Want to Take a Long On/Off Road Trip with Dual Sport

[Boatguy]

So my Lifan 200 efi goes 50mph or so. This means I have to stick to back roads and slower secondary roads when on tar. It really shines off road.

I’m located in the middle of Florida for a while. Near Clewiston and LaBelle and Lehigh Acres and all that.

I’m sadly disappointed to see every trail system I spotted on Google maps was blocked off by fencing. There a WHOLE LOT of nothing out here. All vast, empty farmland and nothing. You’d think there would be more trails out here. But no.

There are remnants of a trail all along the Okeechobee waterway/ Caloosahatchee River like most waterways have. However, large tracts of it seem to be blocked off and owned privately. You can go a bit then boom! A fence.

I was really hoping to explore my local area and find good riding out here in the vast, open nothingness but much of it is blocked off.


So my question is:

How do I go about planning a multiple day ride to somewhere else in Florida that concentrates on trail riding as much as possible but also could be some dirt roads or even tar back roads and secondary roads?

I’m envisioning some mixture of trails and roads that can take me at 50mph or less from here across to Fort Myers, Naples, Fort Lauderdale , Orlando or similar. I’d spend 2-3 days riding one way and 2-3 days back. Stopping at hotels at night. Not a big fan of camping.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to do something like this but I’m not seeing how to connect the dots.

Rail toad tracks, fire roads (I don’t even know what one of those is), power lines. These all typically have long roads and trails along side that go great distances.

Does anyone have any experience doing something like this in Florida or anywhere really?

I got the bike for sanity during a crazy long and demanding project I’m working on down here. My gf says I need a break from the project and this is what I’d like to do for the break. I just don’t see how to plan the route.

[Boatguy]

Ha ha ha. That’s good advice! Especially about doing a couple flat tire repairs for practice too.

I guess I’m having problems finding routes. There are East/west roads that are like 70mph. North and South there are vast VAST stretches of open land with farming going on or nothing at all going on. But entrances are fenced off.

But maybe you’re right. If it ends up being all tar back roads, so be it, right?

Was just hoping for one of those rides of dreams where you can connect some dirt roads and trails with tar to travel great distances.

I’m from New England originally and I had lots of riding like that up there. Was hoping for something similar.

[BaronVon]

Google Maps; Route options, turn off highways, tolls and avoid ferries. That put me on a lot of state roads and old roads when I travel and doesn’t put me on any interstates. it did put me on a few highways, but most were under 55. I have taken my Brozz 250 on trips from Charleston,SC to Greensboro,NC and back a handful of times. I’ll use PureGas app to show me stations that will give me ethanol free.
I’m looking to do a trip down to Vero Beach,FL this summer. Food and gas stops, probably an overnight near the Florida/Georgia line and pull into my buddies restaurant to end the half. Will use this method unless I can find an easier mapping system that I can plan out ahead of time.

[Mrmazak]

Originally Posted by BaronVon

Google Maps; Route options, turn off highways, tolls and avoid ferries. That put me on a lot of state roads and old roads when I travel and doesn’t put me on any interstates. it did put me on a few highways, but most were under 55. I have taken my Brozz 250 on trips from Charleston,SC to Greensboro,NC and back a handful of times. I’ll use PureGas app to show me stations that will give me ethanol free.
I’m looking to do a trip down to Vero Beach,FL this summer. Food and gas stops, probably an overnight near the Florida/Georgia line and pull into my buddies restaurant to end the half. Will use this method unless I can find an easier mapping system that I can plan out ahead of time.

Sounds like a good plan. Vero beach is right near me ,so I look forward to reading about your final route.

[Megadan]

There isn't that much to planning an actual trip. Routing is easy, as mentioned above, turn off certain features on google maps and let it plan the route for you, or pick and choose/change it as needed.

