Anne & Mike say Goodbye

Dave Wood says goodbye

The End is the Beginning

Hilge signs off

Jack recalls the trip

Mac Sums it Up

The End of the Road...Greenway, That Is

November 3, 2004 ~ Key West, Florida

Well, it's officialy over! The riders glided into Key West just before noon, and as you'll hear in their audio posts, they completed the tour with exuberence, to say the least. After 53 days and roughly 2,800 miles of bicycling, the First ECG Maine to Florida Tour has come to an end. Of course, this tour is just the beginning for a new era in the development of the East Coast Greenway. Over the next six years we will work diligently to "close the gaps" and have 80 percent of the trail off-road by 2010. If you've been following the tour and are interested in the Greenway, please become a member and support our efforts to build a safe route from Canada to Key West.

"I had a great time. The people we were riding with have been great riding companions. It's good to be alive. I made it!" ~Anne Kruimer

"We're all really happy to be here. We've all had a safe and fun filled trip." ~Dave Wood

All smiles: the cyclists pull into Key West after departing Calais, Maine on Sept. 12 (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Key West Citizen)

A Victory for the Greenway

Three Cheers to a Great Ride

Trail End Ceremony

Matt's Film on the Greenway

Debra from the Overseas Heritage Trail

The End!

The final mile

Anne in Key West

3 miles to go!

Arriving in Key West

Day 53: Key West or Bust

November 3, 2004 ~ Marathon to Key West ~ 48 miles

All good things must come to an end, and so too must the First ECG Maine to Florida Tour. As you'll hear in Myron's audio post from earlier this morning, spirits are high as the cyclists approach Key West. And to boot, Myron is now the proud owner of Jack Kurrle's recumbent bicycle. It looks like Jack is intereste in traveling light when heading back to his home state of Arizona at the end of the tour. When the group rolls into Key West today after some 2,800 miles and 53 days behind them, they'll be greeted by Mayor Jimmy Weekley at the Greenway's southern terminus. We'll post more later in the day to let you know when the riders finaly achieve their long-anticipated goal.

New Wheels

Day 52: Life's a Beach

November 2, 2004 ~ Key Largo to Marathon ~ 51 miles

With just a hundred miles to go before achieving their goal, the riders cycled their penultimate day on the Overseas Heritage Trail, which runs 106 miles from Key Largo to Key West. Today the group completed half of the trail, riding from Key Largo to Marathon. The Overseas Heritage Trail project was started in 2002 by the Florida Dept. of Transportation. Today it is roughly 55 percent complete. According to the Florida Office of Greenways and Trails, the route will be designed and built by 2007. Indeed it will be one of the highlights of the East Coast Greenway when completed. Be sure to check out Myrons audio blog for more details on the day's ride.

Tomorrow: The final day - Marathon to Key West



Today the cyclists traversed Historical Long Key Bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, just one of many beautiful spots along the Overseas Heritage Trail.

A day of Freedom

Maggie in Key Largo, FL

Day 51: Traveling the Overseas Heritage Trail

November 1, 2004 ~ Miama Beach to Key Largo ~ 70 miles

It's all downhill from here...or overseas, to be exact. Today the group woke up extra early to avoid Miami traffic when leaving swinging South Beach for Key Largo, the northernmost island of the Florida Keys island chain. Departing at 7 a.m. on the day following Halloween proved interesting, as a number of all-night revelers were still about the streets of South Beach. Shortly after pedaling onto Key Largo, the cyclists rode the first few miles of the Overseas Heritage Trail, a 106-mile route from Key Largo to Key West. More on that trail in tomorrow's update. A great article on the tour's passage through Miami appeared in Sunday's Miami Herald as the cyclists inch ever closer to their final destination.

Tomorrow: Are we there yet? - Key Largo to Marathon


The Overseas Heritage Trail in front of John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo

Day 50: Halloween in the Magic City

October 31, 2004 ~ West Palm Beach to Miami Beach ~ 75 miles

After a night of warm homes and a little TLC, the cyclists were ready today to hit the trail once more, in this case the 5.7-mile Flagler Drive Trail as they departed from West Palm Beach toward Miami. As you'll hear in Myron's audio log, things are going well, and the cyclists are tremendously appreciative of the folks who took them into their homes and gave them a warm, quiet place to spend the night. Tonight the riders are celebrating Halloween in Miami's famed South Beach, with its sizzling nightlife, Art Deco architecture, and georgeous beaches. Here's hoping they have a howling good time.

