Curse of the Wauchula
Posted in Motorcycles, Repairs, Rides, Trips on November 17th, 2009Well, it isn’t an adventure movie but it’s always an adventure. This time our Wauchula trip broke down literally. Ian’s Harley became I’ll and we stopped for repairs. We ended up riding back almost to Teri’s house before it totally died. Then we had an adventure with the trailer as we finally to the bike home. It all ended with a great meal at our new hangout.
Sebring Ride to the Heartland
Posted in 360Bikers, Just Plain Cool, Local Events, Motorcycles, Rides, Special Events on October 4th, 2009Occasionally, the stars align, your luck is great and you wind up with a great ride. Once again the most popular riding club in South Florida came up with a dandy ride for Saturday, October the 3rd. See photos on our Meet Up site under 360 Bikers.
Under a 40% chance of rain threat we started our journey at the Gun Club Cafe. It’s a great breakfast joint in West Palm Beach. It’s cozy, the food is great and there’s plenty of parking. We headed North on Beeline highway (710) from Haverhill Rd. It was pretty much a straight shot to (70) in Okeechobee from Beeline Hwy. We met the rest of our crew at the Racetrac gas station here. About 14 riders joined here to make a large crew of about 28. Our route followed 70 North to 98 North. From there it was about an hour to Sebring and SR 27. Just a few miles North on 27 took us to downtown Sebring, FL.
I have been to many bikefests in FL but had never even heard of the Heartland ride unitl now. The fest was much more than I imagined. There was food, fun and deals to be had for all. One of the highlights of the day for me was the Central Florida Drill Team. Most drill teams I have seen, have made use of the compact Harley Electra Glides, which make all the maneuvering considerably easier. However, at least 2 of the Central Florida riders sported the Flagship of tourers, the Goldwing. It was especially impressive as the Goldwings did everything the Glides did and just as smooth. We picked up a pair of MP3 equipped sun glasses for my better half for a great price and the obligatory event patch and pins. The whole fest had a strong resemblance to Leesburg, in scope and content. Although Leesburg is better known.
The ride back was just a pleasurable as the ride to the fest and followed the same route. Normally not a 360 staple but it was great all the same. We have some great ride leaders and organziers. We also have plenty of safety conscious and experienced members, mixed in with some newer riders. The blend is smooth and effortless and it shows when we ride.
That our beautiful state is hot is understatement, but at 55 mph plus, little traffic, no stop and go, underneath the blue skies and an Eagle flying overhead, I couldn’t think of a better way for 28 brothers and sisters to spend a Saturday.
Once again a great ride, after all, that’s what 360Bikers are known for. Until next time, RIDE SAFE!
GR
Pie
Posted in Motorcycles on May 3rd, 2009Yesterday our group rode on one of out more popular ride: The Flora &Ella’s 360 Pie Ride. This was the fifth time I’ve planned this ride but the first time I had the chance to to on it. Needless to say the pie was great. The rude and riders were fantastic. It made for a great Saturday.
Dune Dog Riding
Posted in 360Bikers, Just Plain Cool, Local Events, Motorcycles on April 6th, 2009Welcome once again faithful readers to another installment of the 360 Bikers Blog. The 360 Bikers are the most popular Motorcycle riding club in South Florida and the ride today was a prime reason for our popularity.
The ride to Dune Dog began at 10:00am at the Starbucks in front of the Wellington Mall. About 33 riders showed up to take the ride. Ice coffee was the way to go as the sunny South Florida weather was already well under way. After some picture taking and lots of greetings we got down to our rider meeting. I believe every make and model was represented from 250cc Rebels to 6 cylinder Hondas.
The first group was lead by our fearless leader Lee and tailed by Nick. I lead the second group tailed by our resident expert Hawk. Our route for the day took us through Wellington heading West. Whenever we ride as a group we turn heads but when you ride 25-30 bikes strong, that’s a parade. We cruised through Wellington into Royal Palm and took a slight detour for some quick maintenance on a members motorcycle. The groups flip flopped the lead and tail gunners with Lee joining the group I was leading and Hawk leading the second group with Nick Tail Gunning. The switch was flawless and we barely skipped a beat.
Our group maintained a leisurely pace along Crestwood on to Royal Palm Beach Boulevard. We headed North to Orange, West to Coconut, North to Northlake and East to Bee Line Highway. I wrote this all in one sentence because essentially we did not stop at any of these locations. We barely hesitated, catching each light or arriving just as the light was beginning to change. This makes for a great flow when riding in a group. Our ride North West on Beeline was the quickest part of our trip as the speed limit reaches 60 mph on stretches of Beeline. Traffic was light and the traffic lights were accommodating.
We headed North East on Pratt Whitney adn then East on Indiantown Road. This stretch took us back into town and what I thought would be the most congested part of our trip. Boy was I surprised. Our good luck with smooth traffic and accommodating lights continued all the way East on Indiantown Road. If any of you have ever traveled on Indiantown Road you know it is the most congested road in Jupiter. There are shops, stores, dealers, shopping malls and restaurants every 10 feet. None of those affected our ride this day. We made record time all the way to Federal Hwy or Dixie Hwy, depending on what town your in. At this point we finally stopped for more than 1 minute (just barely) at a traffic light. There was more than one rider getting up off of their seat to stretch.
We headed North for about 3 blocks to Dune Dog on the East side of the road. The parking lot had plenty of room and we were soon parked across the parking lot. We posed for a few shots here and headed inside. About 15 minutes after we pulled in the second group pulled into the parking lot and we were once again one big happy group. We found some more great friends and 360 Bikers to hang with inside Dune Dogs. Mark, Yarka, Maverick and Dale, long time 360 bikers, met us for lunch and the ride home.
