March 24, 2012 - Return to Old Lake Alfred

As usual, the group met in Plant City at 8:00 a.m. this Saturday morning.  Unusually, there were only four of us present - Bill, J.T., Robert and I.  Boyd was off to the Great Kitten Rescue in Jacksonville.  Eddie was cooking a pig for a family function.  I don't really know where the rest of the group was.  Perhaps the forecast of afternoon showers and the heavy morning fog kept them from riding.  At any rate, the four of us enjoyed a good breakfast with conversation centered around our two pending trips to the mountains in June and October.

Leaving the restaurant, we discussed possible destinations for the day.  The only clear preference came from Bill who wanted to try to get some video of Old Lake Alfred Road.  With that in mind, we headed towards Lake Alfred and Polk City areas in eastern Polk County.

Our route took us over to Lakeland, around Lake Parker, to the edge of Polk City.  From there we headed towards our destination via Mt. Olive, Old Berkley and Gapway.  Deciding to start from the south end of Old Lake Alfred, I led the group east across Lake Mattie Rd. to Adams Barn Rd. and from there to Cass Rd. which runs into the southern end of our destination.

Now, I had been down Cass Rd. several times before but never with this group of riders.  It is only a mile and a half long, but it may be the best mile and a half of motorcycle road in central Florida as it twists along the north shore of Lake Griffin.  If you check it out on our route map, be sure to view it in satellite or Earth mode to get a better perspective.

Reaching Old Lake Alfred Rd., we stopped to allow Bill to attach his video camera to his new spring loaded universal Ram mount.  We then set off to ride up and down this great piece of Florida highway.  Upon arriving back at Cass Rd., Bill decided to video that as well.  So, off we went for a round trip of those curves.

From there, we set off for a trip across Lake Lowery Rd. in the agricultural highlands of eastern Polk County.  Lots of twists and turns here, also, but be careful of the occasional sand patches dragged onto the roadway by farm equipment.

We then doubled back along Old Polk City Rd., then back to CR-557A for one more trip down Old Lake Alfred and Cass Rds. before heading for lunch in the Compass Rose Restaurant at Fantasy of Flight.  I had hoped to include a piece of Bill's video here, but when we checked out what was recored, we discovered that the new mount did not provide a stable enough platform for the video camera.  The footage looked like it had been shot under water.  Bill promises he'll get some better video of the area in the future.

From there, it was every man for himself as we all headed off for afternoon committments. 

The GPS tells me that I only covered 109 miles today, but it was a great ride with good friends as we pitted ourselves and our machines against some of the best roads in the area.  See you next time.  Meanwhile,

RIDE WITH PRIDE

Glenn "Gunny" Monroe

March 10, 2012 - A Polk County Tour

Our breakfast table was graced this morning by the presence of Eddie's bride, Marlena, who endured the table chatter from Eddie, Bill, Boyd, Robert, J.T. and me.  Afterwards, Marlena and Robert headed elsewhere as the rest prepared to ride.

With no destination in mind (other than Bill's plea to avoid CR-39), we headed off into the mist.  Our travels eventually took us east into Polk County in search of a few twists and turns.

Northern Polk County

Along the way, we travelled some of the area's more interesting roads, including W. Socrum Loop, Tom Costine, Olk Polk City, Old Berkley and Gapway.

Turning north on FL-559, we headed for our first stop at Love's Polk City Truck Stop.  There, we met a couple from Sarnia, Ontario.  He was very taken with my Burgman 650.  He told us about his experience riding one up home.  It seems that his riding buddies made him feel his Burgman was less than adequate.  As a result, he sold his Burgman, bought a Suzuki M109, quickly became dissatisfied with the bigger machine and returned to riding another Burgman.  Not an unusual story.

Leaving Love's, we headed over to Fantasy of Flight to see if they had anything new on the flight line.  Unfortunately, they did not.

The group headed east to pick up Old Lake Alfred Rd., a one-lane gem twisting through the lakes and orange groves of the ridge country.  From there, we headed over to Lake Lowery Rd., another ridge area beauty.

After arriving at US-27, we turned towards Winter Haven for a another break.  This time, at Honda of Winter Haven.  After purchasing a few small items and dusting the seats of several new machines, we turned west, heading for Lakeland.

About 1:00 p.m., we arrived at Lakeland Lindner Regional Airport for lunch at Earhart's Runway Grill.  As usual, the food was very good and it is hard to beat the panoramic view of the flight line.
After lunch, the group broke up with each heading to their own private destinations.
It was another great day of riding good roads with good weather and great friends.  I clocked 120 miles on the Burgman and stored away many good memories.
See you next time.
Meanwhile, RIDE WITH PRIDE.
Glenn "Gunny" Monroe