So we made it. Now what?

Key West is a trip. This is what happens when you give kitsch its own island. Elevator reggae oozing from tinny speakers in mounds of bougainvillea by the coconut bar. Cheap shit by the pound. It’s miniature golf meets the dollar store. Somebody here is making a lot of money on pink and turquoise paint.

Depending how you count, it either took us 12 hours to get here, or six months. Or our entire lives. I prefer to think it was our entire lives in some karmic way, but for the past six months especially, with the four- to eight-mile runs, the 25- to 65-mile rides, and the daily weigh-ins, watching lard dribble off, it’s definitely been a build-up. It’s nice not to be planning for it anymore. I don’t care how hard the rides are ahead, it’s nothing compared to learning, slowly, over the past six months, not to gorge myself on ice cream every night. Now that’s training.

Anyway, we’re feeling pretty good, all things considered. Even after six hours in airports and four hours in the car, we’re not too beat up. Some of that has to do with the travel arrangements. Somehow we ended up in Business Class all the way from Dallas to Miami. Which, I can vouch, was worth every penny that GQ spent on it. I’m actually not sure if anybody at the magazine realizes that they did that for us. Either it was an incredibly generous gesture, or somebody fucked up royally. In which case, better not to mention it. But between us, if you haven’t ever flown Business Class. . . well, you don’t even want to know what you’re missing. Sucker.

I’m posting a few photos from the last few days and today. Mostly, they involve taking bikes apart, putting bikes in boxes, taking bikes out of boxes, and then putting bikes back together. If you’re starting to see a theme, just wait till mid-July.

So that’s enough, eh? For now. There’s not a lot to report at this point, just gads of anticipation. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day getting our bikes in tip-top and making any necessary repairs, then on Sunday, it’s ride, ride, ride. . . to the town of Marathon, fittingly enough.