Tag Archives: Motorcycle Touring

Florida Loop 2026 Day 4 – Everglades City & Chokoloskee Island

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CLICK ON THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE VIDEO OF TODAY’S RIDE OF EVERGLADES CITY & CHOKOLOSKEE ISLAND

April 7th, 2026

After a fantastic ride of the Loop Road Scenic Drive and seeing the famous American Alligators (some of those things were huge!), I rode to the Miccosukee General Store for a lunch break. 

After lunch I rode back to Everglades City, checked in at the Everglades City Motel, dropped off some gear and rode off to get my staged gear at the Parkway Motel & Marina in Chokoloskee Island.

I was going to stay another night at the Parkway Motel & Marina as the room was fantastic.  However, they did not have any availability for the night of April 7th.  They were, however, very gracious in allowing me to stage some of my gear in their office while I went for a ride today (The Loop Road Scenic Drive).

After picking up my gear, I had a fantastic meal of Mahi-Mahi Cuban fish dinner with a very flavorful and spicy in-house sauce (most certainly had Habanero peppers (one of my favorites) in it.

After dinner, I rode through Everglades City for a brief tour and looked around.

Day 4 was very welcomed and needed relaxed day.  I still managed to ride 109 miles today, but it was very chill pace all day. 

Florida Loop 2026 – Loop Road Scenic Drive (Long Verson)

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR THE LONG VERSION VIDEO OF MY RIDE OF LOOP ROAD SCENIC DRIVE

April 7th, 2026

This video is the long video of my 23.6 ride of Loop Road Scenic Drive in the Big Cypress National Preserve just off US Highway 41 with the eastern part of the road roughly 43 miles west of Miami, Florida. 

Full Details of Loop Road Scenic Drive

For more details on Loop Road Scenic Drive, Take a look at my post “Florida Loop 2026 – Loop Road Scenic Drive (Short Version)“.

Florida Loop 2026 – Loop Road Scenic Drive (Short Verson)

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR VIDEO OF MY RIDE ON LOOP ROAD SCENIC DRIVE – SHORT VERSION

April 7th, 2026

This video is the short video of my  23.6 ride of Loop Road Scenic Drive in the Big Cypress National Preserve just off US Highway 41 with the eastern part of the road roughly 43 miles west of Miami, Florida. 

Loop Road Scenic Drive – Big Cypress National Preserve

The Loop Road Scenic Drive offers a raw, unfiltered journey into the heart of the Big Cypress National Preserve, stretching across a 24-mile transition from rugged gravel to paved road.

 As you navigate this detour off the Tamiami Trail, the landscape transforms into a prehistoric corridor of towering bald cypress trees draped in ghostly Spanish moss and vibrant air plants. The slow pace is mandatory, not just for the sake of your vehicle, but to spot the abundant wildlife that claims the roadside; it is common to see American Alligators basking on the banks, wood storks wading through the dark “blackwater” strands, and even the occasional elusive otter.

It is an immersive experience where the silence of the swamp is broken only by the chorus of cicadas and the splash of a rising gar, providing a stark, beautiful contrast to the manicured environments of nearby South Florida.

This road, scenery and observing the alligators was the highlight of this trip for me personally.

24 Mile Loop Road Scenic Drive – Big Cypress National Preserve
Loop Road Scenic Drie in Relation to Miami, Florida
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Florida Loop 2026 Day 3 – Part 1

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR VIDEO OF FLORDIA LOOP 2026 DAY 3 – PART 1

April 6th, 2026

This is part 1 of 2 of my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcycle Tour.  Today is April 6th 2026 and I am departing Perry, Florida and rolling south on US Highway 98.  The original route plan was to roll south to Pinellas Park, Florida and cross the Old Tampa Bay on US Highway 92 into downtown Tampa.  However, with all the fun I was having riding in congested traffic, I decided instead to avoid metropolitan areas the best I could and ride in the countryside, which is my preference anyways. 

Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip

Florida Loop 2026 Total Miles = 2,261

Day 3 Part 1 miles traveled = 157 Miles Riding south on US Highway 98 from Perry, Florida to Trilby, Florida.

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Florida Loop 2026 Day 2

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR VIDEO OF FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 2

April 5th, 2026

Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip

Florida Loop 2026 Total Miles = 2,261

Day 2 miles traveled = 286 Miles riding Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, Florida east on US Highway 98 to Holiday Inn Express in Perry, Florida

The original end of day plan for today was to camp at the Ocen Pond Campground near Lake City, Florida.  However, I had a very late start today rolling out of camp around 1:30PM waiting for the heavy rain to subside enough so that I wouldn’t have to tear down camp in the heavy rain.  I hate packing away soaked gear (it was still wet but not soaked by the time I packed up camp).

The heavy rains started at about 5:30AM and persisted for most of the day up until about 11:30AM – Noon. 

Camp setup and tear down took me a bit longer than normal as a lot of my gear was new to me on this trip and I was also a bit rusty having been nearly 3 years since I last moto camped during my USA Midwest 2023 motorcycle tour.

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Florida Loop 2026 Day 1 – April 4th, 2026

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR VIDEO OF DAY 1

Florida Loop 2026 – Day 1

Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip

Florida Loop 2026 Total Miles = 2,261

Day 1 miles totaled 331 miles riding from Douglasville, Georgia through Montgomery, Alabama and ending the day in Pensacola, Florida camping in Big Lagoon State Park.

