supporting

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sent dwards on before us to prepare for our reception. he cavalcade now proceeded, and the olonel, whose curricle was last, took off his hat with great ceremony to c. ory, expressing a hope that they should meet again, and assuring him he was proud

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dealer

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Subject: hate is thim that are dead an harmless. e ve

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anny more about me thin he can larn fr m th handiwork iv arks, th tailor, an chmitt, th shoemaker, an fr m th deceitful expression iv me face. f have a bad heart, let him know it

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side

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world over. he nglishman shook hands heartily with him, and said, he was not much out that he was a d d good fellow, and he was sorry

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od

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wriggle, he looked grave, and was composed again. his information rather startled the whole party, with the exception of r. lentworth, who exclaimed o the person we have met is a gentleman, and a gentleman of distinguished manners

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My wife and I moved our 5th wheel trailer into Okeechobee on Tuesday, March 14th. We chose a campground near the Taylor Creek access road so we could spend the next three days scouting out the area and riding the LOST trail. The final conclusion about the upcoming ride around Lake Okeechobee was that wind was going to be a factor. Riding our Cannondale tandem would be an advantage when pushing into the wind.

Our friends Wayne and Melanie from Miami drove over the morning of the ride and joined us on their Santana tandem. We had a nice pancake breakfast at our campsite and were ready to roll by 8:00am. The wind was 5-10mph coming out of the northwest so we decided to ride counter clockwise to have favorable winds while on the long side of the lake.

At first it was a cross wind, but by the time we got to Buckhead Ridge it was at our backs and we were making great time. To our right we saw many cattle ranches and farmland. The miles flew by as we rode south on SR78. We took a break at a gas station just north of Lakeport. Once back in the saddles we arrived in Moore Haven at 10:30am looking for the road that would take us back on the LOST trail.

We knew the access was just over the Caloosahatchee River bridge, but the turn we took wasn’t the right one. We stopped a local man and asked for directions and he said we needed to go back over the bridge. Not willing to do that we chose to continue on the back roads till we found an access. We began to see sugar cane fields in various stages of development; everything from newly planted to full grown. In several places they were even burning off the mature cane before harvesting. We could hear the loud crackling of the flames as we peddled by. Our route zig zagged on several roads including CR 720 till we came back to US 27 and then on to Clewiston.

We took a quick rest stop at the U-Save in Clewiston and then headed out to find the trail. It wasn’t long till we found a public access road and were happily back riding on the LOST trail. The wind was still in our favor and we continued to make good time. When we arrived at South Bay our direction changed and so did the pace - we were now riding into a headwind. We arrived in Pahokee at 1:30pm and took a rest stop at the Marathon gas station before tackling the brutal 12 mile ride on US 441. On that stretch of highway we encountered lots of traffic, rough road surface and angry dogs. It was along this stretch that we saw the worst effects of hurricane Wilma. Even though it has been almost a year since she went through, destruction was evident on both sides of the road. The dike itself was severely damaged and heavy earthmovers were busy rebuilding long stretches of the dam. We were glad to see the bridge appear at Port Mayaca Park where we knew we’d be safely on the trail again. One good part of the ride up US 441 was that the wind changed direction. We had a nice southeast wind that pushed us along.

The final 20 mile stretch was great; we continued to enjoy the southeast wind the whole way back to Okeechobee. We arrived at our campsite at Taylor Creek at 3:00pm.

Final statistics:

Distance – 114 miles

Riding time – 6hours 17minutes

Average speed – 18 mph

Mechanical problems – none

Time spent with friends – priceless

Conclusion – we’ll be back next year!

--This is a bicycle theft report--

...........FULL RIDE REPORT SUBMITTED SEPARATELY..........

WHEN: Monday, March 6, 2006, approximately 12:30 pm

WHERE: Pahokee, Fl., South East side of Lake Okeechobee from front of the Jelly Bean restaurant

BIKE: Marinoni, black with blue/silver airbrush finish with full Ultegra gruppo. Name on left side of top tube "Mike Rose".

If you have any info, please contact Bud, bikerbud@thevillages.net

.........FULL RIDE REPORT SUBMITTED SEPARATELY.........

