A Trip To Bike Week Chapter 5

Day two was more exciting. Started the day off by getting up early enough to have hot water in the shower. Ate at the Pancake restaurant. Good breakfast! Then we got on the road and things went down hill. We decided to go to the Speedway to watch practice for the bike races later that week. When we got to the speedway there was already a crowd there, so George turns into a gate that didn't have a line waiting. Turns out that was a walk in gate. I saw the sign that said "walk ins only" but George didn't! The rent a cop at the gate didn't take too kindly to George riding through the gate and even less when George didn't stop when the "cop" held out his hand. Seems George thought he was waving at him and being the friendly kinda guy George was he waved back and kept on going! By the time I got in and found George he was surrounded by rent a cops. He was trying to explain and the cops weren't listening. If I hadn't thought George was going to jail it would have been funny. It finally got all straightened out and we got a ticket and went into the speedway. If you have never been to Daytona Speedway you will be amazed at how large the track is. Those speedway bikes are awesome and the speeds they run are unbelievable. I sure would hate to hit the wall at that speed on a motorcycle. Those guys have bigger balls than I have that's for sure. They scared me just watching them. We spent the better part of the day at the speedway. When we left we went to the Boot Hill Saloon on Main street. We met some girls there from Townsend and invited them to come to the Hanky Panky later that evening. We also ran into some friends of mine from Clearwater. I hadn't seen them in a long time. We were sitting there reliving the old days, when my best friend, who used to live in Clearwater and now lives on Big Pine Key just north of Key West walked in. Man, the party was on then. We never did make it to the Hanky Panky that night....I wonder if those girls showed up looking for us. Didn't matter there were a lot of girls at Boot Hill and we danced with most of them!

End of Chapter 5 Next chapter I will tell about leaving Daytona and heading to Clearwater to see some more friends of mine a couple of people George knew when he was in the Air Force.

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A Trip To Bike Week chapter 4

On the road again..........hey I bet that would make a great song!
Leaving St Augustine and Jen was hard, but we had to get to Daytona. The ride from St Augustine to Daytona is an easy one and we stayed on A1A all the way. Getting into Daytona we were a little worried because we did not have motel reservations and wondered how hard a room was going to be to find. Coming thru Ormond Beach every motel had no vacancy signs up so when we spotted one with a vacancy sign we pulled in. Motel didn't look too bad although it was an older one, there were severial bikes there and we didn't know if we could find another. When the guy at the desk told us that some one had just canceled their reservation and that was the only room he had we decided to take it. $100.00 a night which seemed to be the going rate so we figured we were lucky. We moved our stuff into the room and then went on into Daytona. Well there were vacancy signs all up and down the beach in some real nice motels and after checking prices they were at $100.00 a night too. Oh well the one we had was clean and there were only 8 rooms in the whole motel so we figured it would be quieter  than the bigger ones on the beach and we had paid our money for the next few days so there was nothing we could do about it anyway. We went to the Speedway and rode around down on Main St. There must have been 1000s of bikes there. We found a place to park the bikes and George wanted to walk up and down Main St. and see what all was there. We bought some t shirts and other junk, hit a few bars and just people watched. Believe me there were plenty of sights to see.
David Allen Coe was scheduled   to be at the Iron Horse Saloon that night so we decided to ride on out and check out what was happening there. When we got there there were so many bikes at the Iron Horse we had to park in a lot across the street!  There were bands playing on stage and as soon as one was finished another took it's place......I thought "Cheap Whiskey" was as good a band as I have heard. They also had the Wall of Death Riders there and that's always a good show. I always thought I would like to try that sometime but if somebody said go ahead I bet I would chicken out! Well we stayed until after DAC's show then looked for a bar closer to the motel to end the night. We stopped at the Hanky Panky Bar on A1A in Ormond beach. This place became our base camp while we were in Daytona. Good music, good DJ and videos of a lot of the songs. Oh a lot of pretty and friendly girls too. We danced and partied the night away.
The next morning we got up and I decided to take a shower before we left. OOPS no hot water. Seems this motel had a unique kinda water heater. The water was held in a large tank out back. More of a drum than a tank! There was a propane fed fire under the drum that heated the water. So when you turned on the hot water it came from this drum, problem was there wasn't enough for the motel when it was full and every body took a shower in the morning. Because we didn't get up until about 11:00, remember we had a long night last night, there was none left. (Note to self...get yer ass outta bead early if ya want a shower). Ok a cold shower later I was ready for some breakfast. George remembered a pancake house just up the road so that is where we went. Either they had the best pancakes I have ever had or I was really really hungry.

