April 8th, 2026

On Florida Loop 2026 Day 5, I rode 221 miles from Everglades City, Florida to Key West, Florida. This video for Day 5 Part 1 covers some of the 84 mile ride from Everglades City to Homestead.

Route to Homestead

I rolled out of Everglades City on Calier Avenue / Florida Highway 29 to US Highway 41 and rolled east (US Highway 41 South) through some of the Everglades and turned south on Florida Highway 997 to Homestead, Florida. In Day 5 Part 2 I continued south and turned onto US Highway 1 / Overseas Highway to Key West.

Sketchy Rest Stop

Shortly after turning onto Florida Highway 997, I found myself needing to take a break and stretch my legs. At the junction of US Highway 41 and Florida Highway 887 there was a gas station / convenience store but I it was on the other side of the highway and decided to keep rolling to find a gas station easier to get in and out of (yeah, I do that lol). 9 miles down the road and all I encouted was produce stands and farm fields.

I was in desperate need of break to stretch my legs, cool off and hydrate so I pulled off at one of the produce stand on what looked to be a paved street. This was a “street” in a rural, agriculture area and as I turned in, the street itself looked like it was bombed and not in use. I actually almost dropped the bike in what was left of the pavement before the “bombed” out section. I was at a full stop and was preparing to back up the bike a little to turn around to face the highway and park. I looked and did not see the loose pea size gravel on the deteriorated asphalt, it blended right in and I could not see it. When I transferred weight to my root foot, it was like I was standing on marbles and my foot began to slide to the right as the weight of the bike started tipping to the right. A nice panic shot of adrelene and I was able to quickly shift my weight to the left and centered the bike. Then it was baby steps to turn around Bruce on the mess they called a street.

Crazier yet, people were driving through the bombed out area to I am guessing a residential area beyond. Even a Tesla 3 series came driving through. What really ground my gears though, was about 4 miles or so down the road there are about 6 gas stations with nice flat paved lots LOL. SIGH.

Day 5 Part 1 Summary

This part of the ride was uneventful and fairly chill. Rolling through the Cypress trees again was enjoyable. Once I reached the sawgrass area of the Everglades, it was like riding in the plains states, complete with a pretty roubust crosswinds as well.