This is Biker Bud here from the Villages Florida. On Monday and Tuesday, March 6-7 myself and three friends rode the dike. Myself, Bud, and Mike, Bob and Rick. Our wives dropped us off at Okeechobee and we got started about 10am. The wives, Nancy, Sharon, Boselyn, and Pauline took off in two cars to explore and meet us at the Clewiston Inn on the south side of the lake. Three guys were on road bikes and Rick brought his mtn bike with slick tires. We rode clock wise and pretty much hit wind right away. In two days riding, we pretty much were riding into the wind most of the time. Bad luck I guess. The first 21 miles was paved and we were moving aling pretty good, about 13-15mph into the wind. Then we hit the unpaved section at Port Mayaca. We tried it for a couple miles but decided to take to the road. The shoulder was pretty good and most of the traffic gave us room. We stopped in Pahokee for lunch at the Jelly Roll. This is not the fun part. We stacked three bikes together at the window and Mike parked his bike separate and out of sight from the window. We went into the restaurant and withing just 4-5 minutes Mike thought about his bike being out of sight and went outside to move it. It was gone. Just that quick. Right accross the street from the Police station and firehouse. We did a quick look around with no success. The bike is a black Marinoni with blue/silver airbrush finish and ultegra gruppo. Mike made a police report. Our wives were meeting us at the Jelly roll for lunch. Mike hitched a ride. I will submit a separate report regarding the bike theft with remote hope that someone might come accross the bike. If you have any info, please contact me at bikerbud@thevillages.net. After all of this, we got collected and three of us continued on. Struggling against the wind all the way. We rode 66 miles this day and met our wives along with Mike in Clewiston at the Clewiston Inn. Here we cleaned up and hit the bar before having a nice dinner in the hotel.

On day two we had a hearty breakfast at the hotel and were on the bikes by 9am. Rick was a little tired from yesterday and loaned his mtn bike to Mike. We headed out and let the wives tend to checking out of the hotel. We were headed into the wind immediately and it was like that all the was back to Okeechobee. We did a little exploring on the way and had lunch at the Country something restaurant and it was pretty good. We met our wives and Rick at Eagle Bay airboat rides at about 2pm. We all took an airboal ride before heading to Los Cocos for dinner. After that we drove the three hours back home. It was a nice adventure for all except for having a bike stolen. That was a little dash of ice water but we dealt with that and went on. The wind sure made the ride a challenge and the unpaved sections were not rideable with road bikes............the end.....bikerbud@thevillages.net

This is also a pre-ride report of an upcoming ride my wife and I have planned for March 18th. Our plans are to start in Okeechobee at Taylor Creek and ride the entire circumference on the 18th. We'll be starting as close to 6:30am as possible. We'll be riding a road tandem so we'll have to leave the sections of the trail that are not paved and ride the highways. We'd be very appreciative of any tips you veteran LOST riders can give us. Also, if there are any who would like to join in we'd appreciate the company. This is our first Okeechobee ride, but would like to make it an annual event. Thanks.

gspeary@yahoo.com

Gary & Carol Speary

This is a pre-ride report. Myself and three biking friends are planning to bike around Okeechobee on March 6 and 7. We are members of the Villages bike club in The Villages which is about an hour north of Orlando.

We plan to start about 10am on Monday in Okeechobee going clockwise. Our wives will meet us in Clewiston where we have reservations in the Clewiston Inn. We will start out Tuesday am continuing on around the lake back to Okeechobee. Two of us are planning to ride road bikes and the other two are thinking mountain bikes.

This is our first Okeechobee ride...have tips for us?

bikerbud@thevillages.net

Thinking you would like to join us? Be there.

Hi I am not submitting a ride report, but would like someone to contact me with information about the club.

Thanks Joanne

Checkers29@bellsouth.net

March 18, 2005

My father & I embarked upon our ride around the Big O at 6:30a -- going counterclockwise -- from Okeechobee, where we'd spent the night at the Pier II Resort (which is a fishing resort, not a regular resorty-type resort!). We rode 1/4 mile east from the resort to get on the trail at Taylor Springs camp.

