anybody done the adventure cycling florida keys ride?

[rjones35]

Thinking of doing it in October, just wondering what people thought of it.

Thanks

[PJinNJ]

Done the ride,  but not the ACA one. I didn't know about them when I first did it. The ride to KW to fantastic, the return however was all into a 20 mph wind. tough but still enjoyable. Just not what I thought it would be. I've been toying with the ACA ride lately. Misery loves company LOL

[JHamelman]

Ah, but you don't have to ride back up the Keys.  There is a ferry from the southern tip of the keys to Fort Myers Beach, then you can ride back to Fort Lauderdale from there.

.Jennifer.

[Westinghouse]

I've done it six times. It's a good safe ride. There's plenty of room for cycling plus the overseas bicycle route keeps you completely off the roadway for quite a distance. Rent can be quite high, especially in winter. There are places to stealth-sleep, and cold water showers can be had for free. Restaurants prices are very reasonable. Winds can nail you on the 7-mile bridge and elsewhere, but not necessarily at all. Winter may bring strong north winds. The scenery is idyllic. The sea water  is clear and clean. Road surfaces are fine for cycling. The air is clean and fresh off the ocean. Take Card Sound Road at the Last Chance Saloon. Going straight on using US 1 can put you in a world of too fast too thick traffic unless they have widened the road since the last time I was there. Be prepared for rain which might not happen, but which often enough does happen. It's a good ride. Don't worry about it.

[PJinNJ]

If you want company I'l be available in October. I had the ride planned for late winter but that was interrupted by work. I'm now retired. Let me know.

[PJinNJ]

Still available anytime after August. If anyone wants to do the ride ACA or otherwise let me know. P

[nthabiseng]

Just rode the Keys in March and it was great, though we did have headwinds all the way from Key West to Key Largo.  No problem on the bridges, even with the wind.  We opted to stay on US 1 instead of Card Sound Rd, and glad we did.  There was no traffic on 1, plus there are wide shoulders.  Easy riding.  We heard Card Sound is now busy and narrow.  You will definitely enjoy, except for the high rent camping as pointed out before.

[Westinghouse]

It was a few years ago that I did the Keys by bicycle. They were doing road-work on US 1. Now it may be better than Card Sound Road. Before, it had wide shoulders in some places, but cat-eye reflectors were embedded into the road surface across the shoulders. The cyclist would have to ride, thump thump, over the reflectors every five seconds, or watch the road carefully to ride between them because they were about three inches apart, or ride out in the traffic lane to avoid thumping and staring at the road surface all the time to ride between the reflectors. In other places US 1 had little or no shoulder at all. The traffic on US 1 was fast and there was a lot of it.

Card Sound Road is pretty much straight with one bridge. It was narrow and had almost no shoulder that I can remember. The traffic was so sparse it was no concern at all. Being flat and straight, the road gives motorists a long view of you before they get to you.

If they widened US 1 and put in broad shoulders good for cycling, that's the way to go because it is quite a bit shorter than the Card Sound Road route into Key Largo.