The restaurant at the end of it is quite good. Just be careful, that road goes through a residential area and also has plenty of wild life. On the up side, it is good pavement and some really nice scenery.
I have never been to Florida, im excited to check it out! There has got to be more to Florida than Snowbirds and Disney? I get to ride my bike across the U.S. Beginning at the beach in S.F.. Head East, when I cant ride further East I will turn right and I will head South, When I can not ride any further South I will turn and ride some other direction, along the way... relax, swim, change plans, meet new people on the road, encounter unknown adventures, and put another 7,000 miles on my moto. The geographic locations are just reference points, its what goes into getting there that makes thee ride.
By the way, I am looking for couch/floor space along the way. If you are anywhere near the routes mentioned on these pages and have room for me to get a few hours sleep along my way Id appreciate that. I also need a place in Ft Lauderdale, Fl to park my bike for the week of Dec16th - 23rd? I have been searching the tent space thread as well. Thanks, Gregory
Well, I would let you crash at my pad, but I'll be out of town for most of the month of December and January. If you need to find a campground, Florida State Parks are really nice, some right on the water.
Lunatic Dan keyhotey in Las Cruces ,NM runs an ADV hostel. PM him first to arrange a rough date to be there . You can also phone him at 575-740-4598. He also has full facilities for repairs. Tell him Jeff sent you his name. This is right on that route I mentioned at I-25 and US70. He will likely even take you out for some good food too
I stand by my opinion. I've been there in the winter & it was a traffic jam all over, overpriced restaurants & lodging and when I went to dive I could see a couple of feet. Yes there are some really nice beaches. Quite a "vibrant" gay scene too, if that's your thing. I tried for a number of years to get 3 days in a row in ANY state campground & no luck as the snowbirds have a thing they do that ties up the spots from around now until ~April. Believe me i tried. it isn't worth the bumper to bumper from mainland out to through the keys to get what they've got! I'll take carribbean beaches anytime for fishing,diving and general beach time & its actually cheaper to go to Mexico than Key West over all. No, I'm not out to ruin your trip but my opinions are based on real experience. I've been to FL many times & its different things to each but tends toward crowded anywhere near the water.
Good post. Tis true. Maybe do KW one tome if you feel a need need for that fix. It's totally comercial BS.
HWY. 50 is a great ride across Nevada (and beyond) , two lanes and the towns are about 75 miles apart, several 7000 ft. passes along the way....have done it by auto and bicycle (separate trips) and had a great time, will do it by MC next year...waay more interesting and fun than a modern interstate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_50_in_Nevada
I avoided the Keys when I was down in southern Florida on my winter mc trip. I really can't say enough about the Everglades during the "dry season". If you go down to Flamingo to camp, you can rent boats and you will probably have a better time camping and paddling around then you ever would in the Keys. However, there is a HUGE snake problem, so be aware if you are hiking around at night... lol Here are some statistics. http://www.nps.gov/ever/naturescience/burmesepythonsintro.htm The only reason I see to go to the Keys is to go check it out once... and I have so probably would never chose to do it on a bike. We got stuck for a long time trying to get off the Keys and back to Miami. I told my friend who was spazzing "there is probably a dead body in the road". Exactly what it was, too... kind of creepy...
Yeah, avoid Krome Ave (hw 997)when going through Miami...lol. It can get really sketchy at times, and the some of the gas stations might as well be run by a drug cartel.
Personally I like KW. But you really have to pick when you go. I was down there during the first week of October and it was pretty quiet. Right after that they started having a bunch of festivals. There are a lot of festivals down there.
Good luck on your trip! (Hey, we rode together out at Metcalf with Charlie a few weeks ago ) I lived in Lubbock for a couple years as a young boy, most people would say it's a great place to be from but I have good memories from there. I hope you don't actually make it into Juarez--stay on the El Paso side...
I'm not out for an argument but did have a point to make having had my "disappointments down there". The FL state parks use "Reserve America" as do many other states & the fed gov for reservations. Seriously, please advise me - "where are these beach spots you speak of" ? Many serious fisherman do the campground host thing on lakes in FL as it's the only way to have a spot there.Given the rising number of retirees hunting warm locale from rustbelt & Canada, the problem will only get worse. Sure, you can line up in a row in a private FL campground, if thats your fancy. Some locals arrange a "deal" where they rotate a site amongst family/friends to hold it down for the winter.2 weeks is the rule. I know of one guy that has a 40' RV on the same site all winter! I defy you to find a site for the winter unless you start at midnight on the new yrs reservations & even then its a dogfight with the system abusers. Some parks have/save drive-up spots but it's a bit on the stupid side to drive 1,000 miles for a maybe spot. Please enlighten me... And no, I didn't make up the part about bumper to bumper traffic out through the keys. Not exactly a bikers paradise.