Because Dad and I are both road riders with skinny tires, our riding alternated from the trail to the highway, depending on whether or not the trail was paved. So basically, we were off the trail shortly after having got on it.

After crossing the canal at Moore Haven, we took the exit to the boat ramp and got back on the trail. Saw some gators along the canal. At Clewiston, we were back off again and didn't readily find the re-entrance point, so we stayed on the highway until we happened upon a steep gravel access road. Clewiston was a good sized town with a marina (and a big gator) -- we may start next year's ride from there.

We stopped outside of Pahokee at the Everglades Adventures Resort. They have campsites, rv hookups, and tiny cabins right on the lake -- another place to keep in mind for next year. We talked to Faith and she recommended "The Jelly Roll" in Pahokee for lunch. We had excellent sandwiches over a leisurely lunch, stopped at a local grocer for gatorade and were underway again. FYI for anyone that flys, there's a small airport just south of Pahokee.

From here, we stayed on the highway until Port Mayaca. Back on the trail at Chancy Bay, construction was underway on the pedestrian bridge so we crossed the lock, mucked our way through the mud, and climbed up the hill to the trail. Shortly thereafter, I got a flat. I think it was a fish bone.... a very small fish bone.

Since re-entering the trail at Port Mayaca, we were battling a headwind. This slowed us down, but we took our time, rested whenever we felt like it, and finished up around 5p. The GPS read 114.2 miles when we got off the bikes! Dad hadn't done a century in at least 10 years, and it was the furthest either of us had ever ridden.

We had a good ride, saw gators, armadillo, lots of birds (including vultures!), and plan to ride it again in 2006. We saw only a few other people on the trail all day. Next year we'll invite more folks along for the ride!

-- LaRae, Nashville TN

July 23-24, 2005

The plan was to ride the west side of the lake from Okeechobee to Clewiston Inn Saturday and Clewiston Inn back to Okeechobee Sunday, counter clockwise.

Unfortunately the condition of the biking trail (labeled "gravel" on the map) was no more than a two rut access rode. The first 10 miles was through high grass and sugar cane and the final 10 miles was slogging through the cut grass. Imagine riding through a hayfield. A grueling 5 hours. The locals (Red & Cotton) at the Lakeport Grocery kept us company until our personal "sag" could fetch us.

Sunday was much nicer riding from Clewiston West 13 miles on the paved trail and back. Same distance, 3 hours.

Barbara and Kathy at the Clewiston Inn suggests everyone call "Jeff" at the Clewiston Chamber of Commerce and urge them to go ahead and finish the trail. It will be first class recreation at that point, with the only downside being overcrowding! In the meantime, there are some nice 25 mile legs to be carved out of the finished portions of the trail and we will explore them.

May 13 - May 14. Started at Okie-Tantie in the morning and rode SW. Came across a a helicopter spraying for hydrilla and other exotic plants which was fun to watch as he refilled from a truck parked on the dike. The pavement at Moore Haven was a relief to Jacob (who was riding a fixed gear road bike with 700x25 tires), and we found a great dinner in Clewiston followed by a nice night at the campsite 4.1 miles forther down the trail.

The second day started early and without nearly as much wind as we had the previous afternoon, although a few short run-ins with sugar sand in the eastern unpaved region were a bit dicey on the road bike. We arrived back at the campsite around 4:30pm after about 60 miles.

We saw a wide variety of wildlife -- two snakes on the trail, several turtles, several gators, and the whole gamut of birds. We passed less than 10 other trail users on the whole 110 miles, but areas near the cities seemed to get a good amount of use and the shelters/campsites all looked to be in good condition. Thanks to all who've kept this up!

http://diff.net/media/2005_05_13_Lake_Okeechobee_Scenic_Trail/

-Peter

24 "bent riders from 5 Florida counties converged at Port Mayaca on Sunday December 5.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

The air was relatively cool, with enough cloud cover to keep off the direct sun.

The wind out of the NE, maybe 8-15 mph. Tough going out, much better for the return trip.

After our usual socializing, riders started heading out about 9:15am.

The deal was, ride for 1.5 hours at whatever speed you want, then take a break, turn around, and ride back..

