Okeechobee Loop 8-16-11

[dt]

Anyone interested in running the Okeechobee loop from/to Brandon on the 16th? Early start from TBD place, lunch at that Mexican place in Clewiston we stopped at for FGT, scenic stop on the dike near the locks…about 360 miles.

[danh600]

I would do part of that loop with you if we weren't going to be out of town. Looks like a nice long fun ride.

How set is stone is that route? There are a couple curvy (for Florida) back roads you could fit in there pretty easy if you are flexible.

[dt]

I only posted that route ‘cuz that’s the one I usually take. If you’ve got some side roads post ‘em up. Maybe we’ll give them a shot. Otherwise, they'll be here for ideas for others who do this route.

[danh600]

Just my two cents on some of those roads.

Personally, I don't like 70. It's straight and boring. There always seems to be a ton of cars and trucks in a big hurry. So generally we avoid that one. Here are a couple of options to avoid 70.

When you get a few miles south of Zolfo Springs look for Sweet Water Road. It's a nice curvy road(by Florida standards). You can stay on Sweet Water or take a combo of Sweet Water and Crewville road back to 66. 66 will take you back to US27. Jamie can vouch for this being a good route.

US 27 from Lake Placid to Moore Haven is very nice.

Another option is to stay on 31 all the way down to 78. I seldom travel 70 for reasons above. 74 is not busy but it's just long and straight. Now 78 is fun to ride. One of the better roads in south Florida. Curvy and scenic.

Another good road you can take in and this is a short one that doesn't really add time or alter the route much is Henry County road 720. As you go south on US27 just look for the Uncle Joe's Fish Camp sign a mile or so outside of Moore Haven. It starts off as just a bumpy back road. But it has about 5 - 90 degree turns. It comes out just west of Clewiston.

[dt]

Thanks. I have it mapped out. It’s hard to see that Henry Road, down below Moore Haven, but its there. I’m certain I’ve been on that road. My father used to live in Moore Haven and I’d go exploring around there back then.

[v65infla]

If it's raining when you are on the Henry Moore county road don't get any where that newish painted yellow line in the middle.  It is very slick.     

[danh600]

It’s hard to see that Henry Road, down below Moore Haven, but its there

Look for this sign just south of Moore Haven.


If you take that road there is a decent view of the lake at Uncle Joe's.

[danh600]

Nice how this ride shows up in "Up Coming Events". That is a nice feature.

I wish I was going to be here to do this loop. Of course I live on the opposite end of the starting point, but I could figure something out.

Not to rub it in much, but I will be on the Skyline Drive while you guys are riding around the lake.

[dt]

Did you know that the average depth of Lake Okeechobee is only 9 feet? 

It's gonna be a hot day.

[dt]

I made it through the loop yesterday, I think in record time. I got into rain heading south into Fort Mead and then again north of Okeechobee. That was good because I hadn’t had a chance to see how the new motorcycle did on wet roads…did well. Otherwise, as I expected it was a pretty hot day.

This was the first long trip (380 miles) on the new motorcycle so I got to test out its specific features that I bought it for … ergos and comfort in touring. While I like the set up on my sportster, I would get a lot of pain in my shoulders (like those awful stingers) and wrists, hand numbness and things like that. Also, even with the Corbin, it was pure murder on the rear after 200m. It just wasn’t made to ride to Ohio, North Carolina, Alabama and all the places I rode it. This is a motorcycle that was built for touring…adventure touring, but touring just the same. I’m very pleased with my experience. On the ergos, I need a slight pull back on the bars but I experienced zero of achiness that would make me need to stop for a break. On the seat, I didn’t get any of the butt ache until nearly back to Brandon. That was just incredible because if you saw the seat there’s really nothing special about it, or at least that I can see. Overall, I’m very pleased and with the pull adjustment I’ll be ready for the 600 click ride up to Birmingham in October.

Another thing is I did this ride with only one stop at the gas station. It has a 6.1 gallon tank and a gas gauge. It also has a neat little feature that when you go into reserve (which is 1 gallon) a special trip meter pops up to show the miles that you’ve gone since going into reserve. See the pic below, bottom left. F is the fuel trip and it was 31.8 miles before I rolled into a Moorehaven gas station. While in reserve the E with the orange ring around it flashes, which is kind of annoying.



On the ride…

I ran the loop as noted above. Traffic seemed really low all day…very pleasant. The Sweetwater Road addition is a must and by the time you get that far, you’re definitely looking for something a little different. Unfortunately, the Henry County Road just past that big bridge out of Moorehave was closed for construction so I couldn’t do that…bummer.

For some reason I like these rows of palms along 441 coming out of Pahoke. Otherwise, don’t you think Pahoke is a dumpy little town?



Then of course I went up on the dike at the Port Myakka Locks. I’d have liked to stay awhile, but it was really buggy up there.







So while up on the dike, this helicopter comes along and just hovers right over where I was, and for like minutes. I was wondering what the heck he was doing. He’s way closer than it looks in that picture and man was that thing loud. Anyway, he finally buzzed off. Probably took down my license plate number or something…lol.



After that, it was clear sailing the rest of the way up 441. I got some heavy rain north of Ocala, but was able to pull off the rain gear by the time I got to SR60 and rode that back to Brandon.

All in all, a great day. Until next time…

[v65infla]

Hey those pictures look familiar. 

On your trip odo, that tells you how far you have gone into your reserve.  The ST tells me how far until empty.

[dt]

On your trip odo, that tells you how far you have gone into your reserve.  The ST tells me how far until empty.

These newer Jap bikes have a lot of bells and whistles. I still haven't figured out everything the display actually displays. I was reading in my shop manual that it runs all the diagnostics and displays the results for all the codes. So far I've got the clock set.

[v65infla]

On your trip odo, that tells you how far you have gone into your reserve.  The ST tells me how far until empty.

These newer Jap bikes have a lot of bells and whistles. I still haven't figured out everything the display actually displays. I was reading in my shop manual that it runs all the diagnostics and displays the results for all the codes. So far I've got the clock set.

I ran into another ST owner on the road the day after I bought my bike who had to show me how to set the clock and we had to go online to figure out how to get the seat off.     Turned out the manual was under the seat.