Not camping on said trip will lighten the load somewhat in terms of gear to carry. Main thing to have on hand for a simple tool kit is one flathead, one JIS driver, some metric wrenches and/or sockets to cover the vast majority of what you might need for repair work. and I am sure a few others can chime in on that (or a good tool kit search and basic thought process).

I would highly recommend getting a good anti-theft chain or cable though, or see if you can finagle the bike into your room (I've done this lol).

As far as carrying said goods and tools, a decent roll top duffle bag built for motorcycles like the Firstgear Torrent or Givi GRT (or many others) is a great way to carry clothes and other items on a bike without much in the way of luggage. They usually come with straps to secure to the tail section, and you can go width or length ways . I use one on my VFR combined with the factory hard bags when I take a trip since the side luggage isn't rated for a lot (nor overly large). You would be amazed what you can pack into a 40-60L duffle.

[Boatguy]

I guess I’m looking to be out there off the roads as much as possible. I started taking recon rides to see what trails I can get onto.

There isn’t much in this area so I think I have to accept a lot will be on roads.

Thanks for all the tips.

[motochutuya]

florida is flat, there are off road parks ....maybe make your trip a stitching of those parks ? go from park to park....ride road in between.

[idle_purr]

Go find the underwear tree lol!

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by motochutuya

florida is flat, there are off road parks ....maybe make your trip a stitching of those parks ? go from park to park....ride road in between.

That’s EXACTLY what I’m picturing this ride will end up being. Ha ha ha.

But he did find some interesting spots to ride along the way. I’m hoping I can come out the far side of some riding areas like that and link trails like that with back roads like he was mostly on to travel a bit.

The fences he ran into are everywhere here in South Florida.

And I think the trash in the trails down here is DISGUSTING!!!

I took a garbage bag on one of my recent rides to pick up after the scumbags that destroy our riding areas.

[Boatguy]

I did the recon and I found I could get into the toad by the canal by going around 2 fences. Then I was trying to get into the abandoned railroad tracks which I’m sure no one owns other than the railroad company but someone who has the land near it put up a 20ft fence. The old tracks run through a hunting preserve on this side, so maybe that’s why. On the far side they end at Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest

[Boatguy]

Found out how to get GREAT route planning for my slower top end bike out of Google maps!

Avoid highways option of course, but the key is to select a BICYCLE route, then adjust it from there if necessary.

Now google maps is discovering things I didn’t even see before.

[Boatguy]

Out here doing it.

[China Rider 27]

Getting it done! Is that a python I see in that picture? Na, just a stick.

[jcalis]

ADVrider.com has regional forums. Florida= Flatistan (the sandbox)
Lots of threads to go through. You should be able to find some good route suggestions for your area.
Look for local clubs. Some will do organized rides with marked routes and camping. Back in the day I was a NETRA member up here in New England, they did dualsport and trail rides (turkey runs) from May through October.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by Megadan

There isn't that much to planning an actual trip. Routing is easy, as mentioned above, turn off certain features on google maps and let it plan the route for you, or pick and choose/change it as needed.

Not camping on said trip will lighten the load somewhat in terms of gear to carry. Main thing to have on hand for a simple tool kit is one flathead, one JIS driver, some metric wrenches and/or sockets to cover the vast majority of what you might need for repair work. and I am sure a few others can chime in on that (or a good tool kit search and basic thought process).

I would highly recommend getting a good anti-theft chain or cable though, or see if you can finagle the bike into your room (I've done this lol).

As far as carrying said goods and tools, a decent roll top duffle bag built for motorcycles like the Firstgear Torrent or Givi GRT (or many others) is a great way to carry clothes and other items on a bike without much in the way of luggage. They usually come with straps to secure to the tail section, and you can go width or length ways . I use one on my VFR combined with the factory hard bags when I take a trip since the side luggage isn't rated for a lot (nor overly large). You would be amazed what you can pack into a 40-60L duffle.

There is some really good advice located in this post. And I took it. Ha ha.

Tonight my campground didn’t work out, so I got a cheap motel. Guess what I did?