That philosophy worked out quite well. All speed groups would end up at the finish around the same time.

With rider skills from the "stop and smell the roses" type to riders of very fast centuries, distance varied quite a lot.

Some did the entire paved trail section, the rest a lesser distance. At any speed, the ride was enjoyed by all.

After the ride, a drive to John Stretch park for our picnic lunch.

We are in the planning stage for our next ride on Saturday January 8. Starting at John Stretch park about 9am.

Thanks to Charles and Jan for sharing their experience with us. We hope to meet the LOST riders next time.

Willie

I rode the LOST Trail the same weekend as Scott Berry (see previous report below)with three of my compadres, but never ran into Scott and his party. We started from the 'historic' Clewiston Inn after staying there Friday night; drove the bikes to the town of Okeechobee and left the vehicle at the KOA there (about 1/2 mile from the trailhead.) Rode down the east side... all paved until Port Myacca. Got lunch at the Subway, north of Pahokee, at Canal Point. Paved trail from Pahokee all the way back to Clewiston with wind finally at our backs... 68 miles first day. Left Clewiston Inn Sunday morning and road on pavement until Moore Haven. Then a rough trail on the levee until intersection with Hwy 78. We made the mistake of crossing Hwy 78 to continue westward on what appeared to be the levee... should have turned north onto Hwy 78, peddled for two miles and got back on the real levee. Oh well... racked up 12 extra miles. Rode back to Okeechobee; the last three miles on the levee into Okeechobee are paved once again... 65 miles second day.

RECOMMEND: Stay at the Clewiston Inn. Hybrid or Trail bikes only can do the offroad portion of the trail. (Don't need knobby tires though. No sugar sand.) Take a Camelbak Mule or similar water bladder pack that holds ice, plus at least one bottle in your cage. Those will get you about 30 miles before you're dry. Put on sunscreen! There is absolutly zero shade. Bring two or three extra tire tubes and tools(fit in your Camelbak). There is cell phone reception almost the entire lake perimeter. (The south leg is the most scenic.) Saw 12 ft. gators, sandhill cranes, ospreys, a deer, and two buffalo (on a farm). Only saw 3 other bike riders the whole way. Mosquitos not bad until dusk. The trail needs to be better marked when it intersects hwys on the west side, and you must leave the trail to get water at about every 30 miles. All-in-all a great experience.

Now I can relive the weekend that we circumnavigated Lake Okeechobee everytime I sit for a meal in a restaurant and stare down at a map of Florida placemat!

Just completed the Lake Okeechobee ride around the lake on top of the levee. Started in Cleweston this time and rode W-NW 60 miles to the town of Okeechobee were we spent the night. Finished the ride the 2nd day 65 miles back to Cleweston. Only 50-60% of the ride is paved so a mountain bike is still the only bike for this ride if you want to stay up on the levee. Saw all kinds of wild life on this trip including deer, pigs, alligators, fox and snakes.

My friend Steve and I flew the entire LOST trail yesterday morning in his airplane at an altitude of 85 feet in anticipation of our group's upcoming group ride in early October. Tre cool! Wanted to scope out what's been paved, and what hasn't. The portion from the town of Okeechobee down the east side to Port Myacca is paved, as is the section from Belle Glade to Moore Haven. There appears to be no further paving taking place at this time. I'll update with a report after our bike ride in a few weeks!

Your club sounds interesting as I have ridden around Lake Okeechobee 9 times now on top of the levy starting back in 1995 with my 1st ride. I start at Slims fish camp in Belle Glade and ride some 80 miles the 1st day and spend the night in Okeechobee at the Holiday Inn Express then finish the 2nd half of the ride back to Belle Glade the 2nd day. I'm not excited about the trail being paved because besides the beauty og the area the unpaved surface makes the ride more natural and more challenging but even if they pave the whole thing I will still continue to do the ride for the outdoor experience. scottmberry@bellsouth.net

Did you ever wonder how far you could comfortably ride in a day, if you just spent the whole day riding and taking generous breaks?

I decided to find out what I was made of & just how far I could go (…all-be-it, on a borrowed road/triathlon bike that was 6 sizes too big for me!).

