November 28, 2009 - A Florida Winter Ride

Nine of us met as usual in front of the Whistle Stop this cloudy, cool morning. As four of our group were there just for breakfast, we decided to walk across the street to Snellgrove's rather than riding to another breakfast location. After the usual mix of food, friends and conversation, five of us (J.T., Debbie, Boyd, Bob K. and I) suited up for the first cold ride of the season. The temperature was somewhere in the mid-40's when we left Plant City to explore west central Florida.

Our travels took us 188 miles through six different counties, including Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Sumpter, Lake and Polk. We explored Thonotosassa, the entire length of Morris Bridge Road through the Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area to Zephyrhills. From there, we made our way past St. Leo to Jessamine Road, and over to Bayhead Road and Hayman Rd. We made our first rest stop of the day at Spring Lake Hwy. and SR-50. After that brief stop, we continued north via some new and some previously traveled roads until we reached the area near Nelson Lake. From there, we turned southeast to Bushnell then Webster.

Our complete outbound route can be see here.

We stopped for lunch at Hayseed Cafe in downtown Webster. This unpretentious eatery serves a great buffet of home-cooked foods at very reasonable prices.

After a good lunch, we turned towards home, sort of. We first made a detour up to Center Hill because there was what appeared to be an interesting piece of highway shown on Google Maps running between CR-469 and SR50 that I wanted to explore. Arriving at the northern end of CR-736, we noticed a warning sign informing us that 736 was a dead end road. From past experience, I have learned to believe the sings over the maps so we skipped that exploration, although I would like to take a first hand look at some time in the future. We headed over to the always interesting Sloan's Ridge Road, then over to Empire Church Road which took us across the southern edge of Groveland to SR-33. A short trip on 33 brought us to Pine Island Road which, in turn, took us to CR-561 and back to 33. It was then over to Green Pond Road and Rockridge Road for a fun run through the woods on the southern edge of the Green Swamp. After a brief fuel stop at Rockridge and US-98, we all headed for home.

Click here for our return route. Also, be sure to check out A Knight's Travels for some pictures and J.T.'s account of the ride.

Come join us next Saturday for another interesting ride. I don't know where we will be going yet, but you can bet that the ride will be interesting.

Ride With Pride!

Gunny

November 21, 2009 - Tiki Time

Another gorgeous day in central Florida started with breakfast for 10 at Snellgroves. It should have been 11, but Barry had an unfortunate encounter with a broken bag of cement on the highway yesterday. His motorcycle is a little scratched up, but otherwise okay. Unfortunately, Barry suffered some minor injuries to his hand/wrist which prevented him for riding today.

Since today's original destination, the Ozello Trail, was intended to introduce Barry to that great piece of Florida highway, we decided to save it for another day when he could join us. Instead, we turned north east, heading for the Tiki Bar at the Lake Minneola Inn. But, as every biker knows, the destination is only an excuse to seek out some good roads. With that in mind, we headed out for one of my favorite rides via Old Dade City Road, Lakeland Acres, Sherrouse, Rockridge, and Green Pond.

Upon reaching SR-33 and Lake Erie Rd., Bill decided to stop at the old fire tower for a look-see. Fortunately for the rest of us it was condemned, closed, ready to be torn down and carted away. Were it not, I am sure that Bill would have tried to coax us to climb the stupid thing. Anyway, it I'm sorry to see it go because it served as a landmark for Lake Erie Rd.

Leaving the fire tower, we headed across Lake Erie on the way to Sloan's Ridge for a few more rural twisties before heading for a quick down 561 to a short stop on Sugarloaf Mountain. From there, we headed back to 455 and Montverde. After passing through the grounds of the picturesque Montverde Academy, we headed towards Minneola and the Tiki Bar.

Chances are that if you have never been to the Lake Minneola Inn or been given very good directions, you are not going to find this little gem hidden away on the east shore of the lake. Even if you passed by the Inn itself, you would not see the separate Tiki Bar which is screened from the road by huge, old live oak trees. Be not discouraged, however. It is worth the effort to locate.

The Tike Bar has indoor seating at the open wall bar and outdoor tables on what used to be the water's edge. I say "used to be" because the water level in the lake is quite low right now, leaving the Inn's docks high and dry. But, the water view was still pleasant and we chose the outdoor seating.

While we were there, we were treated to a couple of interesting sights. First, a boater trying to reach the restaurant ran his craft aground in the shallow water. We, of course, considered going to his aid, but that would have involved wet feet and trousers so he was on his own. The second. and far more interesting sight, was the arrival overhead of two seaplanes. We watched as one-by-one, they circled to land on the lake in front of us. They then taxied up to the shore then rolled up onto the beach. Pretty cool.

After a great lunch washed down with $1.oo drafts, we returned to the bikes to continued the day's journey. Following the lake shore over to 561, we turned south towards SR-33. From there, we returned for Green Pond Road for a spirited run through it's many curves. As it was by then mid-afternoon, we turned out bikes towards home and the end of another great day of riding.

Click here for a selection of photos from this ride.

Click here for the complete route.

Also, be sure to check out "The Navigator's Rides" and "A Knight's Travels" from the links on the right side of this page.

See you next week for another adventure.

Ride with Pride!

