2021—BLACKJACK TOUR

“Double Down On The Fight”

Team Members (left to right): Jorge Bustamante, Ale Palli, Gaudi Castro, Cameron Alksnis, Daniel Revivo, Jesus Lopez, Josh Cantor, Erik Stabanau, Andres Martinez, Billy Krauss, Javi Hermida, Emilio Pineda. Not Pictured: Santiago Hermida

June 18, 2021

$290,117 was the total raised including the 1:1 match.

We funded an Early Detection Clinic & Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Project each for 2 years.

June 18 - Friday.

2021 will forever be known as the inaugural Castaways Against Cancer cycle-sometimes referred to internally as Tour de Conch.  12 cyclists with 2 support vehicles rode 170 miles (over 13 hours)  from CAC Beach to Key West and raised $27,609 for cancer research.  Javi Hermida dreamed up this crazy idea 15 months prior.  After being a long-time friend of the CCHS Castaways, Javi was motivated to cycle from Miami-KW in 2020 in support of the CAC mission, he brought 2 other cyclists-Erik Stabanau and Jesus Lopez.  His father, Santi Hermida, followed them along their journey as support. This 2020 cycle, later dubbed “the experiment”, proved to Javi that the ride was daunting but possible.  There was little fanfare around the 2020 mission, as the boys were just testing the “waters”.  They arrived in Key West, met OB for a burger, and headed back home just a few hours after being in the saddle for over 10 hours. Javi was now determined to make the 2021 ride a mainstay component of the Castaways that could make a notable contribution to the fight against cancer.  The Castaways had existed as a paddling team for over 20 years, and now thanks to Javi and his team the Castaways will be known as a force on land and sea.

As cyclists arrived at the parking lot of Castaway Beach, still yawning and finishing up their breakfast, an aroma of excitement enveloped the riders and support cars. By 4 a.m all gear was put into our SAG cars, helmets were clipped, and Andy’s morning prayer was concluded.  At 4:09 a.m. it was official--pedals were up and we were off on our inaugural CAC Cycle to Key West.  Not a minute into the ride, Josh was the first to take a spill right before we got out of the parking lot--a slight mishap for one of our more veteran riders. Fortunately, we are on land and don’t need to perform a T-Rescue like our paddling teammates require in the ocean.  Josh brushed off his kit (and his pride) and the group was on their way. 

We peddled out of Key Biscayne, through Coconut Grove, down Old Cutler Road, and passed Black Point Marina. We began our trek south, passed a racetrack only to stop at a “Racetrac.” This concluded the first 40 miles of our ride, the only time out of the sun during our journey. Upon arrival we were greeted by the songs of Bob Marley, snacks, and hydration- our road crew (Santi and Pamplona) really took care of us throughout the entire journey. This was quite a joyful moment for all of us as we were still ignorant to the elements we would soon face.

After this moment of bliss, we headed towards Card Sound Road and doubled up our formation to make ourselves more visible to the Miami drivers who were heading south for the Keys. This next leg would total 35 miles and, although we had already been on our seats for a few hours, our energy was strong. In fact, some of our stronger riders wanted to increase our speed from 17 to 20mph. We would occasionally entertain this eagerness, but our more veteran riders (Jesus and Jorge) reminded us to stay within our group’s limits. Finally, we reached our second stop, the Juice House in Key Largo. And again we found our support crew playing music and providing sustenance. Some fatigue was felt but overall we felt fine as the day was quite overcast- which provided us some protection from our nemesis (the sun).

It was still morning when we got back on our bikes and headed further south. This next extension was a 45-mile ride and, with 75 miles under our belts, it was understandable that some fatigue and let's call it “seat soreness,” started to set in as the ride became real. One of our quick-thinking riders, “Canadian Cam” took out his portable speakers to provide us with some tunes as we peddled, this was a great idea that lasted a couple of songs. It’s unfortunate, but not all portable speakers come with easy bike mounts- the tunes disappeared as we heard the sound of a plastic Bose speaker tumble down US-1 at 20 mph. Now it was just us and the road, no distractions, just the sound of tires rolling under the South Florida summer sky. 

We reached our next stop in the early afternoon, it was hot and the sun was now out. But, again, we were greeted by our relentless road crew and their platters of mangos, water/ Gatorade, bananas, PB&J sandwiches, etc… However, the most refreshing and glorious part of this stop was Jesus’ idea to pack cold towels in the ice cooler. I may have gone into shock when I put that ice towel over my head, but it was worth it- my only regret was that we didn’t have beach-sized towels to wrap our entire bodies. We rested up and picked ourselves up for the next extension. This one was a short 10-mile ride, we planned this to purposely trick our minds into believing that the ride was not that long.

The next two extensions were both 20+ miles and, if I’m being honest, as I look back both melted together into one blurred long ride. By this time most of us (Gaudi was smiling, joking, and taking selfies the entire way) were physically and mentally exhausted, even our tires were feeling worn down. In fact, it was on the seven-mile bridge that we picked up the most amount of flats on the ride. This accolade was merited by one of our strongest riders, Emilio- I think he had five flats on this seven-mile stretch. Emilio, “El Ponchadito” provided us with one of the most exhilarating experiences on our journey, changing a bike tire on the seven-mile bridge! Thank you “Sir-Flats-Alot” Emilio. 

After this near-death experience, we continued on and rode into Key West. We rolled into our final destination, the Barbary Beach House Hotel. We were excited to see our friends and family but instead, we rolled into an empty parking lot (kind of full circle- started and ended in an empty parking lot). This brought about an eerie feeling of loneliness and borderline disappointment, but as we turned the second corner of the parking lot our spirits were lifted by our loved ones who had assembled on the other side of the lot. A crowd of 30+ people (wives, children, paddlers, and supporters) greeted us with cheers, bells,  beers, and smiles. We got off of our bikes at 5:23 p.m., after 13 hours and 14 minutes in the saddle averaging 17.5 mph.  We drank any beverage that was placed into our hands and hugged our loved ones- it was a great moment!  Javi and Billy, completely exhausted, thanked their team and supporters.  Champagne was popped/ sprayed and photos were taken. 

To see what the paddlers were doing 6 days leading up to our pedals going up and as we cycled down, click here for their Trip Report.