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Negligence of writing here has been a bad habit of mine lately. Last week we had a great ride and over 60 photos posted on the meetup site. It was relaxing and when I got back I just zoned out. There’s been a lot on the plate lately.

Today, we had a ride that Rich came up with quite awhile ago. It’s about time we actually did the ride and it proved to be everything he said it would be. We started at the Harley-Davidson store in West Palm Beach. It’s a common meeting place for our group because it’s right off I-95 and makes it easy for all our riders to get there in time. We left at 8:30 as scheduled and headed towards Okeechobee, another standard leg that we do on many rides. Once there, we kept on US98 north and started the route we hadn’t done before in our group. After moving north awhile, we hit back roads that took us west to Punta Gorda. It was a nice, relaxing ride on country roads We rode into the Fisherman’s Village area and to the restaurant on the water where we had a nice lunch with friends.

As food went, it wasn’t that great. The key was the location. On the water we watched catamarans and yachts cruise by as we ate, drank, and talked with our friends. We had a superb waitress who dazzled us with her incredible memory (she took no notes with orders for 13 people and never slipped once!) and had a nice lunch in general. This Fisherman’s area has several buildings with shops in it and we walked through it after lunch. Trudy and Mark were taken captive by a store and finally escaped so we could leave.

Keep in mind that we’ve traveled about 150 miles to get there and now have a bit over that to get home. Weather played games with us on the way up and wasn’t done with us for the ride home. Rich led us to the roads he planned for the way back and everyone was very pleased with this part of the trip. It was great. Winding back roads with forests, estates, and great views all the way back. We even saw a gator sitting by the corner at one turn. The roads took us all the way into La Belle. This is a route we’ll work into a ride again. It was just to good to not revisit.

On the way back there was an edginess in the group. I’m not sure why. It could have been the occasional spritz we had or the major rains that surrounded us as we rode the last leg home. After Clewiston we hit some rain in Belle Glade, but all in all, it wasn’t bad at all. It turned out to be a great day for a great ride. If you can’t get wet, you can’t really ride… especially in South Florida.

We had a new rider, Guz, who came on his 1200 Sportster. This was a tough ride to start with our group, especially on the Sporty, but he did a great job. It was great that with 8 bikes we actually had 3 occupied by couples. I think that’s pretty cool and everyone was great. Connie was our only female bike rider as the other girls didn’t make it. It was a great group that rode tighter than our group usually does. Our group is growing and so are our rides. The quality and planning is paying off as we near 80 members.

Ian, one of our most respected members, sent me this link so I could determine if I was a real biker.  I took the short survey, almost holding my breath as I tried to figure out what the hell some of those questions had to do with reality.  I finished it and waited for the verdict.  Damn, what if it turned out I was something less? What if it labeled me a noob or a Poser?  What if it… well, it was fast and the results were favorable.  I have no idea if any thought really went into the survey, but you’ll have fun with it.  Just click HERE and enjoy.

When we first came up with the idea of doing the ride around the Lake backwards it seemed like a simple idea that wasn’t anything significant.  But that ride was one of the most successful we ever had and it introduced a path through which we can combine day rides with our Treasure Coast friends.  It turned out to be a great idea and became called the Okeechobee Reverse for doing the ride around Lake Okeechobee counterclockwise.

Today we repeated the ride for the first time with great results.  I was pleasantly surprised to see Andre and Dawn riding with us today.  Leaving the Harley-Davidson shop just after 9:00 we headed out to the Beeline Highway (SR710) as a fog dissipated a few hundred feet above us.   The cool air made for an exceptional ride as we entered Martin County with 6 bikes and 8 riders.  We passed a grove and the air was briefly thick with the smell of orange blossoms.  The ride to Okeechobee was perfect except for a short period behind a slow farm vehicle.

We arrived at Pogey’s right on time and I found Yarka had left a message on my cell phone.  Her group had arrived at the Harley shop a bit late and missed us.  They took advantage of the detailed instructions we post for every trip and were on their way.  We were also expecting the Treasure Coast group to meet us there.  We occupied the back wall of the restaurant with two tables and a booth waiting for overflow.  Shortly after we ordered our food John’s group showed up with bikes and riders.  Within minutes, Yarka, Mark and their friends from Europe arrived rounding us to 19 people on 14 bikes for the remainder of our ride.

A group that size is hard to manage sometimes.  The slightest gap and another vehicle splits the group, making it hard to work together.  It happened and we actually rode over 20 miles as two groups separated by a van.  When we finally connected it looked great to see the line of bikes stretch out behind me.  We rode through Moore Haven and on to Clewiston where we stopped for fuel and a refreshing drink.  It was in the high 80’s, but when we were riding it was pleasant.

This ride ended around 2:30 for those in our area as our Treasure Coast friends headed north to beat the occasional thunderstorm as they formed.  The ride couldn’t have been better executed.  I hope you’re on our next ride for the Okeechobee Reverse.  You can see more photos by joining our riding group.  Just click here.

The obstacles of creating a charitable foundation are many.  Still, I seem to continue on this endeavor to create something that benefits our fellow bikers in a time of need.  One focus of this project is the 360Bikers USA Grand Tour and the six regional tours that work with it.  There will also be many local tours supporting the regional tours.

