Lake Okeechobee 1000 - November 18, 2017

Greg Rice

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#1
I am going to attempt to ride a SS1000 around Lake Okeechobee in Florida starting this Saturday. The route around the lake is 116 miles so it will take 9 laps to complete. We are starting at a Pilot truck stop in South Bay, FL and will be getting a receipt on every lap and using SPOT tracking for ride documentation.

Our route will take us on roads that circle the lake and we will have the lake in view most of the time. The roads we will be riding on include US 27, Florida 78, US441, US 98 and Florida 715. Most of the route will be two lane roads with a good amount of traffic during the daylight hours. This is going to be a tough ride as the speed limits are between 45 MPH and 55 MPH and there are 8 small towns we have to pass through with traffic lights and stop signs. It also gets damn dark at night there and there are a lot of critters around the lake that will force us to be paying attention. It is not unheard off to see an alligator crossing the road during the night.

To make it more fun I invited a few friends along including Dan Thaler and Joe Green. If you want to join us meet us at the Pilot Travel Center, 210 US-27, South Bay, FL 33493 at 12 noon Saturday, ride will start around 12:30 PM. It should be a fun ride.

Here is a link to a webpage with more ride information including route, Spotwalla tracking and downloadable GPX file.

http://www.gregrice.com/rides/lo1000.html
 
#3
Lap times did stay consistent. Got pretty dark in the agricultural areas and aux lighting was required for travelling at a safe, steady speed. Plenty of critters running out of the woods thru the night. Gas stops were kept brief as it took only a little more than a splash to top off after 116 miles and collect the required receipt. The usual Saturday night drunk drivers, early morning tractor trailers on two lane road, decreased speed limits thru nearly every town on the route and spilled trailer loads were just a few of the challenges. Overall a great ride and i'd love to see other riders come enjoy it as well. Thanks for letting me tag along, Greg.