April 25, 2009 - Leesburg

Another glorious day in paradise started with a group breakfast at Snellgroves in Plant City. Afterward, Boyd, Bob & I headed to Leesburg via some of our favorite roads, including Green Pond Road and CR-561.

Our first stop was at Champions Honda where they were celebrating the Bike Fest with a great sale, pizza and a couple of stunt riders. The main reason for our stop, however, was for Boyd to have a new rear tire mounted on his V-Max (yes, already).

Before I continue with my story I have a small quiz. You can identify the object pictured below?

No, it is not a bird's nest. Give up? Remember that Boyd was there to get a new tire and he chose not to leave any good rubber on the old tire, so....

He smoked the tire. Check out the video below.

What was left on the pavement after the tire blew was a pile of burned rubber.

What was left wrapped around the V-Max's rear axle and inside the differential was the tire wire shown in the first photograph.

While Boyd and I waited for the tire change, Bob headed downtown to the Bike Fest.

With the new tire mounted, Boyd and I headed to the Lakeridge Winery to check out their Jazz Festival. We had hardly gotten off the bikes when we heard a familiar voice. It turned out to be Lloyd who had brough Julie and her parents to enjoy the music, sunshine, wine and beer.

Jule & her mother.

After visiting for a while and enjoying the scenery (we developed a new appreciation for green Chiffon), Boyd & I headed home. Another great ride, great day and great memories.

Ride with Pride.

Gunny

April 18 - Drills

Today was something a little different. We met as usual for breakfast then adjourned to the Plant City PD practice pad.

As we gathered for some parking lot drills, Tommy Traffic brought out a new piece of test equipment.

It turned out to be a Buell Ulysses Police Motorcycle.

Powered by a 1203cc V-Twin, this special duty cycle is designed to travel a variety of surfaces from highway to dirt roads. Interestingly, the Ulysses carries its fuel inside the frame rather than in a traditional gas tank. That allows the cycle a lower center of gravity. The high ground clearance supposedly allows the Ulysses to go where a Road King dare not tread.

We eventually moved on to the pad, replacing the usual traffic cones with tennis ball halves to protect our more delicate street bikes from the indignities of contact with the unforgiving traffic cones.

After a couple of hours of much needed practice, we headed to Lakeland for a very enjoyable lunch at Mojo’s. The food was excellent, the prices fair and the service was unique.

Next Saturday we will be heading to Leesburg.

April 4, 2009 - Ozello Trail

What a beautiful day for a ride! The temperature was about 60 degrees when seven of us met for breakfast in Plant City this morning and climbed steadily all day, reaching a sunny 88 degrees this afternoon. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Leaving those with other things to do in Plant City, Eddie Richter, Boyd Harrell and I headed north en route to the Ozello Trail and Peck's Old Port Cove. By the time we reached San Antonio, our tires were warmed enough to take on Jessamine Road which is always a fun ride. We then rode on to Spring Lake, then Brooksville. Traveling north out of Brooksville on Citrus Way, Eddie fired up his CB and began talking about someplace on our route that he had always wanted to investigate. As he was not exactly sure where it was, I had him take the lead. After much searching, he pulled off the highway somewhere just north of Stage Coach Trail. The street sign said Lone Ct. and Lecanto Hwy., but the closest I could see to Lone Ct. was a cow path.

They could not have meant this trail. It is listed as Trail 22 on the map.Anyway, Eddie told us there were caves down this forest trail and he set off to find them.

After a long walk in the woods, we found the first cave and Eddie immediately headed down into it.

Boyd and I quickly followed him down into the cave where we examined some modern day cave art.Now, the cave did continue underground for some ways, but the passages seemed a little restricted for men of stature such as ourselves, so we exited the way we came to explore from above. In Many places, the caves have collapsed leaving them exposed to the sky.You know Boyd. He can never be satisfied with a normal picture. Here he is videoing the photographer.Making our way back to the trail head we located our waiting steeds and prepared to complete the trip to Ozello.The rest of the trip to Peck's via the Ozello Trail was fairly uneventful. The Trail was as beautiful and challenging as ever. Lunch at Peck's was the usual excellent fare. Then came the ride out. One of the best things about going to Peck's is that you get to ride the Ozello Trail in both directions.