Lunch consisted of Leroy Brown’s Junkyard Dog, (it was great) and Baby Back Ribs, w/hot wings, coleslaw and fries for the missus. Lunch was ordered and served in good time considering every seat in the house seemed to be taken. The pricing was reasonable and the service was friendly. We posed for some more shots after lunch and headed out.
We headed North once again to find Ocean avenue and immediately were stuck waiting on a raised bridge. After a few minutes and some more pictures we started again. We continued South to Indiantown, East to Ocean and then headed South along the beach. Back on to US 1 for a few miles then East to Ocean once again. We achieved a good flow along the Ocean with some great views. We headed West along Blue Heron Blvd and were separated by a traffic light at Australian. As my group, slowed to wait for those at the light we lost touch with the front group. We continued South on Australian enjoying the weather and the ride. At 45th street, Hawk rode to the front and suggested we go West on 45th and we soon caught the first group and passed them as they had stopped to wait for us.
We continued West on 45th, losing our second gunner, Nick, here. Love the bike Nick (Yamaha Raider). We headed South on Haverhill Road to Roebuck for our connection to Jog Road. We headed South on Jog Road. As we headed South on Jog Road, members began to peel off. We actually, left the group here, and headed East on SR 80. It was another great 360 plan and another great 360 ride. Until next time, Ride Safe!!!
GR
Helping Hand!!
Posted in 360Bikers, Just Plain Cool, Motorcycles, Safety on March 26th, 2009Welcome faithful readers, to another edition of 360 Bikers Blog. The latest blog from the most popular Motorcycle Club in South Florida. The members of 360 Bikers are some of the finest people you will ever meet. Check out our website and follow our visionary leader as he leads a great group in supporting a great cause.
Today I would like to share a helpful tip I picked up in Daytona, during Bike Week 2009. I was actually watching the Harley Davidson drill team go through their paces at the Harley Davidson dealership on Beach Street. If you have never seen a drill team go to work it is something to see. Have you ever seen the fully dressed touring motorcycles in parades? They accelerate and do figure eights all within inches of each other. Chances are those motorcyclists were part of a drill team. The motorcycle units on Police forces have to go through similar training to hone their skills.
My wife, Brandy and I watched the entire show. The entire time the drill team was riding in circles and figure eights, the leader was talking about what they were doing on his headset microphone. At the end of the ride. The leader stopped and invited us all a little closer. As we got closer he got off his 2006 Ultra Glide and proceeded to lower it , as gently as possible, over on to it’s side!!!! As the Harley laid on it’s engine guard, I could only think of the veins popping out of my brother’s neck if he saw his 2003 Ultra laying on it’s side!!! The leader walked over to the crowd and asked us, “how many guys will it take to get this bike upright?’ The general consensus was a minimum of 2, there were calls for 3, if the second was your 98 lb wife. The leader said, “what would you say if I told you an 11 year old girl picked this bike up all by herself?”
About this time I am looking for the angle. My thought was, he doesn’t expect us to believe him so where’s he going with this? Outside of a short, retired, former Olympic women’s weight lifter coming out of a dressing room and lifting this bike, I can’t see it happening.
The leader’s name is Don. Don says, “Have you ever laid your bike down or had a buddy lay his bike down? I’m going to show you how an 11 year old girl picked up this bike and how you can too. I will need a volunteer.” Being the nice guy that I am, I put my hand in the small of Brandy’s back and shoved her into the middle of the circle. She was less then pleased. Eventually though, she relented to being a volunteer. Don began with a few questions for Brandy and then went into the steps she would use to lift the bike. 
“First thing you must do is make sure you are not hurt or your passenger is not hurt. The bike can be repaired. The second thing you must do is make sure the bike is off, power, ignition switch. Next you make sure the bike is in gear, so it does not roll away as you are trying to lift it. Extend the kick stand, depending on which way your bike is laying. Do a little stretching to prepare yourself. Put the small of your back into the front seat and plant your feet about six inches apart in front of you. Use your left or right hand (depending on which way your bike is laying) to grasp the handlebar, under handed. Use the other hand to find a something to hold onto, normally a passenger grab rail. Choose something that won’t brake or bend. You will be using your legs, the strongest muscles on your body. Slowly shuffle your feet backward using the muscles in your legs to push the bike upright. The shuffle motion is like doing Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.”
I am fairly pessimistic, so I’m thinking my 5′ 2″ inch wife will not be able to lift this bike alone. Boy, was I wrong. Brandy lifted the bike ont he first try, all on her own. After her, an even smaller young lady lifted the bike. Then an older lady lifted the bike. Of course, I wouldn’t embarrass myself (and as far as I saw, neither were any of the other men) by trying myself. What if I couldn’t do it!?!?!? 
This was an amazing display and a great tip. Don told the story of one of his female students who wouldn’t go out for a ride unless her boyfriend rode along. She said she was scared she wouldn’t be able to handle the bike if it fell over or something. After being taught how to pick the bike up properly, she turned to her boyfriend and said. “I guess, I don’t need you anymore.”
Finally, this really does work. If you’re ever out with the 360 Bikers, ask Brandy about it. She offered to demonstrate but I won’t allow her to lay my bike on it’s side. Next time we’re out at Fisherman’s village though Hawk, you have nothing to worry about. Until next time, Ride Safe!!!
GR
Forms Committee
Posted in Motorcycles on March 24th, 2009Our forms committee is hard at work meeting the requirements of the IRS as the fill out the 27 page document for federal tax exemption.