Tomorrow: The home stretch begins - Miami Beach to Key Largo


A view of South Beach's Ocean Drive at sunset.

3 cheers in Palm Beach, FL

Day 49: Palms on the Horizon

October 30, 2004 ~ Ft. Pierce to West Palm Beach ~ 56 miles

The last weekend before the tour's culmination and the cyclists push further south along the Atlantic, today heading from Ft. Pierce to West Palm Beach. Spirits are high, and the riders are eager to accomplish their goal of being the first group to ever ride the full length of the East Coast Greenway. Much of the route has been on road between completed trail segments, and the going hasn't always been easy, but nonetheless the cyclists persevere, and in just four short days this eight-week trek will draw to a close. Last night the group overnighted in a Boys and Girls Club in Ft. Pierce. Tonight it's back to the comforts of home, with five families opening their homes to the tour riders.

Tomorrow: West Palm Beach to Miami Beach

Day 48: Assessing the Impact of Four Hurricanes

October 29, 2004 ~ Melbourne to Ft. Pierce ~ 53 miles

Today our fearless cyclists continued putting their mettle to the pedal, if you will, heading south through the Sunshine State. The route was mostly on 'sidepath'--a paved pathway for walkers and cyclists running alongside the road. As the cyclists head further into the area of Florida hit hard by the recent hurricane season, accommodations have been increasingly difficult to come by. Last night the team stayed in a Marriott; tonight they're swinging to the other extreme and staying on the floor of a Boys and Girls Club in Ft. Pierce. But don't worry too much, they'll have their sleeping bags. And besides, after 2,500 miles of cycling, these guys aren't having any problems getting to sleep, no matter where they land for the night.

Tomorrow: Ft. Pierce to West Palm Beach

Day 47: Cape Canaveral and into the Hurricanes

October 28,2004 ~ New Smyrna Beach to Melbourne ~ 73 miles

Continuing south to Key West along Florida's Atlantic Coast, the cyclists paralleled Cape Canaveral today en route to Melbourne, the day's destination point. Although the riders entered the area of the state hit more seriously by recent hurricanes, roadway conditions--according to Myron Skott--aren't half bad, especially with the minimal traffic and wide shoulders of Route A1A. Be sure to listen to Myron's audio post for a more detailed account of the day's journey.

Tomorrow: Six days to go -- Melbourne to Ft. Pierce


The day's route: New Smyrna Beach to Melbourne

Southbound on US1

Bill in New Smyrna Beach, FL

Day 46: River to Sea Trail

October 27, 2004 ~ St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach ~ 71 miles

More seaside and inter-coastal cycling today. The cyclists rode the first section of the East Coast Greenway to be designated in Florida--Flagler County's River to Sea Trail, which is 18.6 miles long. Highlights of the day included passing world famous Daytona Beach and riding through the communities of Ormand Beach and Port Orange. The day's ride concluded in New Smyrna Beach, not too far north of Cape Canaveral, and the cyclists spent the night at the Sea Horse Inn.

Tomorrow: New Smyrna Beach to Melbourne

Day 45: St. Augustine Rest Day

October 26, 2004 ~ St. Augustine, Florida

The cyclists are taking their last rest day today in the Nation's Oldest City, enjoying the area's beautiful beaches and mingling with the locals. Myron Skott and some of the other riders got a chance to meet with the mayor of St. Augustine and give him the artist rendering from St. Croix Island. Be sure to check out Myron's audio log to hear more on that.

A little history: St. Augustine was founded in 1565, some 42 years before the English colonized Jamestown and 55 years before the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. It's been continuously occupied since that time. By American standards that's pretty old. The architectural legacy of the city's past is much younger, due to the impermanent quality of the earliest structures and to St. Augustine's troubled history. Only the stone fort Castillo de San Marcos, completed in the late seventeenth century, survived destruction of the city by invading British forces in 1702. St. Augustine boasts that it contains the only urban nucleus in the United States whose street pattern and architectural ambiance reflect Spanish origins.

