All biking peeps were accounted for, and we were off this morning…biking to Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada! After a quick breakfast and strapping of bags on bikes, we were on our way! Hold on, hold on…not so fast…first stop…across the street to Napa Auto …yes, that is auto…to purchase tools and parts for minor bike issues!

Most of the ride is on a bike path…some on the road. We only rode 18 miles today so we took it slow, did a lot of talking, and stopped at some tourist traps. Slowly we watched the ocean change from deep blue to all the incredible shades of azure and turquoise. A beautiful transformation! We had lunch at a sweet little sandwich shop and then had five miles to the lodge…the longest five miles of the ride. John likened the last five miles to the last two minutes of a football game…it went on forever…not because we didn’t enjoy it –on the contrary–because we stopped at every interesting place we saw!

Cheeca Lodge is a delight all of its own. There is a lot of construction because they sustained $80 million dollars in damage from last years hurricane. It is a beautiful place and the location isn’t so bad either! Anyway we’re all settled in for a couple days before hopping on the bikes and heading south. So glad to be doing this ride with Ron, Shell, and two high energy, crazy fun teenage boys! Blessed.

What a relaxing, fun day. One of the boys summed it up earlier today by saying, “I could ride like this all day!”