Jupiter to Okeechobee

February 12, 2016

So today started out full of sunshine and stayed that way all day long. Exactly what we were hoping for. First order of business: breakfast (of course). We passed on the hotel's offerings (of course) and headed for a First Watch, about four miles down the road but on our course.

And that was a very pleasant four miles. Normally, I object to artificial "town centers," also known as New Urbanism in the planning vernacular. You see it all over California, and it has landed on the East Coast with a major thump. However, it seems they have pulled it off here, at least north of the designated "town center," which is not actually in the center of town . . . which is why I find these planned communities so objectionable.

Anyway, the ride north of our hotel took us through a nice residential community with mature trees (probably at $40,000 a pop) and what appeared to be well-designed townhomes and condominiums, which eventually blended into single-family homes.

I first discovered First Watch in Sarasota and really thought it was a local chain. Happy corrected me, indicating there was one in Rockville, MD. Oh well, it was a nice thought. I liked the one on Main Street in Sarasota, not so much this one. It passed and fueled the engine but reminded me of, well, chain restaurants.

So on to Lake Okeechobee. There are not many choices for routes if headed east or west in Florida, so FL 706 was it. And from our travels so far today, it clearly was a busy road. Of course, interchanges don't help, and this was one major interchange. We had to navigate five crossings to get west of I-95, where traffic eased off a bit, and more so the further west we went.

But I have to say, that was probably the most challenging interchange I've ever navigated. We crossed five ramps, and the first two were for northbound and southbound I-95, the former with multiple lanes. I can't say I've seen a setup like that before . . . usually all the traffic takes the ramp and then divides, but not here. Then we crossed a left-turn ramp (traffic came from the left), which is a little (actually, very) unusual condition, and then two off-ramps with traffic from the right. We survived. And, of course, through all of this, there was lots of water.

The "interior" of the interchange of I-95, FL 116 (Florida's Turnpike), and FL 706 (W Indiantown Road).

Things did get better as we went west, but not as fast as I had anticipated. Traffic was still heavy, but we had a nice shoulder. There was even a very attractive bike trail on the far side of this section, which we tried to access but failed. More directional signing would be helpful!

The road to Lake Okeechobee, FL 706, W Indiantown Road.

Finally, at MP 8, we found a way onto it. And it was nice. Very nice.

On the bike trail parallel to FL 706, W Indiantown Road.

Looking ahead a little further down the road . . . Florida's drainage ditches make for nice waterways and ponds.

But it didn't last forever . . . but it did last long enough. As far as the transition from four lanes to two lanes. And at that point, we were in the country and on a nice shoulder. Traffic had really calmed down at this point, and we had a nice shoulder.

Many states don't provide this level of accommodation, so I have to hand it to Florida — they do! But it was a long haul on FL 706. It merged, eventually, into FL 710, which was under construction, being widened to four lanes. That made that section a bit unpleasant. It led to FL 76, which was also not a lot of fun, mostly because of the heavy truck traffic. We were now in sugarcane country, and the sugarcane trucks were hard at work.

But we pushed on. We stopped briefly at the Dupuis Management Area, only to find the Visitor's Center closed . . . (no comment), and then pushed on to Port Mayaca and our first sighting of Lake Okeechobee.

FL 76 follows the St Lucie Canal, but you really don't get to see much of it. But you'll know it's there when you cross the bridge (which was a breeze)!

The bridge over the St Lucie Canal at Port Mayaca.

Looking east up the canal (more likely down the canal as the water flows east).

Lake Okeechobee is one big lake. I mean, look on a map. It's big. I think it's about 110 miles just to bike around it. You can't see the other side. At least not till you bike there. And we were determined to do that lol. So off we went. The Corps had told us that the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) was open as far as Okeechobee itself, so onto the trail we went . . . after all, that was why we diverted here (as opposed to staying on FL 710!).

Fan-powered parasailors . . . this looked like a lot of fun.

With Dan, Colin, and Ev on the trail. They were headed south; we were headed north.

But I am one not to trust the Corps. For one reason, when I called their advertised number for updates on recent closures to the trail (many of the water control structures are under construction), the person answering the phone went to the website to see current conditions! After explaining I had looked at the website and wanted current updated information . . . well, it fell on deaf ears. That's a little sad. We enjoyed the trail as far as we could (I just hate backtracking!).

So, along the way, I am prone to stop cyclists going the other way so I can inquire on trail conditions up ahead. That is how I met Dan Roob. Dan has biked across the United States . . . as many people have, but he did it in

===> 30 days <====

Wow. No rest. OK, he was sagged, but still impressive. Google it. He has a blog about it.

The other great thing about meeting him was (drum roll) he had been reading my blog. Wow! OK, that is the second person I have met on the trail who has followed my blog. I'm honored, to say the least. Dan, someday I hope I can take you up on your offer of hospitality!

So we enjoyed the chat, and then on we pressed.

Show no fear, on we went. I always figure I'm an authorized vehicle . . . unless, of course, I am not.

A canal-side view as we approach a "community" of sorts and a water control structure.

So we rode it a good 16 miles. Until we ran into this:

Finally, the road ahead . . . more construction, we presumed, though we were told it was open.

OK, that is not what we were told, but I could live with it. Actually, if we had pressed on, though, we probably would have been OK, but the local road, US 98, not anywhere near as bad as it sounds, worked out fine. It took us through the outlying communities of Okeechobee and connected us a bit with the community.

After leaving LOST (what a horrible acronym), we were only five miles from our hotel and were there in short order. And walking distance to a great Mexican restaurant, so we were happy! It was a Friday night, and the place was packed, but that was OK. A great day, and tomorrow looked just as good, if not better!

Today's ride

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Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 1,703 miles (2,741 km)

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