On Sunday morning, we bicycle 4 miles east along the Route 1 bike trail, then perform a quick change of clothing to attend the 9 AM service at Kirk of the Keys church near the airport. Trawler friends Laura and Bill of Kindred Spirit are also in attendance. We agree to meet the following day for a bicycle ride. After breakfast and a quick stop at the local Publix grocery store, we return to Harbour Cay to focus on boat chores, including replacement of the Racor fuel filters and laundry. Soon it is time to practice our social skills at the 5 PM tiki hut gathering.
[caption id="attachment_2657" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Our merry group of cyclists at Duck Key"]
[/caption]On Monday morning, our bike ride with Laura, Bill and their friend Tom begins at 9:30 AM. We cycle 44 miles today along the bike trail, east to Duck Key and the City of Key Colony. Leaving the Route 1 bike trail to explore side streets and neighborhoods provides access to residential neighborhoods, marinas and beaches. In fact, motorists that limit their Florida Keys travel to Route 1 are treated to water views only on bridges and smaller, undeveloped islands.
[caption id="attachment_2685" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="US 1, Overseas Highway with parallel bike trail"]
[/caption]Marathon is a slender strip of land between Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, there is no compact town center here. The community has been developed along both sides of the Overseas Highway (Route 1), a five lane strip commercial spine road with access driveways every 50 feet. The sprawling highway is cluttered with 1950s era motels, trailer parks, restaurants, dive shops, fishing charters and strip malls. Some plazas and commercial buildings are vacant and unsightly. Traffic is constantly exiting and entering the highway, Motorists are so anxious to accelerate from parking lots into the flow of traffic that they seldom watch for bicyclists on the roadside bike trail.
[caption id="attachment_2681" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Cuban sandwiches and moros available across the highway from Harbour Cay Club"]
[/caption]Nevertheless, we are thankful for the bikeway. Within a 15 minute bike ride from our slip, we can easily reach the Publix grocery store, Home Depot, churches, restaurants, pharmacies, the fresh fish market, the Post Office and West Marine. The highway offers all of the conveniences of home. But it is a high speed traffic area with few places where pedestrians or bicyclists can cross safely from one side of the highway to the other.
[caption id="attachment_2682" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Porky's BBQ, another asset in our immediate neighborhood"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2679" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Tuning the standing rigging on Cutter Loose"]
[/caption]Another convenience of Marathon is that virtually any type of marine service, parts and supplies are available here. The shrouds and stays on Cutter Loose have not been tuned since the boat was commissioned in 2009. A call to Gary the local rigger quickly solves this problem. Gary spends the better part of Tuesday morning adjusting the tension on the standing rigging. We take advantage of Gary's assistance to lubricate the threads on all of the turnbuckles to prevent them from freezing.
Later in the afternoon, the crew of Catspaw, Cavu, Island Spirit and Cutter Loose gather in the clubhouse for a chart talk relative to our collective plan to sail north to the west coast of Florida. Captain Carey of Catspaw describes our course, the overnight stops along the way and the cruising delights that we can expect to experience in Southwest Florida. We agree tentatively to head north from Marathon on Monday, January 16th, weather permitting.
[caption id="attachment_2661" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Planning the next leg of the voyage with Captain Carey"]
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