Well, not being a morning person”, I started riding 1 hour past sunrise. By the time I “woke up, I had gone 30 miles. I took a 5-10 minute break every 6 miles to eat & drink. Winds were light & cool at the start, & it got more windy & hot as the day progressed. By 2pm, I clocked 70 miles @ 16.5mph.

I took a 3 hour lunch to avoid the afternoon heat. But, when I resumed my ride at 5pm, the winds had really picked up. There were even white-caps on the lake. I hate wind!!!

By sunset, the winds let up a little & I was hoping that the full moon would light the dike again. But, no luck. By night, the dike was pitch dark & I had to call it a day, having only gone 36 miles on the second half of my journey.

In conclusion, my legs will tell you: It ’s not about the bike.

I left Okeechobee at 6 a.m. to ride in the Brigg Edwards Charity Ride on Jupiter Island. I rode with a group on a real road (as opposed to the dike), and learned about hand signals, verbal signals, and, best of all, "the joy of “drafting."

I rode 28 miles @ 17mph avg. Then, I drove back to Okee to meet Ken that afternoon. We rode about 45 miles on the dike. Then, it was time for the Full Moon Ride. The moon was so bright, that we did not need lights. However, winds were gusting up to 29 mph (or 6 to 10mph, if you use Ken's gauge) and the lake had white-caps.

We met up with Chuck, Joan, & John. And these blessed souls road with me for 8 miles in the tempest so I could clock my first big "80" (80 miles). Although the wind was brutal, the sunset, moon, and comradery were fantastic.

The Second First Unofficial, Unsanctioned Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) Semi-Full Moon Ride Jan. 3 was fantastic. (The first was canceled when the temps hit the mid-30s and the winds were about half that.)

Only four of us showed up, Chuck Keefer, Lois Fayles, Lila Steinhoff and me.

Since we only had a small group, we opted to hit the Okeechobee Golden Coral's all you can eat buffet instead of cooking. Some of us at the table were pleased to see that we had received the discounted "senior" buffet prices. What the heck, when you hit the double nickel, you should be grateful for whatever bennies you can get. We felt that way until we saw the sign that said the discount was available for "60 and up." Oh, well, the kid cashier looked like he was about 12, so he probably qualified everyone over 30 for the senior discount.

We hit the trail about 7:45. The temps were in the high 60s and the winds were out of the east at about 5 mph. As close to dead calm as you could get. The lake and rim canal were so smooth that you could see the reflection of Venus in it. The moon was about 7/8 full and was just slight east of overhead. It was bright enough that it not only illuminated the trail, but it cast strong shadows.

Meteorites split the sky several times. Not as many as when we rode a couple of weekends ago. I imagine the full moon made the sky so bright that it masked the weaker ones.

We had one slight mishap right at the start. Lila got her foot tangled up mounting the bike and fell over onto my bike. She must have scraped along my pedal or front axle and ripped her bike shorts and got a nasty scrape. Fearing the worst, I immediately grabbed my first aid kit and frantically searched for the butt tourniquet, but it wasn't needed. Despite the fact that it's turning all shades of purple and yellow today, she says it doesn't hurt unless she brushes against it.

Since this was an experimental ride and two of the riders haven't logged must distance, we only rode to the first lock, about seven miles north of Port Mayaca. That gave us a round-trip mileage of about 15 miles. Chuck is already pushing for a Moonlight Metric.

Sounds carry an amazing distance across the lake. We kept hearing music and voices drifting in and out. We finally saw a car parked under the shadows of a tree next to the lake. We didn't know if the occupants were campers, fisherpersons or observers of the ever-popular submarine races.

We didn't see any wildlife, but we heard lots of birds, frogs and bugs. Mosquitoes weren't a problem. Since we were riding dark, we didn't see any eyes reflecting back at us. When we stopped at the lock, I turned on my NightRider light to see if I could spot any red gator eyes, but I couldn't.

Since I didn't get to ride in the Martha's House thing, I came back the next day and duplicated what the other riders did.

But before riding I stopped in at Old Habits for "The Chicken Comes Out On Sunday." And so does half the population around the lake. Cars were parked everywhere and three dining rooms inside the place were full.