We took the opportunity on the way home to have a little more fun on Hayman, Bayhead and Bellamy Brothers Roads.

We eventually had to call the day to a close, but not without a stop to see Eddie's new Boat. I hope this thing brings Eddie and I a lot of future fun.See you all soon,

Gunny
Ride with Pride
Not All Who Wander are Lost

March 28 - Montverde, Winter Garden & Lake Minneola

Six of us met for breakfast this morning with the intent of riding to Ozello. After the morning fog was cleared by food and coffee, lots of coffee, only two of us were able to saddle up for today's ride. Bill was still feeling the effects of the creeping crud he had been fighting all week. Eddie had to head home to prepare for his 1st grade class reunion. Robert was called in to work. And Greg Horn, well I forget what he had to do but I am sure it was something important.

Anyway, Lloyd and I decided to save Ozello until more people could make the trip, so we turned northeast and headed toward Montverde. As you can see from the map below, I believe that the best route between any two points is a curvy road. Today, those curvy roads included Swindell, Rockridge, Green Pond, CR-455 & CR-561.

After arriving in Montverde, we decided to head over to to Performance Honda in Winter Garden so Lloyd could look for a new helmet. The last time I was there, the back third of the store was filled with accessories. Now, their accessories are limited to what can be mounted on the walls. All floor space is now dedicated to the display of new motorcycles.

Performance Honda did not have the helmet that Lloyd wanted, so we headed next door to Champions Yamaha. (Yes, its the same company that owns Champions Honda in Leesburg,) Lloyd was able to find a helmet he liked and came away with a new white HJC Sy-Max II. All the way home, I got the oddest feeling that I was seeing myself in my rear view mirror - same bike, same color, same helmet style and color - weird.

Anyway, buying stuff made us hungry so we headed over to Lake Minneola where Lloyd introduced me to the Tiki Hut at the Lake Minneola Inn. It is tucked away on the east shore of Lake Minneola and sits right on the water, or would if the water levels weren't so low (it is point D on the map above). Believe me, you won't find this place by accident but the food was excellent as was the atmosphere and view. It is definitely someplace we will visit again.

Sand Sailors

Our waitress.

Lloyd waiting for lunch to arrive.

After lunch we headed home across 561 and a second trip across Green Pond Road. Another great day on the road.

"Not all who wander are lost."

Gunny

February 21 - Tampa Bay

Today's great ride took us around Tampa Bay. Bill was busy with his camera, so I'll just refer you to his blog, The Navigator's Rides, for a complete run down on today's activities. The map below depicts our route.


Not all who wander are lost.
Gunny

February 14 - Moss Bluff and the Dam Diner

What a great day for a ride.  The day started with the unexpected arrival of Boyd in his new knee-dragging attire.  This good looking, high tech suit is complete with hard external knee pads to he can lay the V-Max over like a true racer.  The knee pads have not been scuffed yet, but the foot pegs do show evidence pavement contact.  I think he's the only rider in the group that could get that bike leaning over so far.

After breakfast at Snellgrives, six bikes and seven riders headed north towards the Ocala National Forest via Kathleen, Rockridge, Green Pond and CR-561.  The map below shows our route for the day.  (Remember - you can enlarge any image by clicking on it.)

Here we are at a comfort stop at CR-561 and US-27.  

J.T. and Debbie sharing a laugh.

Bill, Boyd and Robert swapping tales.

After the comfort stop, Bill, Eddie and Robert headed back to Plant City so Bill could retreive his ST from the repair shop.  Meanwhile, Boyd, J.T., Debbie and I continued north on CR-561 towards Leesburg where we stopped at Champions Honda so Boyd could pick up some goodies for the V-Max.  

Leaving Leesburg we made our way north to Forest Road (182nd Ave. Rd.) which carried us along the western edge of the Ocala National Forest to Moss Bluff on SR-464C.  Crossing the Ocklawaha River, we arrived at the Dam Diner.

