Summary San Francisco - Key West on my bike

Let me start my summary with a little anecdote – it says a lot about the American spirit:

After having had exactly one flat tire on the entire 3,500 km from San Francisco, I thought a spare tube would be more than enough for this last 150 km day to Key West and back. On the way back from Key West after my last leg, I actually got another flat tire. It was exactly 47 km from where my car was parked in Marathon Key. Okay, I didn't feel really enthusiastic about it, but what could I do? On the way to Key West in the morning I spotted a lovely place called Mangrove Mama. Coincidently it was very close to where this flat tire happened. So I walked to that bar and ordered a beer sitting in the shadow. Then I got hungry and ordered more before I started with the repair. 47 km to go. But now, I had no repair kit left. SO better nothing else should happen. But murphy's law: Believe it or not just 5 km later, another flat tire (and no, there wasn't a splinter in the tire; of course, I checked it when I fixed it the first time). Exactly 42.8 km from Marathon – what a coincidence. What now? Push the bike and walk? It would take about 8 hours at 5 km/h. What options do I have? I think okay - let's see what happens. If I push, maybe someone will react. Extremely unlikely in Europe, but this is America. And now guess how long it took! The answer is 5 minutes!!! 5 minutes only!!! After 5 minutes I pass an exit from which two guys had just come out and were doing their job - whatever it was. They saw me pushing and asked: "Are you okay, man?" My answer was: "Not at all". I briefly explained the situation. On a whim, they cleared the back seat of their pickup truck and I loaded my bike onto the bed. They wanted to take me to the nearest bike store. In the car we started talking and they recognized the place where I parked my car. They knew of a cool bar with a pool right nearby and decided to drive me all the way the 42 km to my car. You need to know they were not planning to go there in any case. They live close to where they picked me up. However, before we really took off they stopped at a gas station and got some beer. Meanwhile I stayed in the car with the engine running. No worries whatsoever that I might drive away. We then had fun for a few hours in the bar and in the pool.

Why am I sharing this story? When I was planning my trip, I had many discussions with diverse bike riders and other people about whether it would be safe, whether America wouldn't be dangerous, there are more guns than people, it's not a country made for cycling, the traffic is dangerous, etc.

I can only say one thing:

- There wasn't a single situation in which I felt unsafe.

- The drivers drove extremely considerately.

- I wasn't honked at once, even though I was driving on the shoulder of several interstates in California, Arizona and Texas, crossed streets in busy cities and rode on streets where bicycle paths were in bad conditions.

- I was greeted in a friendly and helpful manner everywhere.

- By people of all colors.

- In rich and poor neighborhoods.

- As soon as I arrived somewhere, I was welcomed warmly and involved in local activities. This was probably also due to the fact that I was traveling alone.

It's important for me to mention that! Due to current political developments, America is taking on a different image. And I think it is unfair, as the people haven't changed. They are a totally helpful, practical, and approachable nation. This is my experience in America from many years and it hasn't changed. I can only recommend to anyone who has similar thoughts to take a cycling trip there. It was hard for me to leave those beautiful islands and for sure I will miss America and being regularly connected through this cycling community.

But Europe also has its advantages. There are things I missed. But without this trip, I might have taken many things for granted that aren't so obvious:

- The distances in the USA are enormous. This applies to both large and small things. If you're at a campground, the nearest supermarket or restaurant is usually many miles away. Not a problem by car. Impossible on foot, and not pleasant by bike after a long day of riding.

- If you get hungry or thirsty on the road, there's usually no restaurant nearby, often not even a town. You may well have to drive for another two hours.

- The food itself isn't exactly what you'd hope for. In normal training or before competitions, the top priority is to consume carbohydrates. Rice, potatoes, pasta. Those are usually nonexistent. Instead, burgers, pizza, or deep-fried food.

- I didn't know where to get energy gels neither. But that was probably due to my lack of knowledge. American insiders will definitely know where to get those.

- Then there's the annoying issue of dogs. In most states, they're leashed or fenced in. In some states, however, this isn't the case. For example, in Texas, Kentucky, or Tennessee, you're constantly being followed, sometimes by entire packs.

- Due to the mentality of traveling with RVs, campgrounds are often fully booked and don't offer space for simple cyclists with tents. I was actually turned away several times, even though there was clearly sufficient space for a small tent. I then regularly ended up in a motel/hotel.

- Swimming in open waters: I didn't see anyone swimming except in the ocean. I myself was strongly warned against swimming: Either there were alligators (even in northern Louisiana), or there was no water at all from the Pacific coast to Dallas, Texas. I had planned completely differently and carried completely unnecessary swim gear. The only time I could swim was in a lake in Texas.

The road quality changed dramatically from place to place. In some areas it was really poor. It was probably also for that, that I had the two flat tires on the last day as my tires were completely done.

The number of high quality cycling paths however is impressive. Riding on the Mississippi levee for 100 km was completely unexpected. Through Silicon Valley specific bike paths are everywhere. In the Mojave desert, no bike path is necessary as there was maybe one car in 30 minutes, to name just a few examples that come to my mind.

You can read in 7 different reports of what happened specifically on which stage in the blogs of this website.

Here is what happened after Jacksonville.

After the Kayak trip in the morning (see blog 7) I drove the 500 km to Miami in one turn. As explained, there wasn't so much time left and I knew those places from previous holiday trips. Also, the more you approach the South the more traffic you get.

Being only one night in Miami Beach I had chosen to stay in the famous Art Deco quarter

And had a good start into the day by running on Miami beach

Followed by a 90 minutes drive to Key Largo. Where I had booked a cottage for the remaining nights until my return flight to Germany.

I assembled my bike a last time and enjoyed to leave out all baggage and hangers and whatsoever. Just the simple bike that would enable to speed on my final stage to Key West. Which was another 160 km away.

So I decided to drive 80 km to Marathon key, parked my car at the local Starbucks, had breakfast there and then started for a 150 km round trip very close to the famous Seven Miles Bridge. But you can't use the old one as it is interrupted after 2 miles.

So I had to use the regular highway.

Excited to be freed from all the ballast, I got into a speeding obsession. The 76 km included several red traffic lights in Key West which screwed up my average speed. On the first 50 km I was really on fire with a new personal record (as far as registration on Strava is concerned)

And of course I had to finish at this iconic landmark.

Before heading back (in a more relaxed speed) I got some smoothie refreshments

Ending up at Mangrove Mama thanks to my flat tire.

Using my spare tube to fix the flat tire ...

With a second incident just 5 km later ...

What a day. I am so grateful about my second flat tire that I met these bros and had a very good time for several hours ... you can imagine we had a lot to talk ... What a great last day

Good bye America - let's stay connected