Day Three - You Can't Have It Both Ways

Start - Key West, FL

Stop - Florence, SC

Today's Miles - 837

Total Miles - 2,485

To anyone considering a visit to Key West - The Best Western Hibiscus is a perfect place to stay. Great room, great bed, awesome pool/hot tub, across the street from the Southernmost Hotel.  I had a fantastic dinner last night at Carmelita's, less than a block away.  Yellowtail Snapper Oscar.  To die for.  Dinner, hot tub, pool, bed...and that was my night in Key West.

To anyone preparing to drive back to the mainland from Key West - put your patience cap on tight, you're going to need it.  Speed limits range from 30-45 with occasional mad dashes at 55...for 125 miles.  Lots of law enforcement.  Consider every little village a speed trap.  No, the scenery doesn't help.  Other peoples' dream homes, vacation rentals, and fun stuff can't make up for the riding death march.  On the bright side, I got great gas mileage and made up for lots of lost speed on the Florida Turnpike.

If you want to go to Key West, that is the way you have to go.  You can't have it both ways.

Speaking of which - On long trips I ride very defensively and I don't speed.  (I consider 3 miles over the speed limit within the range of a well functioning odometer.)  But you can't have it both ways on the Florida Turnpike or I-95.  "Defensive driving" means not being a nuisance, not doing stupid things, blending in to the traffic, pulling over to let faster cars pass.  But if you are going to do that on the Florida Turnpike, be prepared to speed.  All the time.  So you don't get run over.

I took the Turnpike all the way to Fort Pierce where it picks up I-95.  I thought about skipping it to ride through Miami again but the road from Key West took all the wind out of my sails.  There were a couple of toll booths but much of it was "Pay by Plate."  I guess that means they will mail me the bill.  It will be interesting to see if their cameras can pick up a license plate tucked up underneath a Harley tour pack.  I'm hoping no.  The final toll stop was $6.30.  I thought that was an odd number.

The weather again today was pretty much perfect for most of the way.  It was beautiful coming out of Key West.  But all day long I could see dark foreboding clouds on the horizon in front of me.  That is the thing on a bike, you can both see and feel the weather changes.  You feel it when you ride into a frontal system.  Much of the rain passed before I got there but I did get rained on a little in Florida and then the heavens opened in Georgia and South Carolina.

I stopped for gas in Edgewater, FL.  While I was filling the bike I saw a young kid come riding a crotch rocket into the station.  As he pulled up to the pump his bike's landing gear dropped down as he came to a stop.  I've never seen such a thing.  I went to talk to him and learned that he had been in a bad motorcycle accident and broke his back.  He lost the use of his legs.  But he didn't lose his desire to ride a bike.  So he saw this thing on YouTube, bought a bike and the landing gear kit, and then he and his buddy mounted it.  He has to strap himself to the bike at the waist, thighs, and both feet.  The landing gear comes down with an electric switch.  He said he just rolls his wheelchair into the garage, hoists himself on to the bike, and off he goes.  You can't have it both ways - riding a bike comes with some risk.  He was a very nice kid and I was seriously impressed with his attitude and ingenuity.

Not long after that I got to Daytona.  On a long ride like this, I am riding by amazing things all the time.  I want to stop but I have places to go and I don't want to waste the time.  You can't have it both ways.  So I will pick my spots.  Today I wanted a picture of my bike by the Daytona Speedway. Not everyone knows that the racing tradition at Daytona began with racing motorcycles and cars on the beach.  Now I can say I was there.

I also made a quick stop at the HUGE Harley dealer in Daytona.  I left my gloves on the back of the bike at a gas station yesterday and I needed to replace them.  My hands are getting sunburned.  And a T-shirt...because you just have to do that.

Finished up tonight in Florence, SC.  I have a calendar with suggested stops for each night.  If I keep to the plan I will be able to do everything I had hoped for.  But I'm already thinking of some changes.  I can't describe how excited I am to ride across North Dakota again but it occurred to me today that I really should visit my mom's grave.  She would think this ride was great and right up my alley.  And if I go there, then I need to eat at the Fryin' Pan in my home town.  So I'm going to make some adjustments to add those splashes to the canvas of this ride.