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Wacky Bed Race Down Key West's Famed Duval Street

KEY WEST (CBS4) - It's billed as "the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on."

The weekend Conch Republic Red Ribbon Bed Race featured decorated beds propelled up Key West's famed Duval Street by teams of strange bedfellows.

Each entry in Saturday afternoon's offbeat race included a bed mounted on wheels and was either pushed or pulled up Duval by race team members -- many wearing costumes. At least one team member was required to ride on the bed.

The wacky contest was a facet of the annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration that ends Sunday.

The 10-day festival commemorates the day in 1982 when local officials and business leaders announced that the Florida Keys were "seceding" from the United States after the U.S. Border Patrol installed a roadblock at the top of the Florida Keys Overseas Highway ostensibly searching for illegal drugs and immigrants.

The checkpoint eventually faded away, but the quirkiness of the Conch Republic remains.

The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.

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