Against her better judgment (just joking), my wife agreed to drive up to Lake Okeechobee with me so that we could ride atop the lake’s levee (Herbert Hoover Dike). The ride up to the levee was only an hour’s drive north on US-27, a four lane, divided highway that runs along the Florida Everglades and through much of South Florida’s farm land.
Joining us on the ride was seven of our local cycling amigos, Sandy, Tom, Stephen, Bernie, Doug, Lance and Scott.
After leaving the local car park in Cooper City, we convoyed up to South Bay, where we parked our vehicles next to one of the levee’s steep entrances/exits.
We actually began our ride shortly after 9:30 AM when the temperature was still in the lower 60’s. The weather forecast was for a NNW wind at 8 mph, but on top the levee you can safely double that wind speed because of the manner in which the wind comes across the massive lake and swoops across the 30 foot (on average) high levee.
Unwilling to put too much effort into our ride from South Bay to Clewiston, my wife and I dropped far behind the pack. For the most part, we maintained a speed of only 10 to 12 mph during the west-bound 15-mile ride.
Lunch at the Tiki Bar and Grill at the halfway point made the outbound trip well worth the effort. Two lite beers and a giant Okee Hamburger was just what I needed to refuel and re-hydrate for the 15-mile ride back to South Bay.
Now heading east, the trip back to South Bay was somewhat easier, thanks in part to a slight tailwind. My wife and I still kept our speed down, though. Because she hadn't ridden her road bike since November of 2012, I didn't want to stress her out by asking her to ride at a pace that she found uncomfortable.
With the sky completely void of clouds and the temperature between 60-70 degrees during the entire ride, I rate this ride a 5 out of 5. We could not have asked for a more pleasant day, and we couldn't ask for a better group of cyclists to ride with than the before-mentioned seven.
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