Rather than posting in the bar and grill thread, I figured I would start a dedicated thread so that my pictures are easier to find. Last week I went to the myakka River State Park. It's a very nice park but you cannot ride motorcycles or ATVs off-road. This area is in North Port which is very close to Port Charlotte. As you can see it's a very large area that looks like they were going to make subdivisions years ago and put in all of the roads but went bankrupt or something. So there's tons of blacktop roads and woods everywhere. There are plenty of trails back there where everyone rides. As you can see here it also crosses underneath the interstate. There are wilderness preserves all around it to the north and west but to the South is Port Charlotte and lots of development. I'm going to take my street legal dirt bike and put it in my van and go there tomorrow and ride. I could ride my bike from the house but my top comfortable cruising speed is 55 but that's not near fast enough for people on the two-lane highways where people want to go 65 or be tailgating you the whole way. It's about 35 miles from my house. I told my friend he should trailer his four wheeler down there to go riding with me but he's afraid because someone told him that there are cops on four wheelers around there. That wouldn't make a bit of difference to me because the roads are public and I told him unless you are riding in an area with fences or signs posted you're not trespassing unless someone tells you to leave and you refuse. I'm perfectly legal to ride the blacktop there but he would not be. And if that's the case and you would be trespassing off-road then I don't see how the cops could be in there on four wheelers either. I've been to that place before on my bicycle but it's been a good 10 years ago. But I talked to someone tonight that said they went ATV riding there the other day and no one said a thing and there were plenty of people there. I will find out tomorrow. I will of course take many pictures.
Long as you can shift gears with your left foot and it will be helpful to use your right foot for the back brake but there's always front brake only with the right hand. Then again I have seen special setups for riders who require them. Being new to motorcycle riding myself ( well, all of 3500 miles and a little bit more than one years riding experience under my belt...) And coming from having ridden mountain bikes all of my life.... It took a bit of getting used to and I had to remind myself that on a motorcycle, all of the shifting takes place on the left side of your body.... Clutch is operated by the left hand and shifter by the left foot..... All of your braking takes place on the right side, right foot is rear brake and right hand is front brake. The controls are set up the same on most four wheelers.
Also going to check out the orange hammock wildlife preserve which is just North of where I will be riding. That is open to horseback hiking and bicycling and is also public hunting land during the season. Unfortunately I don't believe there's any ATV riding allowed there but I can always take a mountain bike. We didn't have access to these satellites when I was a kid. You had to either put boots or Wheels on the ground. Though I do wish the satellite could actually tell you which roads are public and which roads are private. I hear there is an app for that but damned if I will pay a monthly fee
Well, so much for that idea, I suppose. Can I do all that stuff you said above? Maybe. I've ridden a quad before, but it's been many years and my legs worked properly at the time. I am not completely paralyzed, and think I could probably hold myself up on one, but I don't know if the motion I do have will work for the shifter and brakes, and won't until and unless I can actually get on one and see.
Well, let me know if/when you're going to be going, and perhaps we can figure something out. I'd have to borrow or rent something, I'm not going to run out and spend a bunch of money on something unless I know it's gonna become something I do on a regular.
There is an area called croom that is up near Brooksville. It's a really big area and ATV riding is the main focus of it. I have to look into it and see if they have some rentals up there. I have never been there and would like to go. But here in about 20 minutes I'm leaving for Northport. I only got about 2 hours of sleep after work but it will have to do. Tomorrow will be driving the girlfriend to fort Myers to a medical appointment and the same Tuesday for Bradenton. So today is my only play day. And then back to work I go. Night shift sucks sometimes because you wake up around noon or 1:00 and that's not enough sleep so then I try to get a nap again by 6:00 p.m. until about 9:15 and that doesn't leave you time to hardly do anything during the day. Time to start looking for greener pastures employment wise. Maybe even work normal Day hours
Been riding around a couple of hours now and only seen a small portion of the place. To be honest a four wheeler would probably be more fun out here or a more powerful bike if I had the skill to ride it without killing myself. There's a lot of sugar Sand and you have to be very careful not to dump the bike on it. I basically creep along throw it up to 15 miles an hour with both feet out to the side. Not trying to break another ankle out here. I saw a couple of guys in Jeeps and pick their brain about the area. They said basically they figured out after they put all these roads and that it still floods too much to build back here. They said you really don't have to worry about the cops that they mostly come out here at night looking for kids drinking and riding and I'm sure searching for people with warrants because I have seen some obvious tweakers camped out in dilapidated motorhomes. I'm not worried about the cops myself because I'm fully street legal but my friend with his four wheeler was concerned. The guys in the Jeeps said that basically if they did anything they would tell you to load the bike up.