Ok end of day one in Daytona. Check back to read about day two and why George almost got arrested!

A Trip To Bike Week Chapter 3

A Trip To Bike Week Chapter 3

Well back on the road……..Macon behind us we are looking forward to getting off I 16 and on A1. Pretty soon we see the sign that says Oak Park, Highway A1 next exit. What a beautiful sight! We head South on A1 toward Oak Park and points south. It had warmed up and I was enjoying the ride. On South we went, through a town called Santa Claus Ga. And soon we were coming into Waycross. Now, you have to get gas in Waycross even if you don’t need it yet cause just south of there is the Okefenokee swamp and it’s a good ways thru there and there are no filling stations until you get out of the swamp. It is a beautiful place but I would not want to be broke down or out of gas anywhere thru there, especially on a motorcycle. So we filled up in Waycross and headed on back south. Now as I said my bike had a lot smaller tank than George’s and sure enough before we got all the way thru the swamp I was on reserve and looking for the end of the swamp. Now just as you come out of the swamp there is a filling station on the left. Believe me that station was a welcome sight when it came into view. My bike held 2.7 gals of gas when it was complete empty and it took 2.5 gals to fill it up. No problem right? After all I had 2/10 of a gal of gas to spare…….again George said something about the luckiest guy he ever saw….Hummmm………If I’m so lucky how come I never win the lottery? Hummm tell me that!
Any way back on the road after enduring a kidding from George and a couple of other bikers, that were there when we got there, about how worried I looked coming thru the swamp. The next stop would be at the Florida line for some pictures and to get rid of the helmets. Florida does not have a helmet law so off they came. It feels so good to ride without a helmet. A lot of people don’t understand the feeling of freedom you get with that helmet off. I know, I know a lot of people say we are crazy to ride without helmets but unless you are a biker you just wouldn’t understand. Anyway I don’t want this story to be about the helmet law good or bad. Lets just say I don’t think anyone should be able to tell me, at my age, that I have to wear a helmet. Let me make up my own mind…………..Ok, nuff said.
After getting some good picts of the bikes and us at the Welcome to Florida sign we hit the road again. Soon we decided to get on A1A because it goes down the beaches and is a much nicer ride although slower because of all the traffic. Pretty soon we came to a place where they were having a car show. We pulled in cause we were ready for a break and I wanted to take a look at the cars. It was a cool show; they had a bunch of old sports cars and such. I saw several old Ferrari and Masaratti along with Vetts and Cobras. There was even an old Dusenburg there. I could have stayed all day but we wanted to be in St. Augustine before dark. So I let George pry me loose without much argument.
Back South we went and soon we were coming into Jacksonville. I pulled the same thing on George that I did in Atlanta and jumped on I 95 for the trip thru Jacksonville. But I cooled it thru there because I wasn’t as familiar with the route like I was Atlanta. It didn’t take too long and we were thru Jacksonville and back on A1A again.
Soon we were coming into St. Augustine. St. Augustine is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been in and I wanted to look around some. George lived in St. Augustine for a while when he was in the Air force so he kinda knew his way around although it had been awhile since he was there. And of course Jen lives there so I had two guides to show me around.
I was looking forward to seeing Jen again. We got a Motel room and headed to the “Sunset Grill” for a steak and to see Jen. The parking lot was full of bikes when we got there. She had been looking for us all day and was starting to get worried when we walked in. She spotted us just as we came thru the door and came running up and gave me a big hug and kiss that lasted for at lest a minute. Boy she felt good and at that minute I was tempted to say the hell with bike week and just stay in St. Augustine with Jen. But I knew that no matter how good of friends Jen and I were we would never be able to stand each other for long. Jen and I have a relationship that goes way back to the old Clearwater days. I met her when I moved into an apartment at Indian Rocks Beach and she lived next door. It wasn’t long until she moved in with me. We were inseparable for a time but we are too much alike and we always end up in some silly argument. We decided along time ago that we were better off as friends than lovers. But damn she looked good and felt good too. All the other bikers in the grill were looking at us and I could tell that quite a few were wishing they were in my place and I don’t blame them. Jen is quit a woman.
I introduced her to George and she clocked out and sat down with us. George and I had a prime rib each and it was really good and the cold beer was even better. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Jen and neither could George. I swear she gets better looking with age. She was 17 when I first met her and a beautiful woman then, but now she is a knockout.
The longer we sat there talking and laughing about old times the larger the group at our table became. Pops and Jake came in with their group and sat down. The beers begin to flow and the party became wilder and wilder. We were having a great time then someone suggested a burnout contest in the parking lot. So outside we went and then the fun really begin. A bunch of the guys were doing burnouts and wheelies across the parking lot trying to outdo each other. Then the cops showed up. After that the party broke up into smaller groups and moved on from bar to bar down the beach. Things finely ended about 3 or 4 in the morning and every body went back to where ever they were staying. When we got back to our motel the parking lot was full of bikes. Man I just love Bike Week!
I tried to talk Jen into going on to Daytona with us but she had to work, so the next morning we struck out south to Daytona and the big party.

