FL Keys ride

[Merle O'Broham]

>Loop road is wonderfull but tricky when wet as the gators will be all over it. A loud horn will move them.

I.e. Stebel Nautilus? This city boy really does not want new gator friends!

>The ride to Flamingo from Florida City is really cool and much wildlife can be seen. Drive the speed limit!

You bet. Camera on handlebar.

The outlook tower is neat and gives great views of the 'glades.
Clyde Butcher's studio/gallery on US 41 is worth a visit. He is aka Ansel Adams of the 'glades. All photo's are B&W and stunning!! If I can, I always stop in for a quick look (check opening times!!)
Enjoy your visit!![/quote]

You bet!!! Thanks a bunch!

[c.vestal]

UPDATE:
Schedule conflicts and we have moved our trip back to April 12-19.

It would be nice to meet up with some South FL riders!!

[Scribe]

Originally Posted by Merle O'Broham

>Loop road is wonderfull but tricky when wet as the gators will be all over it. A loud horn will move them.

I.e. Stebel Nautilus? This city boy really does not want new gator friends!

>The ride to Flamingo from Florida City is really cool and much wildlife can be seen. Drive the speed limit!

You bet. Camera on handlebar.

The outlook tower is neat and gives great views of the 'glades.
Clyde Butcher's studio/gallery on US 41 is worth a visit. He is aka Ansel Adams of the 'glades. All photo's are B&W and stunning!! If I can, I always stop in for a quick look (check opening times!!)
Enjoy your visit!!

Two things:
1) Disregard the scare tactics regarding alligators. They are NOT aggressive. Leave them alone, they leave you alone. Step in one's mouth or run over a tail and you will get attacked. Be smart and keep your distance and you are in more danger riding your bike than from the gators. If you don't believe that, take a BICYCLE ride along the Shark River Valley trail off Tamiami Trail. You will pedal along for miles, five feet away from gators and they will not bother you. The image of a tourist from Chicago packing a shotgun on his motorcycle to ward of gators is so laughable it has to be a practical joke.

2) The memorial pictured above is from ValueJet flight 592 that crashed into the Everglades in May, 1996. ValueJet has since changed it's name to AirTran, FYI.
You bet!!! Thanks a bunch![/quote]

[Scribe]

Originally Posted by Merle O'Broham

Hi all,

I'm planning a trip to FL this spring and had a couple questions:

1- "Home Base" will be in Key Largo, with overnighters out to Key West and maybe up across "the bottom" on Route 41 to see the Everglades Nat. Park. Anyone recommend some MUST DO's? A bit of offroading would be nice.

2- Big Scrub. We'd like to spend a day there, but have a specific question- I have a Laser Pro-Duro exhaust on my 88 NX650. It has a spark arrestor, but is not USFS approved. I'm reading different things on this issue. It's a tagged licensed street bike, turn signals and all, but will that exhaust be a problem?

3- Annakees or Karoos? We're trailering from Chicago to Key Largo (time restrictions, really) and riding out from Key Largo, so no more than a few hrs at a time.

Thanks in advance, and believe me, I'm looking forward to Florida weather.

Just saw the Big Scrub question. I ride in the ONF all the time and have never been stopped for exhaust issues. If your bike is street legal that is all they care about.

[MiamiMike]

You WILL need the shotgun ,,,not for the gators
but for humans they are more dangerous than any gator
like scribe said ,,they wont mess with you

[Merle O'Broham]

Originally Posted by Scribe

Just saw the Big Scrub question. I ride in the ONF all the time and have never been stopped for exhaust issues. If your bike is street legal that is all they care about.

Now *that* is what I wanted to hear.

[Merle O'Broham]

Originally Posted by MiamiMike

You WILL need the shotgun ,,,not for the gators
but for humans they are more dangerous than any gator
like scribe said ,,they wont mess with you

Since I don't need my guns for humans here in Chicago, at home it stays. It didn't seem an unreasonable question all things considered.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Scribe

Two things:
1) Disregard the scare tactics regarding alligators. They are NOT aggressive.

We are going to have to agree to disagree here. I've seen too many accounts of "pet" 'gators taking someone's hand or arm off.