sorry....but I just can't resist jumping in and siding with acejones, Florida is not that bad!!!...... any place you travel is what you make of it and what you do to plan. The mainland state of Florida has some of the best and well known beaches in the world, on either coast. Waves and drive on hard packed sand on the east side and some the whitest, smoothest sand you will ever step in on the west coast. Fishing and diving varies all up and down the coast and you can cater the season and location to whatever you desire. And really, so so diving? In Florida? Do you not realize the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world runs from Miami to Key West? To add to that I can't count the number of man made 'reefs' to entice the undersea critters for our viewing pleasure. But if you want a beach, study the map, the Keys are a string of fossilized coral islands, there ain't much for natural beaches other than Bahia Honda which, BTW, is absolutely fantastic!!! So now lets get to riding.......sure its flat and no twisties for the most part, but you don't come to Florida for that and if you did you obviously didn't look at a map or understand anything about geography.....seriously, we are likely to be the first ones flooded with global warming, of course we don't have hills and twisties, there is nothing to go up, over and around. What we do have is hundreds of miles roads that run through the everglades to the south and the National forrests to the north. Public roads that as you round a corner you just might wake up a sleeping 'gator or 'croc. South FLA is heavily populated, mainly from the people that realize the cold weather in the north sucks and riding all winter long on straight flat roads is much more fun than cleaning a bike in the garage cuz its too flipping cold or nasty to ride. And let us not forget the Overseas Highway....how many places in the world can you ride or drive down a 120 mile long road through an a chain of islands that is the divider for two major bodies of water!!! Of course there is traffic, or did you not look on the map and see that it is the only way in and out? Unless of course you got the pontoon option for your bike. The view from the bridges on US 1 still amaze me and I average about once every 6-8 weeks making the run to KW on the bike or in the truck. Why hurry.......plan your travel time. You hit Key Largo at 3 in the afternoon and think you can get to KW in a reasonable amount of time with no traffic is like trying to think you can run I-65 between Indy and Louisville in the middle of a weekday and not have to deal with semi tractor trailers. Make no mistake, KW is a tourist town. The only thing they manufacture down there at the end of the road is drunk tourists. So guess what......in season......winter....when most people want to ride in south FLA, the prices are high. In season rates start the first of December and go through May, why you ask? Because its a tourist destination for everyone in the north that finds it too damn cold to even go to work so they take time off and go to south Florida and the Keys!!!!!! OK....I am done. With all that said, to the OP. Check your PM, I can hook you up as you pass through and if the timing is right I just might join you on that shitty ass ride down the Overseas Highway to KW. Its a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Ride safe and enjoy YOUR adventure!!
FLARider1 said it well. I always spend the night in Florida City and head down the keys in the morning. I get to KW around noon. Its usually a nice relaxing ride. I don't do it on a Friday or Saturday because thats when the southbound traffic is worst. I also don't leave KW on a Sunday because that's when the northbound traffic is worse. As said before there's only one way in or out so plan your ride and you'll enjoy it more. There are a lot of B&B's in KW so the further you get away from Duval St, the lower the price. KW is a walking town. It doesn't lend itself well to riding your motorcycle. I have on occasion just rented a scooter for the day. Its easier than riding my R1150R around. Parking can be a problem also.
Good to hear from you. Its been a while since i have been out in the dirt, my truck is in the shop. Ill send you a message when I get back and well meet up again? Im hoping to do something in Moab next spring. Back to the road trip... My sister is in Lubbock so I have to stop, looks like some nice country on the approach via Carlsbad? I used to live in Wichita Falls, it will be interesting to ride through my old neighborhood.
I camp at state parks year round, I don't have this problem... Really man.. lay off it. We all know you don't like Florida... give it a rest.
So now you are the one to go to for a camp spot... who do you know? FWIW- We actually like to go to FL for certain popular state parks & to fish, thus my reason for stating displeasure with not being able to get in the parks. We fish & ride bikes. I was making a point about the difficulty of getting into their parks that you cannot accept. Please visit Reserve America & find me a spot for more than one day running in the winter. Or, find me a camp spot in a southerly beach area state park for more than one day running. Yes, I was making a point & it wasn't about not liking FL, rather about cannot get a frigging camp spot! Many of us don't want to make our reservations a year in advance to the day just to get in a state park as there other things in life going on for some of us. Know what's being said & you won't have to defend the "wrong thing"... or accuse me of beating a dead horse. As to KW, yes you nailed my opinion on it as I flat have no use for the place . As a cross country destination or a backdoor destination I'll pass on that one .
