we had Fred who hasn’t changed a flat in years, able to make a quick change for Sue. As we started to ride again, we had to turn around and head for shelter as multiple lines of rain clouds kept passing by. We stopped at the Caloosa Cove Restaurant in Islamorada. After a liquid libation, we were back on the road again with the rain having passed by.
We crossed numerous bridges, and the view of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico on either side of the road was just amazing. The waters were gorgeous hues of blue, aqua and green.
We were finally nearing the end of the ride on Marathon Key when Sue suggested we go to one of her favorite restaurants, The Keys Fisheries for a late lunch. It was quite sunny by now, and I was very hot. However, with the temptations laid out by Sue, we were on our way….five miles past the hotel of our overnight stay. I had lobster bisque that was one of their specialties, and rightly so. If you walked along the boardwalk of the restaurant, you could see shark in the water.
One of the things that you could not help but notice as we biked closer to Marathon Key were the structures damaged by Hurricane Irma last year that have not been rebuilt. In addition to the numerous homes, there are businesses like Burger King, Pizza Hut and local establishments that are still in ruins.
Dinner tonight was about a mile walk from the hotel at Key Colony Inn where we were treated to barbequed chicken and ribs. Van Hooker a rider from the 2018 Coast to Coast ride kept his promise to buy each of the 2018 “Coasters” the first round before the meal. I had an absolutely tasty chocolate raspberry martini. In fact, it was so good, I had to buy myself a second one!
All in all, Bubba Fest is living up to all of its good reputation! Any one that can pedal a bike, and ride 40 miles in a day, can do this trip. We took it very slow so that we could truly enjoy the sites and it was a great day! We rode 56.5 miles today, with a riding time of 4hrs 34 minutes. You do the math…it was a nice slow pace😊
Breakfast at Bob’s Bunz.
A bridge in the distance that we would soon ride over.
Linda, Fred and Sue near the top of one of the less steep bridges.
To the left is the Atlantic Ocean, to the ride is the Gulf of Mexico.
At times we didn’t ride on the road, and used an adjacent trail. However due to Hurricane Irma last year, much of the trail is too damaged to ride.
Shark in the water near the Fisheries Key Restaurant.
The perfect sign for a ride (or walk) along the Florida Keys!