Riding The Night Away “Lake Worth Bike Night”
Welcome readers to another edition of our 360 ride Blog. If you are anywhere in South Florida and love motorcycles, there is no finer group of motorcycle enthusiasts to join. Of course, I could be considered biased, lol.
The night started simply enough. Get home, do some homework (with the little one), check the weather and confirm on the 360 website our ride details. While confirming I noticed our little group had gotten smaller. We had gone from 7 with 2 maybes to just 5 attendees. Undeterred by the chances of rain and a low turn out, I headed out to our meetup on 441 and SR 80, at the Home Depot.
I arrived at 6:20 pm and waited 5 minutes before being waved over by some motocyclists across the parking lot. I rode over to find Roger, Mitzi and several guest riders. Two minutes later, our fearless leader, Maverick, his co-pilot Dale and another guest pulled up. We quickly went from 5 attendees on 3 bikes to 10 attendees on 7 bikes….WOW!!
The lineup looked a lot like this; Maverick & Dale, Roger & Mitzi, Ernesto & Miriam, Chris, Nolen, Fred & yours truly Ken. I did my most serious Hawk impersonation I could muster as a Tail Gunner but I don’t think he has anything to worry about.
We started out Eastbound on SR80 and turned Southbound on Lyons Road. Lyons road is a nice shortcut through to Forest Hill Blvd. There is a round about halfway down the road to slow traffic and a a sheriff’s cruiser parked on the side of the road to help the cause.
We proceeded Eastbound on Forest Hill blvd. The traffic was heavier then expected for 7:00 pm on Thursday evening. We continued on without too many issues until the broken down vehicle at the intersection at Haverhill Rd. separated the group. Maverick handled it like a pro though, pulling over alongside the broken down vehicle and the Sheriff, to wait for the group.
We traveled through Lake Clark Shores and hit the narrowest roads in the world after I-95. The roads are so narrow on the stretch east of 95, that 2 sportbikes have trouble riding side by side in these lanes.
We turned Southbound on to Olive Avenue and followed this road into Lake Worth. At this point the road turns into Federal Highway. This road is well lit, with old fashioned lamp posts and few traffic lights.
After a few miles we reached Lucerne Avenue and turned West bound to arive at Lake Worth bike night. Lucerne runs Westbound one way and Lake Avenue runs Eastbond one way.
We circled Lucerne and Lake Avenue once and could not find parking to accompdate the group. We finally found some spots on K street. Note to self: If you want to park on Lake Ave or Lucerne, arrive at least 45 minutes earlier. Of course, then you will have to deal with rush hour traffic but I digress. The group made our way down Lake Ave to Too Jays for dinner. Along the way there are many vendors, selling gloves, shirts and other Motorcyle paraphenalia. There was even a set up for pin striping right there on the sidewalk. I was sorely tempted as I have wanted some pin striping for awhile.
Too Jays, I’m not sure if I am spelling that right, is excellent, deli style food. The sandwiches are stuffed with whatever you order and the pricing is moderate. The food is ablsolutlely fresh. I soon learned that Dale is a Too Jays afficionado.
While we were sitting down for dinner we noticed 2 familiar bikers pulling up to the curb. Daily and Lindsay had made the trip up from Broward to attend Bike night. Daily and Lindsay, ride the standard, beautiful Kawasaki’s. Daily’s Kawi has the matching saddlebags. A couple of accesories and Daily could put that bike in any show.
With the addition of Daily and Lindsay, that brought our 360 attendees up to a staggering 12 attendees. Okay maybe staggering is a little strong but if you can go from 5 to 12 on a work night you have to be doing something right.
After dinner we saw the sights. There are way too many places to eat & drink to mention. There was also the drunk, the pirate and the clown, which made the night extra exciting. Of course, it goes without saying that hundreds of different makes and models of Motorcycles were on display.
The weather was overcast and a cool 75 degrees. In true 360 fashion we started our return trip Westbound on Lake Ave., peeling off as we went. The route provided a true 360 back to our starting point.
Finally, I met some new friends, had some good food and took a nice motorcyle ride and once again, I have 360Bikers to thank for it. Nice Job Maverick. Until next time, Ride Safe!
GR