I got half a chicken fried to a golden color, a big plate of mashed potatoes and green beans, gravy, cole slaw, a biscuit and iced tea for $6.10. And it is all you can eat. That's just all I could eat and still sit atop a bicycle.

If you are on the dike on any Sunday, point the front wheel towards Taylor Creek and don't miss this treat.

For years, people have been telling me to get lost. Well, this weekend I took their advice and went L.O.S.T., which stands for Lake Okeechobee (FL) Scenic Trail. It's possible to ride the full 120-miles around the lake, but 28 miles of it was just blacktopped and is perfect for road or touring bike riding.

I put in at Port Mayaca and did the full paved section that runs to the Kissimmee River. Round trip was right at 54 miles. You're totally isolated from cars except for a jog off the lake at Taylor Creek, where you're on the road for about 100 yards. Getting to the road puts you on hard-packed shell rock, but it's passable on road tires if you're careful.

I thought it would be a dull ride, but you have Lake O on one side and the rim canal on the other. It was one of those rides where I had to remember to keep looking at the trail to keep from running off the road there was so much to see.

Incredible numbers of alligators, wading birds, indescribable colors in the clouds and vegetation.... Maybe you have to acquire a taste for the subtle stuff of Florida that's not crashing waves and seashells, but I can't speak highly enough about the route.

Because I'm slow, got a late start and stopped for a great meal of catfish, alligator, frog legs and cooter (turtle), I was on the trail well after dark. Sunset was spectacular. I didn't see the famous green flash, but it was worth watching anyway.

When dusk fell, I didn't need to worry about getting hungry. I ingested enough insect protein to take care of any hunger pangs. I adjusted my speed so I could ride with my mouth closed and turned off all the headlights except for the one mounted right above my front wheel. The kamikaze bugs wanted to smash right into the lights and I wanted to keep them as far away from me as possible.

When it was dead dark, I pulled into a lock where there was some light to shift some gear around. That was when I was glad that I had pulled on my leg and arm warmers. The exposed flesh around my ankles and hands were immediately black with mosquitoes. I squirted on some bug spray and made a hasty exit. As long as I was moving, they didn't seem to be a problem. At one point, I was tempted to answer a call of nature, but I decided that I really didn't really want to provide the bugs with any additional feeding ground.

I only saw one (small) snake, but there were lots of armadillos rooting alongside the trail. Something that was either a bobcat or coon darted in front of me. It looked more like cat than coon, but I didn't get a long enough look to be sure.

Because you're so far away from any large cities, you'll see stars usually wiped out by light pollution. The lake was smooth enough that I could actually see the reflection of the stars. I can't wait to ride the trail during a full moon in another week or so.

I had some problems with my Nikon Coolpix, so some of the stuff I really wanted wasn't usable. The pix here are mostly record-typle shots of trail conditions, access points and the like.

http://ken.steinhoff.net/Lake_O_Trail/

The good news was that the mosquitoes pretty much were bad only a short time after dusk. By the time I got to the trailhead to load up my bike, they were all gone.

Good things about the trail: you're riding high up on a dike, so you're frequently treated to flocks of birds flying below you; you also get a good breeze; the pavement is smooth as a baby's behind; the two lockmasters I talked with were very friendly; unless the wind is blowing from the highway side, you won't even know there are cars around; fisherpersons in boats give you a friendly wave.

Potentially bad things: because you're on the highest point of land for miles around, the frequent thunderboomers and their lightning would be dangerous. There are shelters spaced here and there, but I'd be afraid to stand under them. I think I'd go below the top of the dike and sit under my rain poncho until the storm passed.

The refreshing breeze is great when you're stopped or it's a tail wind. If it's a head wind (and it will be at some point, because you're riding an arc), it can be brutal.

You're surrounded by water, but there are no places to refill your water bottle. Make sure you take plenty of water. Access points are few and far apart, so plan on carrying everything you need. Fortunately, I didn't see a single broken beer bottle on the whole trail, so flats may not be as big a problem as elsewhere.

sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Florida's sun is bright to begin with, but it's even brighter reflecting off the water on either side.

When they get the full 120 miles paved, it's going to be a great place for winter riding.