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Florida Loop 2026 – After Trip Review

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Click On Photo Above For Video

April 13, 2026

In this video, I review my successfully completed 2,261 Mile tour of Florida. Florida Loop 2026 launched on April 4th, 2026 and completed on April 11th, 2026. I discuss the trip overall, the good, the bad, and the ugly of this tour. I also discuss some change concerning future tours and other things to think about.

Brief Summary of Florida Loop 2026

Not everything during this trip went smoothly, namely weather, traffric, and errors in route planning on my part. That being said, for the most part, the Florida Loop Tour went as planned and was a successful maiden tour of Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special motorcyle and most of my equipment, camping gear, and riding gear. The only carryover piece of equipment from my previous motorcycle tours was my tent. This tour was not just to travel Florida and check off another state on my quest to ride all 50 states before my expiration, but also a test run of my ’25 Pan America, its configuration, and all of the new gear and equipment.

What’s Coming Up Next?

I will be making additional posts and videos detailing each travel day in more detail to also include riding videos. I also plan to review some of my new camping equipmet and how it faired during this trip. I meant do some of this content and a daily video diary during the trip, but that instantly proved to not be viable due to some extensive travel delays.

Florida Loop 2026 Successfully Completed!

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Florida Loop 2026 was successfully completed at around 9PM EDT – April 11th, 2026. Total miles = 2,261, so less than the estimated 2,495 miles…..I have failed LOL Just kidding.

I am stil in a bit of travel haze right now. Once that clears, I wil start making blog entries and videos about the trip, Bruce, and my gear.

This trip felt much more like a rat race compared to some of my previous trips. I often found myself pressed for time, exhausted and sometimes pretty frusturated. There are many factors at play but weather, traffic density, and speed limits were the driving factors thowing off planned parts of the trip. Certainly some some things to consider in regards to future trips.

All of that being said, I consider Florida Loop 2026 a success even with some dinge on it LOL.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KrKtLjHdK/

Bruce Full Touring / Alaska 2028 Loadout & Packing

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April 3rd, 2026

Full Touring / Alaska 2028 Loadout – What Does This Mean?

My Full Touring / Alaska 2028 Loadout is my touring packing load for extended long distance motorcycle touring / camping trips. For example, I am looking at my Alaska 2028 trip to be 43 days in total with 7 days in Anchorage with my son and wife for a family vacation. This setup is for spending weeks traveling on the motorcycle with significant camping involved.

To be clear, this is way overkill for my Florida Loop 2026 trip. But I am using that trip as my test flight per say for my motorcyle configuation and full touring loadout. Less extensive trips will have reduced loadout accordingly, especially trips that does not involve camping. I would say more than half of the items packed are related to camping.

Let’s look at luggage weight

  • Right Panier (including weight of panier itself) = 50 Pounds
  • Left Panier (including weight of panier itself) = 50 Pounds
  • Top Case (including weight of top case itself) = 28 Pounds
  • Medic Bag / First Aid Kit (strapped on top of top case) = 9 Pounds
  • Reax Poseidon Dy Bag (including dry bag weight itself) = 36 Pounds
  • Giant Loop Armadillo Bag (Gasoline) 3 Gallons = 1.25 Pounds Empty
    • ~19.85 pounds when full (3 gallons gasoline)
  • Giant Loop Cactus Canteen Hydration Bladder 2 Gallons = 17.5 Pounds
    • 9.3 Ounces empty
  • Tank Bag (includes weight of tank bag itself) = 9 Pounds

Total Weight with empty Giant Loop Armadillo Bag = 200.75 Pounds

Total Weight with full Giant Loop Armadillo Bag = 219.35 Pounds

Total gear weight is about the weight of an adult.

So, what did I pack and where did I pack it?

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Florida Loop 2026 | T Minus One Day

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Click On Picture Above For Video

April 3rd, 2026

Kickstand Up – April 4th, 2026

Tomorrow April 4th, 2026, I roll out on Day One on my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcycle Camping / Touring trip of Florida.  Checking another state off my bucket list to have ridden a motorcycle in all 50 states of the United States.

I will be riding Bruce with my full Alaska 2028 loadout from Douglasville, Georgia to Pensacola, Florida and Camping on Gulf for the night.  Planned Miles for Day 1 = 441 Miles.

Florida Loop 2026 Trip Plan

Day One – Pensacola, Florida = 441 Miles – Camp
Day Two – Lake City, Florida = 376 Miles – Camp
Day Three – Chokoloskee Island, Florida = 392 Miles – Motel
Day Four – Everglades National Park, Florida = 140 Miles – Camp
Day Five – Key West, Florida = 175 Miles – Hotel
Day 6 – Lake Okeechobee / Indiantown, Florida = 280 Miles – Camp
Day 7 – Lake City, Florida = 354 Miles – Camp
Day 8 – Douglasville, Georgia = 328 Miles – Home

Total Planned Miles = 2,486 Miles

Alaska 2028 – Bike Configuration & Loadout Test

The primary objective of Florida Loop 2026 other than exploring Florida and checking another state off my bucket list goal is to test Bruce’s configuration and loadout for my planned upcoming Alaska 2028 Motorcycle Tour.

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