A Trip to Bike Week chapter 2

A Trip to Bike Week chapter 2

We got back on the road and headed to Macon Ga. Where we were going to connect with I 16. Plans were to take I 16 to US1 then continue on to St. Augustine Fla where we would spend the night and visit with an old friend of mine in St. Augustine. Jen works at a restaurant/ bar called “The Sunset Grill” in St. Augustine on A1A. One of the worlds greatest highways.
The ride to Macon was uneventful except for all the other bikes headed down to Florida. A group was passing us or we were passing a group of bikes most all the time. The whole World was headed for Bike Week it seems.
Soon we were on I 16 headed East. It was getting late and we were getting hungry so after we got through Macon we started looking for a place to spend the night. A little ways out of Macon we came to an exit where there were several Motels and Restaurants so we pulled in, got a room and went looking for something to eat and drink. There was a Hooters down the street and that seemed like a good place. A plus was all the bikes parked out side. We went in to get something to eat and there was a couple of old friends that I used to ride with out of Atlanta. I introduced George to Jake and Pops and the party was on. It was about 3:00 in the morning when we got back to our room and the early start we had planned in the morning looked like a lost cause now.
It was still early when there was a knock at our door. I looked at my watch…….damn not even 8:oo yet! Who the hell was knocking at the door? I got up and opened the door and there were two girls I seemed to remember from the party last night.
. “We’re ready to go” one of them said.
“Go?” I asked, “Go where?”
“To Daytona “ she said.
“GEORGE!!!” I yelled. “Did you tell these girls they could ride to Daytona with us?”
“Wa Wa well,” he stammered, uh uh maybe”
“Uh excuse me ladies” I told them and shut the door.
“George damnit where do you think they are gonna sit? Both bikes are loaded down and barely have room for us to sit”
“Well it seemed like a good idea at the time” he said.
“Well get rid of them!” I said.
“How the hell am I gonna do that?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care…………Tell them something. I don’t care what!”
“I’m gonna take a shower and they better be gone when I get out!”
Well, I still don’t know what he told em, but they were gone when I got out of the shower.
We went out to get on the bikes and find some breakfast. There musta been a cold front that came through that night cause both bikes had ice on them and it was back down in the twenties again………..sigh. We went across the street to an Omelet House and had something to eat. I asked George what he as thinking when he asked those girls to ride down with us.
“Hell” I said, “I don’t think they had 10 teeth between them.”
“They weren’t that bad!” he said
“Well I guess that proves what they say,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“The girls all get prettier at closing time” I said and busted out laughing.
“You ain’t ever gonna let me live this down” He said, “are ya?”
“Nope…no way!”After a few more laughs we got back on the road.

