Since I was young, biking has always been a passion of mine. While I am more often able to spend the day on the bike trails of Markham or Oleta State Park, I also enjoy biking in the beautiful Florida Keys when I’m able to get there. In today’s post, I’ll give some guidelines and information on biking in the Florida keys.

Long distance riders: Aside from the obvious challenges of long-distance riding (sweat, tears, sunburn), the Florida Keys aren’t very bike-friendly. For the most part, the more-densely populated keys are equipped with sidewalks or at least a small shoulder for bike riders to take advantage of. In between keys and on the smaller keys, these bike lanes usually disappear. If you don’t mind cars buzzing by you on the Overseas Highway, then you’ll be fine. There is a project underway that aims to remedy this situation by adding trails and educational kiosks throughout the keys. Of course, this has been in the planning stage for a long time now.

Getting around town: Without argument, Key West is definitely the most bike-friendly of all the keys. There’s really no reason that every traveler to the Conch Republic (aka, Key West) should spend some time on a bicycle. There’s no better way to get acquainted with Key West then to get lost on a bicycle (Disclaimer, I think there are about 2 ‘areas’ of Key West that you may not want to stop in. But if you’re from the city, it’s probably nothing you haven;t seen before). While the island is pretty busy, there are plenty of sidewalks to help you keep out of traffic. A map of the island can be found in just about any store on the island or from kind folks willing to rent you a bike for your visit. Key Largo, Islamorada and many of the other major keys have plenty of bike trails as well.

Off-Road Riding: Don’t bother. I’ve spent plenty of time trying to find places for a little off-road action to no avail. Sorry trill seekers, you’re better off in Miami or Sunrise for the good stuff.

Bridges: With many islands come many bridges (about 50). These abandoned bridges of of the Florida Keys are great for fishing, walking and biking alike. Of course, the one bridge worth a visit is the famous 7-mile bridge near Ohio Key.

That’s it for today’s post. Contact rick@kingofconch.com with any questions. Any don’t forget to checkout the new Conch Republic Fishing T-Shirts on the website.