I wouldn't say that a firearm is mandatory on that part of the Tamiami Trail, but I will say that I'll be armed the next time that I ride it. You never can tell when you might break down, and I guarantee that the 'gators down there, which are numerous, will indeed consider whether our not you look like a menu item.

And yeah, I am basically a tree-hugger and pacifist the rest of the time. But just sayin'

[GS750T]

Just returned from a trip to the Keys and Everglades. If you have the time the National Parks Service offers a nocturnal hike at Annhingus Trail on (CRS I think) Tuesdays. It was an experience I won't forget.

Also the tram ride at Shark Valley off of route 41 was interesting.

[Merle O'Broham]

Originally Posted by GS750T

Just returned from a trip to the Keys and Everglades. If you have the time the National Parks Service offers a nocturnal hike at Annhingus Trail on (CRS I think) Tuesdays. It was an experience I won't forget.

Also the tram ride at Shark Valley off of route 41 was interesting.

http://www.sharkvalleytramtours.com/ does look nice for us pistol-packin' tourists from Chicago (I'm thinking of John Candy in plaid shorts for some reason)

[NomadRip]

I was there over New Year's (Keys), and went through the everglades/Naples last weekend. We were just wingin' the everglades trip, but if you want good ole Florida tourist, go out 41 to Wooten's for a relatively cheap and fun airboat ride (YouTube video I put up). We also went and did a tram tour we found closer to Miami at a place called Shark Valley, which was worth the 2-hours. I saw the loop road on the map, but it was getting dark when we left Shark Valley and our campsite was back in Naples, so we had a ways to go. Will go back soon for that.

As far as the Keys go, we used PirateJohn's guide, and we saw so many things we would have missed had we just did our usual "wingin' it". Should be a link in my sig of the trip with some info that might help too.

I haven't lived out here very long, so I'm still learning what all there is to see in this totally different set of ecosystems.

[rider1150gsadv]

Originally Posted by PirateJohn

We are going to have to agree to disagree here. I've seen too many accounts of "pet" 'gators taking someone's hand or arm off.

I wouldn't say that a firearm is mandatory on that part of the Tamiami Trail, but I will say that I'll be armed the next time that I ride it. You never can tell when you might break down, and I guarantee that the 'gators down there, which are numerous, will indeed consider whether our not you look like a menu item.

And yeah, I am basically a tree-hugger and pacifist the rest of the time. But just sayin'

+1 except for that tree-hugger stuff

My idea wasn't to go ride Loop Road and blare away all the really neat birds you'll see. Just a very rare occasional beep will work, but the thing is that BMW horns blow, or suck, depending on your POV...
Loop Road gives you a bit of an 'old Florida' look into what was and what is rapidly disappearing down here with all those damn Yankee's moving down...
It really is worth the ride..

[jahfloats]

The ValuJet Crash: Its lasting legacy -- troubling questions about safety
On May 11, 1996, ValuJet Flight 592, burning and smoke-filled, plunged into the murky saw grass plains of the Everglades, taking 105 passengers and five crew members to their deaths.
The crash focused new attention on the safety of low-cost, start-up airlines and raised questions about the federal government's ability to regulate air carriers.
In this special report, CNN Interactive looks back at the ValuJet crash and its continuing impact on the airline industry and air safety.


It's off Tamiami trail (41). You can't see it from the road. It is to the memories of the passengers who perished in a plane crash over 10 years ago when a charter plane took off from Miami airport and immediately crashed in the Everglades.[/quote]

[KiltBoy]

Originally Posted by rider1150gsadv

+1 except for that tree-hugger stuff

My idea wasn't to go ride Loop Road and blare away all the really neat birds you'll see. Just a very rare occasional beep will work, but the thing is that BMW horns blow, or suck, depending on your POV...
Loop Road gives you a bit of an 'old Florida' look into what was and what is rapidly disappearing down here with all those damn Yankee's moving down...
It really is worth the ride..

Does this mean you're a Red Sox fan?

[c.vestal]

Originally Posted by KiltBoy

Does this mean you're a Red Sox fan?

I was thinking maybe the Ted Nugent & Tommy Shaw band....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK2B-KzizQg