I parked my van on one of these back roads and it makes me a little bit nervous that someone might come along and bust out a window to steal basically nothing inside. I thought about putting a note under the windshield wiper that said look I need this van to get home into work and there's nothing valuable inside and put a $20 bill next to it and say if you really need something just take this 20 and have a nice day. Lol But I think I'm probably overly concerned because if I'm really that concerned I can always get on the bike and go back and check on it. Dark clouds and thunder have been around me and I have got sprinkled on but the wind is blowing the storms away from me North up the interstate. Of course I'm prepared and it's not the end of the world if I get wet. Sometimes people ask you when you tell them you ride a motorcycle what are you doing it rains..... What the hell do you think I do? I put my cell phone and anything else I don't want to get wet in a bag and I keep riding and my ass gets wet.
Just left my nice little perch under the interstate overpass because the sprinkle was letting up and about the time I got a little bit of ways the sky let loose. This seems to be a very lawless place or at least the law is very few and far between.... I saw several obvious squatters camps and they're even bold enough to put up no trespassing signs and you know good and well they do not own the land they are squatting on. I guess it's more just to let anyone know to stay out of their camp. If you see anyone out here it's best to just assume that everyone is armed and not bother people and keep your hands to your own things. I don't have a problem with that. So I turned around and came back to the interstate overpass by the time I was soaked. At that point what is the point right? But I tell you even at 25 miles per hour a heavy rain feels like slingshot bullets hitting your body. This is a very interesting place back in here. I might see if I can buy a little lot back in here one day maybe put a shed on it Jack it up four feet off the ground and call it a house. Which of course is assuming that the county would let you which they probably would not. This reminds me of the squatters places out west. The few houses that are built back in here are built up on large pads of dirt.
I wish I knew how to post video because I'm still standing on this hill after it rained like hill and the hill is mostly mud.... And there's red Dodge pickup truck just came down through there on the bottom and turned some hella some donuts and I've got it on video. Should have been a Dodge commercial.
More of this hill. Actually there are several of them and it looks like an area where they have fill dirt and rocks. Kind of a borrow pit if you will.
What a cool place to have only 25 miles from home but you better have an ATV because a mountain bike out here would suck because there is nothing but mud and sugar Sand.
Very cool! I think if you upload the video to youtube, one of the buttons above will let you imbed it, and if that doesn't work, just post the link! Very jealous, except the getting rained on part!
I'll try a little later today. Getting rained on wasn't all bad except for getting my boots soaking wet. Help to wash all the mud off the bike. Plus on my way home passing through Port Charlotte I stopped at a five guys burgers. You know a fat boy gets hungry out adventuring! On my way out a few kids stopped a U-Haul pickup truck and unloaded a four wheeler and a small motorcycle and were doing donuts on the street under the overpass. I told em remember to take it easy because you can always get hurt tomorrow but it takes a lot of tomorrows to heal up....yeah, I'm getting old... The last thing you want to do out somewhere like that by yourself is get hurt. I'm certainly not some Motocross Superstar... I'm just trying to ride around without getting hurt... No crazy jumps for me
Another sand pit. At one point I started spinning the tire in low gear and started sinking damn near to the axle. Had to put it in neutral and push it out before I got stuck. Lol I was hoping I would see a rattlesnake out there but no such luck. I bet if I go back after dark some night and drive around all those roads I will find one
My friend told me that he was worried about the cops that he were told rode around out there on four wheelers. So he didn't go with me. I called him a couple of times when I was out there and sent him some pictures and videos and told him that he was a real bitch for allowing the mythical report of imaginary police to prevent him from coming out. I did not see any cops out there the whole day and it was a Sunday. Next Tuesday he and I are going to put his four wheeler and my bike on his trailer and come out here. Probably 20 years from now they'll figure out how to make this place a development.
