Day Two, Flat One

The ride from Marathon to Key Largo is much the same, biking conditions-wise, as Day One, because the Keys are connected by a single narrow strip of road interrupted only by bridges. It turns out that the rock that lies beneath that narrow strip of road is mostly coral. More on that after lunch.

But first – lunch! At the recommendation of our good friends, Larry and Linda (whose recommendation of a lovely Key West dinner at Blue Heaven was another hit – but I can’t write about everything), we stop for lunch in Islamorada at a place called The Beach Cafe. Part of the Moorings, this spot has another, more formal restaurant (Pierre’s), but it looks far too nice for us. At the Beach Cafe, we enjoy conch fritters, blackened fish sandwich, a salad, and iced teas. Here we are, there:

I’m the one with short hair; Jerry’s the one with shorter hair.

It turns out to be a good move, stopping there for such a nice lunch, because after lunch, not at all far (maybe 20 miles?) from our destination, I get a flat and will need the memory of a celebratory lunch to keep from feeling really frustrated. Remember that coral I mentioned? Well, it’s everywhere, and it’s sharp, and I hit a stone made out of it and blow a hole not only in my tube, but in the sidewall of my new fancy rear tire. Bummer. Luckily, Jerry fixes it. I hold things and hand him things, and feel – generally – like an old-time wifey who can’t be expected to do mechanical things. Eventually on this ride, I WILL learn to fix my own flat. But this one is Jerry’s to do, because I don’t have the first clue. Yet. He mends it quickly (yea!) and we got back on the road.

That’s it for this post. Next up: our Key Largo accomodations (a.k.a. the first disagreement of the trip…)