October 29, 2011 - San Antonio

I usually start this blog with something like "It was a beautiful morning..."  Today, that just wasn't so.  In fact, I drove out to Ace's place to pick up my bike with high hopes that the rain would clear by the time I got there.  As I stood outside the bike barn gazing at the cloud filled, rainy skies, Ace exited his house, got into his SUV and headed for the street.  I decided he was probably right, so I got back into my car and followed him into Plant City to meet the group for breakfast.

Arriving next to the Whistle Stop, I was surprised to see Robert's Harley, then Preacher showed up on his Wing!  Some guys just gotta ride.  Usually, I am one of them but had chickened out today.

As we stood talking and waiting for stragglers, the smell of baking bread was wafting out of the Whistle Stop's open kitchen door.  As we were commenting on the great aroma, Jerry came out of that door to join us.  We tried to convince him to bring out a fresh loaf and a tub of butter.  Alas, none was yet ready.  So off to Snellgrove's we went - Ace, Preacher, Big Ed, Jerry, Robert, Jade and I.

After breakfast, Jerry went back to baking his bread.  Ace & Big Ed went shopping.  I was about to leave when Preacher promised that the weather was improving and convinced me to ride also.  So, off to Dover we went to retrieve my Burgman.

Shortly after we started the ride, Preacher's prediction came true.  The rain stopped, resulting in some great riding conditions.  The route took us up to San Antonio for a stop at the San Ann Market.

Click on the map for details.

From there, we rode Jessamine, Bayhead, Bellamy Brothers, Pasco and St. Joe.

We stopped at Smitty's Smokehouse & Grill in Dade City for lunch.  The food is excellent and well priced.

Leaving Smitty's, Preacher and I headed for my house to replace a headlight bulb on Preacher's Wing while Robert and Jade headed back to Plant City.

All-in-all, it turned out to be a great day to Ride with Pride.  See you next time.

Gunny.