Gunny

November 14, 2009 - Yoder's, Sarasota

Six of us (J.T., Lloyd, Boyd, Robert, Scott, and I) met outside the Whistle Stop in Plant City this morning and rode to Tim's Restaurant in Keysville for breakfast, where Bob K was waiting for us. Tim's used to be a frequent stop for us, but it fell out of favor a year ago due to diminished quality. Based upon a good report from Paul Richter, we decided to give it another try. We were not disappointed. The food was very good and plentiful.

Leaving Tim's, we turned south on Keysville Road heading for one of my favorite views of backwoods Florida - Jameson Road which runs along the north edge of the Alifia River State Park. We then headed south to Fort Lonesome via CR-39. Now, I generally find 39 to be a very straight, boring ride, but alternative routes through the phosphate mines are not always available. Today, we decided to turn west to Grange Hall Loop to explore a different route south. Following Grange Hall Loop to Keene Road and Taylor Grade Road, we were able to make our way to SR-62 across some more interesting motorcycle roads.

We then headed to our next stop in Myaka City via 62, Duette and Myaka-Wachula. After a brief stop at the only gas station and store in Myaka City, we set out to complete the trip to Sarasota and Yoder's Amish Restaurant.

Click here for a complete map of our route to Yoder's.

I think that this was a first visit to Yoder's for everyone. It is a relatively small place, staffed by friendly, helpful people (many of whom are named Yoder). And the food? Let's just say that Robert observed that it was obvious that none of the food was "institutional". While Robert enjoyed a delicious hot beef sandwich and mashed potatoes, the rest of us, still full from breakfast, went straight for Yoder's specialty - the pies. They have a huge selection of homemade pies, both cream filled and baked, and all agreed that they were excellent. We quickly concluded that this was a "must return" location. Next time, however, we will make it a brunch stop so as not to limit our enjoyment of their fare.

After a quick visit to the gift shop where the thoughtful among us picked up something for their wives, we headed back towards Plant City. Scott, Bob K. & Robert opted to take I-75 while the rest of the group took a more leisurely trip via the back roads.

Today, we covered 180 miles of enjoyable roadway, discovered some new pieces of pavement, re-experienced a discarded eatery, found and new favorite and thoroughly enjoyed the company of good friends.

Come and join us next Saturday for a visit to the Ozello Trail.

Also, check out J.T's Blog for his account and pictures.

Gunny

November 7, 2009 - Running with Elks

We are back! I apologize for the long absence of contributions to this blog but, as you know, I have been unable to ride the Chapter for a month due to other commitments.

We got back in the swing this week with breakfast for 12 at Snellgroves. After the usual camaraderie and conversation, ten of us mounted up and headed over to the Plant City Elks to participate in their poker run in support of Bay Area veterans. Unfortunately, on the way over Lloyd fell prey to a stomach condition that has plagued him for several weeks and headed for home. We all hope he gets over the problem real soon.

After completing the registration process, we hung around the Elks Lodge for a while drinking coffee, talking with other participants, admiring some of the other bikes and scratching our heads over a couple of bikes while wondering why anyone would ride something like that (I'm sure the Navigator will have a photo or two to explain).

When the appointed hour arrived, we all mounted up and headed to our first stop of the day - Big Dog's Patio on N. Palmer in Plant City. I drew a 10 of clubs and headed back to my bike confident that all things were still possible.

For our next stop, we took the back route to the Elks Lodge on Harden Blvd. in Lakeland. Here, I drew a 3 of hearts. Okay, a flush, straight and straight flush are now out of the question, but still a good hand was possible.

The next leg of the run took us on a tour of Lakeland, around Lake Hollingsworth, then up to Hooters at US-98 and I-4. Intent on improving my poker hand, I ignored the "scenery" and headed straight to the poker table where I drew a 7 of spades. With a sinking feeling, I realized that my best possible hand now was an outside shot at 3 of a kind. Bummer.

Anyway, it was back to the bike where a check of the scheduled route for the next leg to the Keel 'N Curley Winery took us far north on US-98 through heavy traffic and many traffic lights. After consulting with the rest of the group, we decided to go off the chart and ride some better roads to the Winery. We had a few tag-a-longs who had begun to follow our lead on the routes and they were treated to some of the better roads in the area., roads that they would have otherwise not seen.

We soon arrived at the Winery for the fourth card in our poker hands. Alas, the 5 of spades I drew was of no help, leaving me with hopes of no better than a pair of tens.

So it was that we headed back to the Plant City Elks Lodge with low poker expectations but high hopes for a good lunch. Both expectations were soon realized. But, hey, I still had tickets in my pocket for the 50-50 drawing and door prizes.

While we waited for the rest of the riders to return, Bill and I decided to visit Julie from the Tobacco Depot who had brought a nice selection of cigars to sell at the event. Choosing a couple of nice Cains, we adjourned to the shade of an old oak tree to enjoy our smokes. We were also joined by several other friends who participated in the conversation, if not the smoke.

After about an hour had passed and most of the other riders had returned, it was time to draw for the 50-50 and door prizes. Suffice it to say that although several members of our group were rewarded in the drawings, my luck continued to hold. I had to accept the hollow reward of having helped others with my donations.

So ended this week's ride. See you next week for another adventure. Meanwhile remember - "Not all who wander are lost."

RIDE WITH PRIDE.
Gunny