Sounds like you are having fun!! I'm not so adventurous. My husband and I just got back from a week ride on our Harley. Beautiful weather the whole time. And...shocked how beautiful Kansas and Nebraska can be! The only thing that irritates me is that Harleys don't do well on gravel roads...and gravel roads can lead to interesting things. My son went cross country with his Adventure duel motorcycle and enjoyed turning into areas we wouldn't risk. But smooth paved roads are good enough for me.
My next bike someday will be a cruiser and perhaps a Harley. I have zero interest in a sport bike. 65 mph is plenty fast enough for me. My bike has a top speed of 75 but you're basically redlining it at that point. I like to cruise at 55 on the highway but that's not fast enough for most people behind you. I got this sort of bike so it can go anywhere but the problem with it is it's not great for Long highway rides due to its aforementioned preferred cruising speed of 55 mph. It's great for around town especially with all of our potholes and dirt roads. Sounds like y'all went quite a distance. About the most I've done on my bike is a 50 mi day and your ass is really starting to hurt by that point. Lol Somebody told me I should get a pair of bicycle shorts and it will help.
Most “quad”, “four wheelers”, or whatever they are called regionally are automatic now. Typically you have to depress the foot (rear) brake to select high, low or reverse on a hand shifter lever. Then it’s just throttle with the right thumb and front brake right hand and rear brake left hand. Foot brake rear optional. It’s simple to depress the foot brake with a stick or something to shift between forward and reverse with the hand shifter. I’ve done it more than once when my legs have been engaged in other necessary operations. Not all manufacturers set things up the same. I’m sure there are multiple options you could handle easily. Just be careful. My wife and I are 49. Since getting out of college we’ve each been to the doctor ONCE. I wrecked a four wheeler and broke my collarbone. She wrecked a four wheeler and broke her wrist severely. My neighbor broke his leg bad last winter on a four wheeler and an old friend from high school lost his teen son to a four wheeler wreck a couple months ago. ATVs are fun and useful, but a bit dangerous. Probably no more so than driving a car though.
My husband has 1999 Valkyrie that he loves but I refuse...not a good passenger bike...I hang on for dear life. He had to change the Harley seat out to one that conformed to his comfort. And THAN he had to buy a back rest. With these cruising bikes, the spending doesn't end after you get the bike.... My husband used to be into off road bikes but he has too many joint issues for that now...
Maybe we passed each other on the highway somewhere! I ride an old Sportster H (it’s a little lower center of gravity than most Sportsters) to get around the farm and irrigate etc. sometimes when I don’t need a pickup to haul anything. You have to be careful. Gravel and dirt are bad. Mud is worse.
I heard that Valkyrie is a beast! Spending never ends on any bike. Thinking about a seat concepts upgrade.... like 300$. I've upgraded my footpegs and added auxillary fog lights and 3 racks, the rear rack and the 2 side racks for mounting saddle bags. The 3 racks were 260$. About time to replace the rear tire. You should consider getting your endorsement then no more passenger riding for you! My bike is seriously unpassenger friendly, my girlfriend has been on it twice. It has footpegs but not much of a seat.
Honda has a 150 dual sport for under 3 Grand brand new. It's street legal too. It's carbureted and has a drum brake on the rear and the suspension is rather entry level but for a brand new machine by Honda at under three grand..... Would make a good farm bike. But the all-time king of dual sport / farm bikes is the Yamaha tw200. The rear wheel is ridiculously large like an ATV tire and the thing can go anywhere. Also considered one of the best bikes for a new Rider. For a dual sport it has a low seat height and is just very stable due to the huge tires. It's the bike I was looking to buy brand new last year but I could not find any at any dealerships Your top speed will probably be I think around 70.... So again not a great highway distance bike but for everything else.... There is the tw200. It's the John Deere tractor of motorcycles.