First, I should briefly explain these rides.  The Grand Tour is a 10,600-mile ride around the United States in 29 days.  Inside this monster circle are six regional rides from about 2,000 miles to 3,000 miles that each take about a week.  These rides will coincide with the Grand Tour for part of the region.  The local rides are managed by local dealers and ride part of a single day with the regional ride.  These obviously connect with the Grand Tour at some points, too.

So, aside from the charitable efforts of these rides, what would one expect to see?  Well, that’s part of the beauty of this event.  It covers a lot of ground and riders will see different things depending on the level of participation.  I’ll use the Grand Tour to emphasize some of the highlights.

Starting in Key West, Florida the ride begins with a stretch through the islands and across 7-Mile Bridge.  Riding the east coast of Florida, we stop for lunch in Daytona Beach, home to Biketoberfest and Bike Week.  The second day culminates at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C. to pay respect to our veterans of all wars.  A planned stop on the third day includes Rockefeller Center with an appearance on a morning show.  If possible, we’ll have lunch with the guys from OCC, but that hasn’t been arranged at this time.  The fourth day takes us into Boston, Massachusetts for a little while, but by the end of the day we leave the country as we enter Canada for part of the ride.  Day five tags the second point of the USA Four Corners Ride (another sanctioned ride you can participate in as you do the 360Bikers Grand Tour) and then rides back into Canada as we move through Quebec and back into New York at Plattsburgh.  Day 6 is a scenic ride through Adirondack State Park, a forest ride that exits to the Finger Lakes region and on to Buffalo.  The first week ends with a ride to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then on to Dearborn, Michigan.

Our second week takes us to Chicago on the first day and gives the second day off to enjoy the area.  The week continues on the tenth day as we ride into Harley-Davidson country in Wisconsin on our way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The eleventh day visits Mt. Rushmore and stops in famous Sturgis for dinner.  Day twelve rides across Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park.  Day thirteen begins with a leisurely ride on one of two routes through this great park and then into Montana for some exciting rides in the mountains.  Day fourteen concludes the second week with incredible scenery as we pass through the spectacular mountains of Washington on our way to Seattle.

Recognizing you might be tired or want to enjoy this great part of the country, day fifteen is a day off for riders.  Day sixteen hits the third corner of the 4 Corners USA ride and then doubles back along the Pacific Northwest into Oregon.  The seventeenth day enters Redwood National Park and ends at Ft. Bragg, California at the top of the infamous Pacific Coast Highway.  The eighteenth day rides along the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco where I’m working on a special reception.  The nineteenth day continues along the ocean route through the country of movie stars and ends at Ventura.  Excitement builds as we wind through Greater Los Angeles and end at San Ysidro, California, the southwestern most point in the USA.  If you did the 4-Corners USA sanctioned ride at the same time, you just finished it!  Our 21^st day begins our ride across the desert scenery as we aim towards Tucson, Arizona.  That three weeks of riding and seeing a lot of America.

Week four has many great events as we ride across southern USA.  It begins quietly riding across Texas in areas where you won’t see a major city.  This is the old west with a concrete ribbon to ride on.  The twenty-third day we ride to San Antonio and take the twenty-fourth day off to rest and enjoy local riding opportunities.  The twenty-fifth day rides into Louisiana and visits the French Quarter of New Orleans before riding to Mobile, Alabama.  The twenty-seventh day runs back into Florida as we ride along the coast to Tampa.  Exiting Tampa on the twenty-eighth day as we move across the famous Skyline Bridge and down to Coconut Grove in Miami.  From here, it’s just a leisurely ride back along the Florida Keys as we return to Key West on our twenty-ninth day in preparation for the end-of-ride banquet.

This ride promises to be a fantastic view of the United States and sets the standard for future rides with 360Bikers.  I hope some of you can join us for this great ride or at least one of the regional rides.  You can be assured I’ll write more about this in the future.   

It’s a bit obvious that I’m catching up on back-writing.  It’s just been very busy and the rides have been fantastic.  Take last night for instance.  Our group took our first ride to Iron Eagle’s Bike Night.  Each month Jeff, the owner, personally takes charge of an event in his parking lot that benefits the Make a Wish Foundation.  We aren’t just talking about a run-of-the-mill parking lot get together.  There’s room for 500 bikes, a live band, a DJ, hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, beer, soda, a guy sewing patches for us, and great people to talk to.  It’s one of the nicest events our group has attended like this and you can bet we’ll be back next month.  It occurs the first Tuesday of each month.

Iron Eagle specializes in re-titled Harley-Davidson motorcycles and customs.  Definitely worth stopping to take a look.  They were one of the stops on our Dealer Ride last month.  This is one you want to attend when we do it again.

I really have been neglectful in writing about one of the best rides I will ever experience.  The Memorial Ride for Sgt. Chris Reyka, BSO and one of my neighbors, was incredibly well attended and exceptionally well organized.  A ten-mile procession of motorcycles through Pompano Beach and up the Florida Turnpike to Lake Worth was executed flawlessly thanks to top-notch planning from Brian Donnelly, fellow deputy with Chris and close friend of Chris’s family.  After the service and lunch, the escorted ride continued to Ft. Pierce where the escort dropped off.  The ride continued to Titusville at the Police Hall of Fame.  The cookout that followed was an excellent close to a day dedicated to a great officer.

Look for photos and videos to be added here later.  I’m sure Brian will put something together for us, too.