The Andre 360 Breakfast Run - Part Two
Our ride to Lake Placid had been one of the most stressful rides I’ve ever done. The visibility made it far less safe than I like and we probably should have just stopped. But the group was a seasoned bunch of riders and we successfully pushed on, finding that we could outlast the fog.
Riding west on the Firecracker Trail, the fog settled back giving us a couple thousand feet of visibility. While you could still see fields shrouded in the white blanket, the road was far safer as we started out on SR66. The road wove through gentle turns and soft hills as we went through the rural tracks and small towns.
We came to Zolfo Springs and did a couple turns moving from US17 to SR64 in a matter of yards. SR64 is the continuation of the Firecracker Trail that would lead us across the state to I-75. The road was still nice and somewhere after Lake Placid I must have lost my heel shifter. I suddenly found I had to return to old habits to shift gears using only the toe shifter. To my knowledge, that was the most severe loss of the trip.
Finding I75, we rode that to the I-275 exit that would take us across the Skyline Bridge. This was our first toll of the day and worth every penny. The span stretches out before you like serpentine concrete. The middle of the bridge reaches so high that the low clouds that were once creating the fog now shrouded the beams that reached skyward. It was nice enough to want to do again.
Once across the bridge I exited to regroup and check my directions. I shouldn’t have. We ended up in a lane forcing us to go one exit further than we wanted. After doubling back we made our way to the beach and soon found The Hurricane, our breakfast buffet destination.
The food was good, not great. The chatter was great. We had a really great bunch of guys that enjoyed the stop, but were ready to ride quickly. Afterall, it is about the ride. Another fog bank was rolling in on the bay and it was so thick that within minutes we couldn’t see the beach and water just a couple hundred feet away. It was time to move before the weather changed. We just weren’t ready for Andre’s bike to need gas, but it did… again… already.
We ended up leaving our normal route to search for gas. I have no idea where we were in the end, but it was deep into Tampa. Once fueled we were ready for the last leg of our journey. I’ll add that section tomorrow.