Marathon is the middle of the Florida Keys, a flat, tropical working town strung along Key Vaca and its neighbours, and the place where the Overseas Highway pauses to take a breath before the famous long bridge. About nine thousand people live here, enough for plenty of fuel, supermarkets, diners and marine shops, and most travellers stop for coffee and a pit stop before the next stretch. The sea sits on both sides of the road, turquoise on the Gulf side and a deeper blue on the Atlantic.
The Keys road has a remarkable history. Henry Flagler built a railway down the islands in the early 1900s, a feat of engineering that carried trains over open water all the way to Key West. The 1935 Labor Day hurricane destroyed much of it, killing hundreds, and the highway that followed was built on the old railway's bridges and right-of-way. Just southwest of Marathon, the original Seven Mile Bridge, now partly a pedestrian pier, runs beside the modern one and leads to little Pigeon Key, where railway workers once lived. Riding the new bridge is a long, steady, open ride with a view that never changes and never gets dull.
Riding here is easy but not relaxed. The speed limits drop to forty-five or fifty-five in the built-up parts, enforcement is real, and tourist traffic comes in waves, with rental cars drifting between lanes and sudden stops for a pelican or a photo. The corners are nonexistent, the challenge is attention, and the wind off the water can shove a light bike sideways on the bridges. Sun is fierce, so drink water, and storms pop up in summer afternoons, flooding the road with warm rain in minutes.
Wildlife is part of the charm. Marathon has a well-known turtle hospital that rehabilitates injured sea turtles, and the shallows teem with fish, rays and the occasional manatee. Sombrero Beach is a decent place for a swim and a rest, with shade and picnic tables. The best months are winter and spring, when the air is dry and mild; summer brings heat, humidity and hurricane season, which runs through the autumn. Stay a night if you can, because the sunsets here are worth it.