Well it finally came about.  Yesterday, at my advanced age, I rode my bicycle from Marathon Florida to Key West a total of 50 miles across the notorious 7 mile bridge. While I have done this many times in the past, I was unable to do so last year. Why? Kudos to the Florida Department of Transportation. Many of my biking friends will recall last year I refused to ride across 7 mile bridge, one of the most dangerous bridges in America, because of the massive amount of debris (twisted iron rods, bunji cords, nails, old tires broken glass bottles and an assortment of other items) on what is a relatively narrow shoulder. I said at that time, "I might be ignorant but I'm not stupid. You can't fix stupid". Yesterday I checked the route and it was relatively pristine. Here's the good news. The FDT must have been responsible for clearing the shoulder. Additionally, none of the drivers cursed me, at least I couldn't hear) and no one attempted to run me off the road. All in all a great day to ride a bicycle in the sunny 78 degree weather in the Florida Keys in January