Tomorrow: Back on the bike, St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach


An arial view of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Fla.

Mayor Gardener of St. Augustine, FL

Day 44: Cycling through America's Oldest Spanish Settlement

October 25, 2004 ~ Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine ~ 62 miles

Today the cyclists' route took them along coastal Florida on a delightful ride with nice weather in the low 80s. In Florida the East Coast Greenway runs 573 miles from the Georgia border to Key West. So far 15 percent of the Florida portion of the Greenway is complete with an aditional 38 percent in various stages of development. Much of the route fronts the beach or is within a block or two and uses roadside pathways developed in recent years by the various towns and counties along the route. The cyclists will be carrying into St. Augustine a special gift from 400-year-old St. Croix, the first French settlement in North America. Of course, St. Augustine is America's oldest Spanish settlement, but we'll explore that a little further tomorrow while the riders are taking their last rest day in the Nation's Oldest City.

Tomorrow: A little R&R before the final week of cycling

Day 43: Fourteen Down, One to Go

October 24, 2004 ~ Darien, GA to Fernandina Beach, FL ~ 84 miles

Today's route was another mostly on-road adventure, as the state of Georgia has yet to officially designate any trail segment as part of the East Coast Greenway. As you learned in yesterday's post, the route follows the Coastal Georgia Greenway from Savannah to St. Marys, mostly along US Hwy 17. According to cyclist Dave Wood the weather was perfect for riding and the cyclists suffered no flat tires. One hitch, however: the cyclists had to be carried via SAG wagon into Florida on I-95 because the US 17 route was closed. Tonight the riders are staying with Winifred Stephenson in Fernandina Beach. Winifred recently learned about the East Coast Greenway through an article that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and graciously offered to help accommodate the riders as they continue south toward Key West.

Tomorrow: Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine


The final leg of the journey: the eight cylists enter the final state of the First ECG Maine to Florida Tour.

Day 42: Traveling the Coastal Georgia Greenway

October 23, 2004 ~ Savannah to Darien, GA ~ 87 miles

Today the cyclists headed south along the corridor of the future Coastal Georgia Greenway. That trail network, a 460-mile continuous off-road greenway from Savannah to St. Marys, weaves along and near US Highway 17. The CGG will connect the six coastal counties of Georgia, linking cities and towns with varied cultural, historic, and environmental resources of the coast. The East Coast Greenway uses only 142 miles of the trail system and utilizes canal towpaths, bridle trails, abandoned railroad lines, and roadside rights of way. Today the cyclists passed through four of the six coastal counties en route to historic Darien, the second oldest planned town in Georgia which was established as a military outpost by Scottish highlanders in 1736 under the command of General James Oglethorpe, founder of Savannah. The community was once a major seaport but now depends primarily on commercial fishing, forestry, and tourism. Darien features a historic district with a commercial waterfront, nineteenth century churches, and Victorian homes and is home of the Fort King George Historic Site, the first English fort in what is now Georgia.

Tomorrow: Darien to Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Georgia Shrimpers

Day 41: Revolutionary War Trail to Bartram's Trail

October 22, 2004 ~ Yemassee, SC to Savannah, GA ~ 65 miles

Today's route was mostly on road through rural countryside in an area with significant history tied to the Revolutionary War. The day started with breakfast provided by the Town of Yemassee at the old Railroad Depot. The cyclists enjoyed a little Southern hospitality as they crossed through South Carolina's Low Country with James Gardner as their local guide. In Ridgeland the group was welcomed by Mayor Ralph Tuten and Councilman Tommy Rhodes and treated to lunch at Jasper's Porch Restaurant with the additional treat of a tour of the Blue Heron Nature Trail and Learning Center. Later in the day the cyclists were guests of Hardeeville and visited the city's new Community Center/City Hall before heading to Savannah for their overnight stay. Crossing into the Hostess City of the South via water taxi from Hutchinson Island, the riders arrived on historic River Street where they were greeted by the Savannah Morning News and local television station WTOC-11.


The fountain at Forsyth Park in beautiful downtown Savannah, Georgia.

Tomorrow: Savannah to Darien