PowerCycle

One of my pics from Shark Valley was selected to be on the online map site, Schmap. Sweet.

Spent the post-turkey part of Thanksgiving on a mini-bike tour in the Everglades.  Did the Long Pine Key trail first.  It was pretty short– about 6 miles in and 6 back.  Didn’t see much.  Actually, saw trees and that was it.  Had my first run in with mud on the Koga.  Handled it like a champ especially with no panniers attached.   Finished that trail and then drove over to Old Ingraham road.  I arrived at Gate 15 and saw some other people unloading their bikes but they took off down another trail.  The road to Old Ingraham camp was paved 90% of the time, albeit a little rough in spots.  I brought most of my normal touring gear minus the hammock (good call I found out later) and a couple other minor things. I was still carrying about 100 lbs though.

Well the first couple miles were a breeze.  The canal on the right was teeming with alligators, almost all of whom were laying right beside the trail catching some sun.  On more than one occasion I rode right up on a basking alligator, which was hidden until I was 3 feet from it.  I’m not sure who jumped more.  Then the fun began.  For the next couple miles the trail was the muddiest I’d been on yet.  Even worse than Okeechobee.  Most of the time I was able to barrel through but there were some tough spots.  Found out the next day that the rear LED reflector popped off probably while I was bouncing around going through mud-filled pot holes.  I’ll have to pick up another one of those (and zip tie it on).  Lost count of how many spider webs I ran through too.  Finally made it to the camp site.  Its really just a dry clearing at the end of the of the road but no one else around so its very quiet.

Saw a huge snake but couldn’t get a picture in time.  Not sure if it was a python but I think it was.  Might stay tomorrow.  Have to see how the water holds up.  Glad I filled up the 7 liter MSR bag before I left.  Mercury is high in the water so I’d rather not have to drink it even with a filter.  No hiking around here since I’m basically on an island.  Distance to camp 10.16 miles.  Broke 200 miles total on the bike today.   Weather was perfect.  No wind and sunny all day.  The next day was a slow start but I decided to head back from sheer boredom.  There’s not a lot to do surrounded by water and I’m way too restless.  I would have had plenty of water though.  Noticed that the tent built up a bit of condensation on the inside of the fly during the night which then dripped down onto whatever would annoy me the most (my head, laptop keyboard).  I’ll write it off though since I was camping in very high humidity.  A frozen Key Lime drink at Robert is Here topped off a nice trip.

Final day of the trip.  Slept OK but the trucks were non-stop all night so they woke me up every now and then.  I do love my tent though.  It was my first time using it and the setup was fast and it’s very roomy.  Back on the road  by 8am.  Found a gas station and grabbed some water and breakfast (junk food).  You really do feel like a celebrity on a touring bike.  Everyone stares at you–people driving, people standing in their yards and people in the stores.  The funny part is when people ask where I’m riding from and I tell them Clewiston instead of California or somewhere far.  It’s amazing how friendly everyone is though.  The ride from Port Mayaca was along US-441 since I’d read they have construction on the dike from Port Mayaca all the way to Pahokee.  Well, that was partially true.  When I reached Pahokee a nice little hill led me back up onto the dike.  While I was cranking away up the hill a rather large man was running up and down it for exercise and at the top this woman was freaking out on someone but I couldn’t see who.

Anyway, kept going for a mile until I reached some construction workers.  They let me through so I kept going.  5 miles later I hit another construction site.  The safety foreman also let me through but said to be careful.  The only work they were doing was down near the lake so I wasn’t too worried.  After another 5 miles I could see the access point down to Belle Glade and, presumably food because I was starving.  Now I’m at construction site #3.  This time it was almost a disaster.  A “biologist” said I couldn’t go through.  To turn back would have been a killer so I asked her if I could speak to the site foreman.  I pleaded my case with him and he caved and let me walk behind him across the 100 yard area they were working.  Just when I was across about 6 riders came up from the other direction.  He wouldn’t let them through and according to one of the riders said they could be fined $1000 for just being up there.  He only let me through because I’d already ridden through 10 miles of construction.  Sorry guys.

Down in Belle Glade I grabbed some pizza and drank a lot of coke.  Then 3 police cars showed up.  Nothing happened though.   From there it was a smooth ride with the wind at my back all the to Clewiston.  BTW, the people that work at the Clewiston Inn are the nicest I’ve ever run into.  They let me check in at 1pm, offered to help bring my panniers in and held the door for me when I was carrying everything to my room  Average speed for the day was 9.7 mph.  The headwind and my sore butt didn‘t help.  2 pairs of shorts made a big difference though.  Total distance around the lake:  126.5 miles.

Took off from the motel early and hit the road.  Spent a lot of time on Hwy 78 so I could avoid the un-mowed section from Lakeport to Buckhead Ridge.  Spotted a Bald Eagle back on the dike north or BHR so I stopped to take pictures for a bit.  Jumping off the paved path again for water a guy in a trailer spotted me and offered me a bottle of his.   We chatted for a bit and then I was off to find some more.

Ended up at the J & S Fish Camp and they had plenty.  The weather was perfect again, sunny and a light breeze from the Southeast.  The section from Port Mayaca to Pahokee (12.5 miles) was closed for construction so I ended up riding down 441.  Well, it was getting dark and there are not a lot of motels (none) so I started looking for a place to camp.  Just past a place called Sand Cut (pop. 8 or 9) was my home for the night.  It was set back on the lake side of the road 50 feet into the trees and across some old railroad tracks.  There was a clearing with stacks of old logs.  The whole area had this thick, oily smell to it.

I found a nice spot and pitched the tent (no good trees for the hammock).  There were a lot of mosquitoes out so I ate a bag of corn nuts for dinner.  Yum.  Down to one bottle of water but then I remember I’m next to the 2^nd largest fresh water lake in the US and have a water filter.  Total distance today was 53.3 miles (new record for me).