What’s even better than road tripping up the Florida Keys Overseas Highway?

Biking the Florida Keys Overseas Highway.

Don’t get me wrong–I’d love to bike the entire thing, but I’m certainly not physically capable of riding a bicycle 127.5-mile (205.2 km) in one go. However, I did manage to cycle a small portion of it.

The old 7 Mile Bridge, between Marathon and Pigeon Key, that is.

It started out as a rainy morning, but Overseas Outfitters wasn’t going to let that ruin our day. With the assistance of an adorable old pup, they paired us with bikes inside the shop and then sent us on our way.

We headed West out of Marathon and soon found ourselves at the entrance of the old Seven Mile Bridge.

The Seven Mile Bridge connects Knight’s Key (part of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.

There are two bridges in this location. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge is now a pedestrian-only bridge, ending at Pigeon Key.

Almost immediately, we rode up to a large eagle which was perched on the side of the railing. He seemingly waited for us to get right beside him before he took off and flew further up the bridge. This continued 3-4 times, as we overlapped our journeys down the bridge. Each take-off was even more graceful than the last.

More wildlife came in the form of dark shadows in the waters below. As we peered down over the railing, during one of our many stops, we spotted a big, slow-moving Nurse Shark making its way along the shallow bottom.

By the time we reached the end of the bridge, I didn’t think there was room for any more excitement, but then came Pigeon Key.

The island was basically the size of someone’s yard. Or, maybe two yards side by said, as there only seemed to be a couple of houses on the island. I looked down into the lush lawns from above, secretly wishing that it was me who lived there.

We inspected the closed off section of the bridge, where chain link fence guarded a physical void in the road. Beyond that, the bridge re-appeared and continued on toward the abandoned horizon.

It was a slow, easy ride and filled with lots of excitement and incredible views. Whether you’re hanging around in Marathon, or simply passing through on a Florida Keys Road Trip, this is definitely one trip worth taking.

It was easily one of the most scenic bike rides I’ve ever taken.

Here are some of my favourite photos from the ride:

Waiting out the rain.

An eagle taking off from the bridge railing.

Stopping for a look on Pigeon Key.

Shop-pup at Overseas Outfitters.

Approaching Pigeon Key.

End of the line.

About to enter Seven Mile Bridge.

You can barely see it, but I snapped this as a shark was swimming away!

Waiting out the rain in the morning.

One of the luckiest land-owners in the world, on Pigeon Key!

This trip was made possible by Key West & The Florida Keys. All views and opinions are my own.

What’s the best place you’ve ridden a bike?