Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my upcoming motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip .
The trip as planned will be 8 days starting from Douglasville, Georgia to Pensacola, Florida and follow along the gulf and Florida’s west coast to the Everglades and Key West, Florida. Then turn around and roll north following Florida’s east coast (more or less) and some interior back to Douglasville, Georgia.
Planned Miles = 2,495
Camping Nights = 5
Hotel stays = 2
Kickstand up: April 04, 2026
This will be my first touring trip with Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special.
This was the first touring trip with Dexter, 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.
I rode from Beatty, Nevada back to Death Valley coming in from Amargosa Valley and was planning on riding up to Dantes View, however the road to Dantes View was closed.
I then rode down to Furnace Creek and headed to Artists Circle and Badwater, also in Death Valley. From there I rode to Baker, California and stopped at the fantastic The Mad Greek and rode back to Lake Elsinore, California.
DeAndra and I ride Jolene, my former 2004 Honda VTX 1300C, up Palomar Mountain in San Diego County California.
Gemini Description of South Grade Road (S6)
Ascending the western slopes of Palomar Mountain, South Grade Road (S6) is a legendary stretch of asphalt renowned for its relentless complexity and breathtaking vistas. Often referred to as “the tight side,” this historic route gains approximately 3,000 feet in elevation over just seven miles, characterized by a dizzying sequence of 21 hairpin switchbacks. As drivers and cyclists navigate these technical curves, the landscape transitions rapidly from chaparral-covered foothills to dense forests of cedar and fir. The engineering of the road—originally improved in the 1930s to transport the massive 200-inch mirror for the Palomar Observatory—offers sweeping panoramic views of the Pauma Valley below, eventually terminating at the mountaintop plateau where the iconic silver dome sits against the sky.
As I have mentioned in other posts and videos, Alaska 2028 will be my motorcycle touring trip planned to start on June 23, 2028 and end on August 01, 2028 consisting of 11,781 planned miles.
The entire trip is planned to last 40 days including 7 days in Anchorage, AK family vacation where my wife (DeAndra) and son (Tristan) will fly up from Atlanta, GA and meet me in Anchorage.
I will camp for 13 nights, stay in hotels 18 nights, and 7 nights in an Airbnb in Anchorage, AK as part of the family vacation. There will be 4 two night stays during the trip. – 2 nights in Coon Rapids, Minnesota – Short visit with my daughters and grandkids. – 2 nights in Essex, Montana – Ride Glacier National Park / Train Nerd stuff & Laundry – 2 nights in Fairbanks, Alaska – Motorcycle servicing and tires – 2 nights in Kamloops, BC Canada – Motorcycle servicing and tires.
Full Loadout for Alaska (and other long distance tours)
I have been testing my Alaska loadout on Bruce (my ’25 Pan America 1250 Special) and have it complete. The bike is significantly heavier (about 120 pounds of stuff) but is the complete loadout to include clothing, tools, electronics, 6 Mountain house meals, riding gear, and camping gear). When hauling 2 gallons of water and emergency gasoline, this will add an additional 28.7 pounds to the load. I will create an updated packing list and video covering the “final” Alaska Loadout. I will be testing this configuration further during my Florida Loop 2026 – Motorcycle Touring Trip this coming April (4/04/2026 – 4/11/2026).
While this is still a heavy (Bike + packed gear) = about 787 pounds less water and extra gasoline, this is still 61 pounds less than Dexter (’05 HD Ultra Classic) wet not including the huge load I would pack onto Dexter (at least 1100 pounds). So, my total packed weight now is at least 300 pounds less than when I toured with Dexter (likely even more).
Test rides on Bruce with the full load were great with no issue in handling or ride, with the exception of stalling the bike when the engine was cold, resulting in a slow motion drop to the left side as I was engaged in a left turn. I have learned that this engine really needs to be warmed up properly before heading out. I have stalled it other times as well (no load) on a cold engine.
And of course, when testing mounting and dismounting techniques I dropped the bike on the right side while dismounting from the right side and my boot caught the seat. The good news is I was able to pick up the bike without too much effort with the full load on the bike. Of course, I would prefer not to drop the bike at all LOL. Also, I now mount and dismount from the left again doing a bunny hop to get my right leg through the seat (required when the bike has the full load).
Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my upcoming motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip 😊
The trip as planned will be 8 days starting from Douglasville, Georgia to Pensacola, Florida and follow along the gulf and Florida’s west coast to the Everglades and Key West, Florida. Then turn around and roll north following Florida’s east coast (more or less) and some interior back to Douglasville, Georgia.
Planned Miles = 2,495
Camping Nights = 5
Hotel stays = 2
Kickstand up: April 04, 2026
This will be my first touring trip with Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special.
I will be camping on the Gulf coast in Pensacola, Lake City, and later in the Everglades National Park (Gator bait lol), then near Lake Okeechobee, and again in Lake City on the way back to Georgia. Key West and Chokoloskee will be hotel stays.
Days 15 and 16 were combined to complete USA Midwest 2023. This was not the plan of course, more about this in just a bit.
Overview
Rolled out from my hotel in Peru, IL, rolled south on Illinois Highway 251 onto Interstate 39 South, Interstate 74 East, and finally onto Interstate 57 south stopping off for lunch at Dairy Queen Grill & Chill in Arcola, IL.
From Arcola, IL, I stay off the Interstates for a while because traveling via state and local roads I believe is just way more interesting. Interstates are great for chewing up large amounts of miles in a condensed timeframe. But IMO, I find riding on Interstates to be boring but a useful means to an end at times. I-70 in Colorado however is an exception to this, that is a very interesting ride.
Riding back roads I work my way from Arcola, IL to Evansville, IN, then roll south via US Highway 41 / Interstate 69 and then roll east to Days Inn in Joelton, TN via Interstate 24. This was the planned stop for Day 15 for total of 439 miles for the day.
Day 8 covered roughly 206 miles, leaving plenty of time for railfanning (watching & recording trains).
I departed camp near Keystone, South Dakota (Grizzly Bear primitive campground) and proceeded west to Wyoming via SD Highway 244, U.S. Highway 385, and U.S. Highway 16.
In Wyoming, I rolled through the Thunder Basin Grassland, Powder River Basin and ended the day at Douglas KOA campground in Douglas, Wyoming.
Total Miles for day 7 was only about 42 miles, mostly consisting of a loop departing from Grizzly Bear Campground near Keystone, SD to Mount Rushmore and then through Custer State Park on South Dakota Highway 87, to Keystone (to get some supplies), and then back to camp.
Total Miles for day 6 was 253 miles starting at the Badlands Hotel & Campground in Interior, South Dakota. The highlight of today’s ride was rolling through the Badlands National Park offering up some stunning and rugged scenery. The day concludes near Keystone, South Dakota where I camp for two nights in the Black Hills at the Grizzly Creek Primitive Campground.
Wanderlust Lyfe 