Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017
Today was the most brutal day yet. I expected some rain, but not when I got it. Things got warm by late morning and by midday it was near 100 degrees with very high humidity. I normally use "cool towels" the you soak in water and the evaporation while you ride keeps you cool. Unfortunately, in very high humid weather, they don't. In fact they make it slightly worse. I got to Florida City, which is the gateway to the Keys around 2 PM and left for to Keys around 2:30 PM. Of course the clouds did not cooperate. Not one break from he sun the entire trip.
After a great deal of traffic on Highway US-1, I finally arrived at the monument pictured below. The place was a mob scene. There was a line off-camera to the left for people waiting to have their picture taken by the monument, In addition to that, I was in a no parking zone so I had to get the pictures quickly. This is the second time that I have been here with this motorcycle. After getting gas and documenting the event for the Ride I looked for a place to take a long break.
I stopped and had dinner before leaving town. I had to drink two glasses of ice water before I even had the energy to order dinner. I drank another full glass after dinner. I waited till closer to sunset to leave hoping that the lack of sun would make the ride more comfortable. In addition, the traffic was much lighter as well. Just before hitting Marathon, which is around 50 miles from Key West, I ran into the heaviest rainstorm ever. Traffic slowed to 15-20 MPH because of the lack of visibility. I was grateful for this since the bike can be unstable in this type of weather. You cannot stop and pull over since you most likely will be hit by an oncoming vehicle. I was immediately soaked and in the dark to the point where my boots started to fill with rainwater. After about 5 minutes the store ended and we were past it. I tuned on the handle grip warmers to keep my hands warm. I thought that I would be totally chilled to the bone because of the wet clothes, but just like the cool rags earlier in the day I didn't get chilled because of the warm temperatures and high humidity. Once I discovered that I would be fine, I continued on without changing gear or putting on the rain suit since it was not uncomfortable. It was a comfort to know that I had dry clothes with me just in case.
I really felt the chill when I got to the hotel and stepped into the air conditioned lobby to check in. They upgraded my room so that I could park the motorcycle outside the door. This is a very nice motel and I hauled it my computer and other gear in. It was just starting to sprinkle. In less than one minute, it had turned into a total downpour. I just covered the bike and by the time I got back into the room, I was totally soaked again. If I thought I was wet before, I was surely mistaken.
I got up at 4 AM this morning and my clothes are still damp. I will be doing laundry a day earlier than planned. Fortunately, I had dry clothes and another pair of jeans in the bike so I got those this morning. I intend to travel to Stonebridge, Georgia today. I will keep you posted.
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