Although this small eatery is stuck in a fairly remote location, it is a very busy place with a devoted clientele.  The food is excellent and plentiful and breakfast is served all day.

The Diner gets its name from the nearby dam and lock across the Ocklawaha River.  The lock can bee seen on the right.  The spillway is seen on the left.

A collection of carved wooden elephants stands guard near the dam.

After lunch, we worked our way over to US-301 for the trip home.  It was a great day for a ride with good friends, good weather and good roads.  Be sure to join us for future rides.

Gunny

January 31 - San Antonio Area

We were six for breakfast this morning: Bill & Mercy, Robert, J.T., Eddie & myself. Afterward, four of us bundled up for our ride while Mercy & Robert headed for home. We turned northwest towards San Antonio to ride some of our favorite roads, including Jessamine, Powell, Hayman, Bayhead and Bellamy Brothers.

We then headed back to San Antonio intending to have lunch at Pancho's Villa. Unfortunately, the crowd waiting to get into this popular restaurant overflowed out onto the street. Deciding we were not that hungry after all, three of us headed for Performance Honda while Bill headed back to Plant City mumbling something about *&^%$# taxes. Arriving at Curley Road & SR-54 we found extremely heavy traffic. Soon thereafter, J.T. decided he had better things to do and headed home while Eddie and I persevered.

Finding nothing at Performance that we could not live without, Eddie and I headed to Land O' Lakes for lunch at Hungry Harry's. While the food there is normally excellent, the cook must have been having an off day leaving Eddie and I both disappointed.

After lunch we decided not to subject ourselves to the traffic on SR-54 again. So, we headed north on 41 to pickup Ehren Cutoff Road which took us back to SR-52. We then headed for home via SR-52, Old Lakeland, Chancey & SR-39.

Although the day started very cool, some might even say cold, we had a great ride over some very nice roads, travelling about 160 miles. Come out and join us next time.

Gunny

January 24 - Lake Okeechobee

Three riders and four well wishers gathered at Snellgroves for breakfast this week. After more than an hour of coffee, conversation and vittles, the three Wings, ridden by Lloyd Lowery, Boyd Harrell & I, headed southeast towards Lake Okeechobee. Although a cool start, the day warmed quickly and proved to be a great day for riding.

The map below indicates our route for the day. (Remember - the map and all pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

Soon after arriving in Avon Park, it was time to shed a few layers.By the time we made it down to the City of Okeechobee, it was early afternoon and time for some lunch. Being new to the area we let our noses guide us to a place on 441 called Cowboys.

Interesting door pulls.The interior is filled with many interesting decorations.Including many awards for their barbequing prowess.Lloyd & I settle in for some good food.After lunch, we headed south on SR-78. We made a fuel stop in Clewiston where one of us failed to heed the little red sign & ended up paying more for gas than the others. Just out of frame are two employees having a good grin at the expense of the guy pumping his own gas at the full service pump.The Hubert Hoover Dike runs all around Lake Okeechobee, making the lake itself almost impossible to see from most vantage points. Although a foot trail and bicycle path run along the top of the dike, Clewiston has one of the few places you can get inside the dike by wheeled vehicles. You can just see a small portion of the lake past the weed line.Boyd and Lloyd look over the canal that also runs all the way around the lake. The canal was formed by dredging for the dirt used to build the dike. In places, the canal runs inside the dike and other places it runs outside of the dike.Lloyd examines the sea wall beside the canal. Leaving Clewiston, we headed east across the bottom of the lake then up the east side of the lake and back to Okeechobee. The area around the lake is fairly sparsely populated. The main industries are tourism, fishing and, of course, sugar cane. We could often smell the sweet odor of freshly cut cane as we rode through the area.

Once back in Okeechobee, we headed north on 441 to Yeehaw Junction where we stopped for refreshment before heading into the sunset on SR-60.

It was a great day and a great ride. Including side trips, we covered about 380 miles through Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands, Okeechobee, Glades, Hendry, Palm Beach, Martin and Osceola counties and arrived home about 7:30 p.m. - tired and happy.

Gunny