…for 2011, that is.
In short, three days and 748 miles…on my KL250. Over on advrider, they call this Minimalist Adventure Touring. There’s a
306 page thread on this topic and a ton of ride reports from guys doing way more, with way less, on 250cc and lower displacement motorcycles. Thought I’d give minimalist touring a try to wrap up a great riding year.
I’m a little tired of sand, and wanted some gravel and hardpan off roading on this trip so I did the South Florida Everglades, Big Cypress Preserve thing. Below is the general map. A late addition on some advice from a local down there that doesn’t show up on the map was the Janes Scenic Memorial Scenic Byway and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. This area is just to the west of State Road 29, about three or four miles north of Tamiami Trail…awesome place.
Over the weekend I got the little thumper checked and prepped. I mounted my Rotopax Fuel Cell on the tail rack such that I could put my large barrel duffel on top. The Sherpa has a 2.4 gallon gas tank, but gets anywhere from 60 to 70 mpg. Nonetheless, the fueling stations are few and far between and who needs that stress? The extra gallon capacity was worth that alone. I also ran all over town looking for a seat pad and finally found a Pro Pad pillion seat down at Barneys that really worked out pretty good for the first couple days and then I guess flattened to the point of uselessness. Finally, I’d previously changed the gearing for a little better top end and smoother cruising. I stayed off interstates and tried to stay off highways as much as possible, but cruising without the normal vibes at 65 on roads like US27 was a huge improvement…and the change really didn’t affect the bottom end torque too much. The only thing I really wish I had and didn’t was a windscreen.
So, I loaded up the KL with as much as I could carry and hit the road Monday right at daybreak. It was peasoup foggy out.
First stop was in Ft. Meade for a break at that little park on the north side of town. I think the park has something to do with Stonewall Jackson. I just sat on a bench and chilled. See how foggy it was?
Then I usually stop near Lake Placid for a quick photo.
I mapped this out so I could catch the Port Myakka locks on the east side of Okeechobee. Dang, was it hot by the time I got there. It was like summer. In fact, the rest of the day and the next was a scorcher with the sun beating down on me.
So from there, I worked my way down to US-27 for the trip down to Florida City. That’s one long road! You know? They should put signs up on some of these roads that say something like “No gas for a million miles” or something like that. I didn’t have the fuel cell filled thinking I’d only need it down in the glades and by the time I got to a gas station at the end of US-27, the bike took 2.255 gallons! Anyway, I had to make a pit stop along the way on 27 and this creepy old abandoned tourist attraction looked like a good spot.
So I rolled into the Comfort Inn in Florida City to spend the night. Yeah, minimalist touring is supposed to include roughing it, but wait ‘till you see where I stayed Tuesday night. Plus, how are you supposed to watch the Bowl games at camp sites for crying out loud?
Tuesday morning I got up fueled up (including the fuel cell) and headed down to Flamingo right at daybreak. Another hot and muggy day, but cloud cover made the afternoon a little more bearable.
As you know, there’s only one road in and out of there, but it’s riddled with side roads to go back into camping areas and nice lakes, trails, etc. Most are paved, then there’s a few that “were paved” at some point but are totally unmaintained; then there are a few dirt roads. I hit ‘em all that were accessible with vehicles, especially the dirt roads. The last road to the right before Flamingo (called Bear Lake) was real interesting because it had stretches of deep crushed seashells. Weird feeling riding on that stuff.
Hey, II even wondered around on some of the trails and out into the glades on the scenic overlooks. People stared.
Dang Vultures!
Well, hitting all the side roads on the way in made for a long ride to Flamingo, but it was a nice time and some nice riding. I took my time stopped at many lakes and rivers.
…oh, and by the time I got to Flamingo, I was pretty well “spackled” from the sling off the front tire. Dang, shorty fenders! Now people really stared.
Every dumbass should have a photo such as this.
Onward…I then bee lined it back out and picked up Krome north up to Tamiami (US-41) to work on the northern part of the park and the Big Cypress Reserve. Right where Krome meets Tamiami, I stopped to top off the tank and re-fill the fuel cell. While at the gas station I ran into this chap and his traveling companion “Teddy Bear” on a big beamer GS. Said they were from Lake Placid…New York!
The first part of Tamiami seems mostly like a stretch of tourist places…air boats and Indian souvenirs and stuff like that. But there are a few places to pull off a look for gators.
Yes, there is a gator in this photo.
See?
Of course, Loop Road was in the plan. That’s about 20 miles due north from Krome. I missed out on Loop on my ride down to So. Florida a couple weeks ago for some other places to visit so I wanted to make sure I made the loop. Well…guess what?…it was closed! Yeah, bummer! A little past that gas station with those rusty pumps. Plus…insult to injury, I got pulled over by Park Rangers for speeding (40 in a 30); no ticket but a written warning.
Well, that was a bummer indeed, but there are still a number of good roads to explore. I road Monument, Burns Lake Road, Turner River which loops back to Tamiami on Birdon, and some others that I forget. Plus, this is where I picked up Jane’s Scenic Bypass and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.
By this time, my Pro Pad had lost a lot of its pad, so I spent most of my time on these roads standing up…then the arches on my feet started hurting.
Dang, can you see why they call this place Flatistan?
Okay, so if the sling down in the lower glades wasn’t enough, in the upper glades you get into this fine white powdery crap that gets all over everything. I can’t wait to see what my air filter looks like.
It started to get dark while in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve; coulda’ stayed in there longer with my cool Jammy auxiliary lights but there was a sign that said it closes at dusk…and I was already in enough trouble with the Park Rangers. So I headed out and back up 29 where I filled up just outside of Immokalee to be ready for an early departure Wednesday morning…and where I also ran into a very friendly duck. I named him Gertrude (ever seen that movie?)…okay he was a boy duck, so what?
As I roll in to Immokalee I stop at the first hotel I came across, The Budget Inn…$45 rooms (or whatever by the hour), pay in advance. There wasn’t any lobby or anything like that…nope, just a bullet proof window on the front to the left of the "Office" sign and behind there was a three by two foot square closet. Push buzzer...lady appears. Now this is my definition of roughing it and minimalist adventure touring. Rubber sheets and DirecTV…I love it!
I headed out Wednesday morning and took mostly country roads back up to Temple Terrace. Dang, was it cold…and windy! Monday and Tuesday I cooked and Wednesday I froze. Didn’t have my Hot Chillies but I was able to make several layers. By the time I got to Arcadia, I pulled over and put my rain gear on too. Dang…I could hardly get my damn leg over the seat I was so stiff with all those layers! I guess that’s just something that one has to put up with this time of year. Plus, either that Pro Pad was totally flattened or my rear had had all it could take, ‘cuz it really got to achy-breaky-state on the long ride home.
Anyway, this was an awesome trip…748 miles on a 250. Yeah, I’ve got a super touring motorcycle that could do all the Sherpa did, with a lot more speed, comfort and capacity, but this was something different. Makes me feel like I kinda accomplished something.
Either way, hope you enjoyed my trip report! Let’s all have an awesome and safe 2012 on our motorcycles.
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