Chattanooga to Key West Tour



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Rob Rudeski

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Hi All,

I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. I've heard some negative
things about going to Key West, and not much else. Does anyone have any experience with any parts of
this trip? Your experience and info would be much appreciated.

I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably leaving in October or
November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat will be over by then, and it's the end of
hurricane season.

Thanks in advance.

Rob
 
I camped in the Keys on and off for 20 years and lived there full time for
12. I biked frequently on bike paths and on Key West city streets but NEVER on US1.

13. October is a gorgeous month. November is also delightful.
14. For me, US 1 is a terrifying road to ride except for those relatively few stretches where bike
paths exist.

--
Gator Bob Siegel EasyRacers Ti Rush "Rob Rudeski" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. I've heard some negative
> things about going to Key West, and not much
else.
> Does anyone have any experience with any parts of this trip? Your
experience
> and info would be much appreciated.
>
> I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably leaving in October or
> November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat
will
> be over by then, and it's the end of hurricane season.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Rob
 
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Go to your library and get a copy of Miles From Nowhere by Barbara Savage. She and her husband rode
around the world and US1 to Key West sounded horrible.

Rick Nighbert

Rob Rudeski wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. I've heard some negative
> things about going to Key West, and not much else. Does anyone have any experience with any parts
> of this trip? Your experience and info would be much appreciated.
>
> I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably leaving in October or
> November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat will be over by then, and it's the end of
> hurricane season.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Rob

--------------31E7E9E5CC4BD1E1F69CECA0 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Go to your library and get a
copy of <i>Miles From Nowhere</i> by Barbara Savage. She and her husband rode around the world
and US1 to Key West sounded horrible.
<p>Rick Nighbert
<q>Rob Rudeski wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Hi All,
<r>I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. <br>I've heard some
negative things about going to Key West, and not much else. <br>Does anyone have any experience
with any parts of this trip? Your experience <br>and info would be much appreciated.
<s>I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably <br>leaving in October or
November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat will <br>be over by then, and it's the end of
hurricane season.
<t>Thanks in advance.
<u>Rob</blockquote> </html>

--------------31E7E9E5CC4BD1E1F69CECA0--
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Hi All,
>
> I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. I've heard some negative
> things about going to Key West, and not much else. Does anyone have any experience with any parts
> of this trip? Your experience and info would be much appreciated.
>
> I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably leaving in October or
> November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat will be over by then, and it's the end of
> hurricane season.

You might join the touring mailing list and ask this question of lots of bike tour enthusiasts

Touring mailing list http://www.bikelist.org [email protected] Browse and search the archives:
http://search.bikelist.org

--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -
 
To get to the Keys, you'd have to get around Miami. I've heard of seasoned bike tourists who had
themselves driven through that bit. It is no small challenge.

As for the Keys, the Keys are about the water. If you fish or dive, or something, I am sure it is
good fun, but other than a few spots like Bahia Honda, it looks to me like it is mostly gas
stations, bait shops, etc.

Key West itself is a disappointment. The historic downtown is all tee shirt shops and bars. For
being surrounded by water, it is not really a beach town. The water is at either end of the main
street, not really near most of it, and the main beach is further away still. Much of the land near
the water is still millitary. On top of all that, I had an unpleasant experience at the famous Duval
House inn. Normally it is warm down there, but be aware that if it does turn cold, the historic
places don't have heat.

You look at a map, and you see the Keys down there, and it is tempting because it is so _at the end_
of everything. I say avoid the temptation.

John Riley
 
I toured about three years ago from Macon, Ga to Key West. For we three it was an eight day trip. We
camped all but one night, a party night in South Beach. Mostly all of the trip was pleasant and
enjyable with the frelative exception of about 15 milees give or take south of Homestead that had a
section af highway where there were anti falling asleep bumps in the bike lane in case drivers went
off the road. All in all it was fun and very doable. For more details cantact directly if desired.
"Rob Rudeski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. I've heard some negative
> things about going to Key West, and not much
else.
> Does anyone have any experience with any parts of this trip? Your
experience
> and info would be much appreciated.
>
> I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably leaving in October or
> November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat
will
> be over by then, and it's the end of hurricane season.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Rob
 
A few years back, a friend and I rode the stretch from Fort Lauderdale to Chattanooga as part of a
longer tour. It was a wonderful trip...no difficulties beyond the minor traffic variety. We followed
A1A from Laud. to St. Augustine...cut NW past the Okefenokee NWR...skirted the north side of
Atlanta...then headed to Chattanooga on the way to St. Louis.

If I were heading south, I'd stop where A1A stops in Lauderdale...north of Port Everglades. I would
avoid Miami, and the Keys for that matter. Even in the Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach area, the
coast road would be my only route. Heading west, without local knowledge, could be touchy.
 
Ditto about Key West. Its a nice place to ride around in, but a death defying place to ride to.

There is great cycling down the east central coast of Florida, from about Melbourne on up towards
Jacksonville. Space Coast Freewheelers is a good source.

While fall is nice up north, my opinion of the best time to cycle down here starts with January in
Miami and ends with March in Jacksonville.

If I were to do it, I would take two trips, Chattanooga southbound in the fall, and Florida
Northbound in February. Greyhound or Amtrak can take your bike pretty easy.

"Rob Rudeski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I'm thinking about planning a trip from Chattanooga, TN to Key West, FL. I've heard some negative
> things about going to Key West, and not much
else.
> Does anyone have any experience with any parts of this trip? Your
experience
> and info would be much appreciated.
>
> I'm not planning to start this trip until next year sometime, probably leaving in October or
> November sometime. I figure the worst of the heat
will
> be over by then, and it's the end of hurricane season.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Rob
 
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