I took the day off work planning to spend some quality riding time with some family and drive down out to Fort Myers, Florida. It was 4 bikes in total, My husband on the wing, me on the 800, my brother on his VTX and my sisters boyfriend on his Royal Star Venture. The plan was to get there have lunch and return.
We left the house at 11am and headed out. We took Krome Avenue to State Road 41 and headed west through the Everglades. For those of you not familiar with this road it cuts through the Everglades and is a pretty scenic drive across the state. It’s a 2 lane highway which in certain areas is less than ideal. Some areas are perfectly paved and others have their fare share of hastily filled pot holes, tar snakes and a bunch of street bumps from all the trucks that frequent the area. There are also some Indian Villages hidden along the way.
We headed West on 41 and immediately my brother in law takes lead, my brother is behind him, I’m next and my husband stays behind me to be tortured by the sound of my lovely pipes… Thankfully his I-Pod drained the sound out. ¼ of way onto 41 I realize how much of a mistake it was to not put the wind shield on, but hey at least my neck muscles got a good work out. I also traditionally like to ride on either the left or right side of the lane, but it was impossible because of all the bumps on the road. My little 800 felt more like a dirt bike than a motorcycle on those bumps, so I quickly maintained the center position.
After a quick break at the Oasis visitors center we continued on only to be greeted by a massive black cloud heading in from the SW. We decided not to make it all the way down to Ft. Myers and ended up at the Crackle Barrel in Naples for lunch and to allow the storm to pass.
After lunch we headed back home taking 41 again. It was mostly overcast and ½ way home we were greeted by some drizzles but the major part of the storm had passed and we were in pretty good condition. We got home safe and sound. Later that night we got a call form some friends of the family. They were staying in Ft. Myers and invited us to come on Saturday to spend the day at the beach. I thought geeze we just came from there but who am I to turn down the opportunity to ride…so we accepted the offer and planned to head out on Saturday.
Saturday - 275 miles
We rounded up the troops again, same people on the bikes and my sister and sister in law took the kids in the minivan. 1st thing I did was put that windshield on my bike! We headed out again same route as yesterday but now I felt better because I wasn’t battling with the wind and the bugs. We spent the day at the beach with the family and headed back around 7:30 pm after a good thunderstorm. By the time we got back on 41 it was pitch black and the animals were out at play…lol We passed a couple of deers that luckily had no interest in crossing the street, at least not yet. I did have the pleasure of running over a snake but there wasn’t much I could do, by the time I saw it my front tire was seconds away form it. As we got closer to Krome Avenue we could see the dark storm clouds in the distance and had quite a lighting show. It was unnerving riding home at night watching the lighting in the distance, but at the same time it was relaxing. I could smell fresh cut grass and the Indian Villages must have been using their wood burning stoves because I could smell the fire burning every time that we passed by one. I just prayed that we wouldn’t find an alligator crossing the street along the way. I enjoy the entire ride back and when I saw the spot lights from the Miccosukee Resort at the end of 41 I knew that I’d have to be back to reality soon. By the time we a few blocks from the house it began drizzling again, but we had enough time to get there, unload the bikes and the car and send everyone back home.
If you’ve read this far down, thanks for letting me share. It was a great weekend, this was by far the most I’ve ridden on my own in one weekendand I plan on continuing to break that record.
This is a picture I took at one of the stops. On the other side of that boardwalk is a huge alligator pit...
