August 9th Beach Ride

It was ten for breakfast this morning, including Tommy’s brother-in-law, Chip Glass, and Kyle’s friend, Samantha Jones. After breakfast, the two cagers left to do whatever it is that cagers do on a Saturday morning and the rest of us mounted our bikes and set off for Anna Maria Island. Along the way, Robert and Ace dropped out for business reasons, leaving six to test the elements.

We did a pretty good job of avoiding the rain as we made our way south and east. Somewhere on the Tamiami Trail, a gust of wind lifted my map pocket, sucked the map out, and blew it back past the bikes behind me. No problem, I knew how to get to Anna Maria without it, but its loss would prove significant later. Everything went well until we turned onto Manatee from 41 and were greeted with a view of a solid wall of water a couple of blocks in front of us. Being somewhat sensible, we immediately began looking for shelter and were lucky enough to find the covered drive thru lanes of a closed bank that was large enough to accommodate us all. Boyd took these pictures as we wait for the rain to stop.

Once the rain let up, we continued on to Anna Maria Island where Chip led us to one of favorite restaurants, The BeachHouse, at 200 Gulf Drive North. We were treated to a great view of the Gulf of Mexico, good company and fine food.

After lunch, we continued on south to St. Armands Key, then turned east to start our homeward leg. Now here is where the loss of my map and the inability to seach Honda's GPS while moving, became critical. I knew I wanted to get to Fruitville Road, but missed it because I did not realize that 780 was Fruitville Road. After a couple of wrong turns, I finally found somewhere to stop to program the GPS. As it turns out, we were only a few blocks off course and were soon on our way home.

All-in-all, it was a good ride. There was a lot of rain in the area but remarkably little of it fell on us, although those of us who ride with their knees in the breeze had wet legs from time to time.

Rider's Note: The last time we stopped for gas in Myakka City, they only had regular gasoline. Since none of the bikes riding today needed premium, I though it would be okay to stop there today. However, they now have NO gasoline. All the pumps are closed down. I also talked to the owner of the Duette Market at 62 and 39. He is also considering closing his pumps. In short, be sure you are well fueled if traveling in those areas.

Gunny