A Trip to Bike Week ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was a dark and stormy night..........................hehehehehe not really I just always wanted to start a story that way..................sorry. It was late February, the temp was 27 degrees and we were leaving for Bike week. George and I had been looking forward to this day for awhile and a little cold weather wasn’t gonna stop us. It had been several years since I had been to bike week or even to Florida. And those who know me best know how much I love being in Florida. George had never been to bike week and was looking forward to it as much as I was. We had planned to ride down the secondary roads and stay off of the Interstate highway as much as possible. After all the ride down was the important thing and we were in no hurry for it to end. I had on four layers of clothes including my leather jacket and my chaps and so did George so we thought we would be warm enough. George’s bike had fairing with ducts that directed the engine heat to his legs when opened so he was fine.........I had a windshield which I knew wasn’t gonna do much. George had electric gloves.......I had...........well gloves. So about 9:30 or so that morning we were off. We were going to ride down to Lenior City, then take 321 across the dam, and down through Tellico Village to 411. Then on down to Georgia on 411, where we would connect with Hwy 41. We stopped for coffee in Madisonville and in my case to warm up a little and soon we were off again. Although cold I was enjoying the ride and looking forward to the rest of it. I was having such a good time being free and riding that I forgot to set the trip meter on my speedo. So somewhere in Georgia my scooter sputtered..........oops outta gas.......oh well I got a reserve so I reach down to switch to reserve. OH NO! its already on reserve. Seems I forgot to switch reserve off the last time I filled up. STUPID!! But the force was with me because there at the bottom of the hill was a gas station. I coasted right up to the pump just like I planned it that way. I looked over at George, a shit eatin grin on my face, but he just shook his head and said something about me being the luckiest guy he knew.........I wonder what he meant by that? So this time I turned the reserve off and set the trip meter. I didn’t think I would be this lucky next time in spite of what George said. Soon we were off again, down through Georgia on 41 we were getting close to Atlanta and I was not looking forward to finding a way around Hotlanta with out getting on I 75. We had discussed several different ways in the days leading up to our trip but none seemed to be a good option. George had made it clear that he did not want to go thru Atlanta on I 75. He did not like riding in all that traffic. On the other hand, I had lived in Atlanta for several years before moving back to Tennessee so it didn’t bother me all that much. I made sure I was in the lead as we went through Marietta still on 41. Just as you are leaving Marietta there is an entrance ramp to the interstate and without George knowing what I was doing I zipped up the ramp and we were on I 75. I sped up and soon we were in downtown Atlanta with six and sometimes eight lanes of traffic all going 75 mph or better. I knew George was gonna be mad but there wasn’t anything he could do unless he got in front and took a off ramp. Soooooo I swerved in and out of traffic sometimes at 80mph and more and soon we were South of Atlanta. Of course my ears were burning from whatever George was saying about me but at least Atlanta was behind us. I slowed down and George zoomed by me all four straight pipes on his Valkrie bellowing at me..........hehehehe.......he hit the next off ramp and slid to a stop the first place he could get off the road. "What the hell was that?" George said in a rather loud aggravated voice. "That was Hotlanta" I replied. "Hell I know it was ‘Lanta" he said. "I mean I thought we were gonna by pass Atlanta?" "Oh? Were we" I said all innocent "Yeah we talked about that don’t you remember" "We did?" I asked then busted out laughing I just couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. "Sorry I said I was thinking of how red your face was the few glimpses I got of it in my in my mirror." Then George busted out laughing too. "Damn" he said, "I was scared to death and you were swerving in and out of them cars sometimes from the far left across 4 lanes to the far right and then back again." Didn’t you see that cop over in the right lane as we passed Turner Field." "Cop?" I said, "no, I wonder why he didn’t come after us?" "Hell he probably couldn’t believe it either" said George. After a few more laughs we decided to get something to eat before we got back on the road and as it was finally starting to warm up some to get rid of some clothes.