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.