360Bikers Foundation

Well, the lure of free coffee didn’t get anywhere there between 7:00 and 7:30, but by 8:00 everyone but the breakfast group with Ian had arrived.  When all was said and done, we had 19 bikes in front of my house as everyone commented on how great my neighbors are. Children were walking by and looking at all the motorcycles parked on the street.

About 8:25 Ian’s group pulled in and we did our discussion of riding rules.  I do have to note that I can’t stress enough the importance of quickly passing back signals and executing lane changes from the back to the front.  Keeping the group tight became evident as more important as the day wore on, too.

Today’s ride was the 2nd Annual SoFla 360.  This year our route was 330 miles and went through Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, Collier, Lee and Hendry Counties.  We passed along or through five national and state parks including Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, The Collier-Seminole State Park, Picayune Strand State Forest and Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest.  We ended with 21 motorcycles and 27 people on the ride.

There was a little fog, but our late start actually helped the ride in safety as the fog began to lift more and more as we rode south.  We stopped at Starbucks in Hillsborough to pick up another rider.  From there, we rode a few miles to the Sawgrass Expressway.  My most significant challenge came when I suddenly realized the exit for I595 West didn’t exist and we had to take I-75 North.  It was last ditch to make the exit ramp and I felt badly about not having the right information.  Strike one against Google Maps.

Once on the I-75 we rode to US27 which led us down to Krome Ave.  The ride was relatively peaceful except for a major piece of debri in the road as we off-ramped from I-75 to US27.  There was so little time to react to it that was I put my foot out to point to it for other riders I actually kicked it.  Fortunately, I was not moving fast and it didn’t knock me off the bike.  It seemed to be a pull-cart with a piece of luggage.  That was a dangerous moment.

At the corner of Krome and US41 we stopped at the gas station where almost 100 other bikes had met.  A couple groups were almost ready to leave as we gave our smaller bikes time to refuel for the ride across the state.  You’ll read about that in part 2.

LK

Share on Facebook

Eating again.

Yesterday we finally made the trip to Cheeseburger in Paradise, a hamburger chain owned by Jimmy Buffet growing industrial side.  Ian had been there before and I was really looking forward to this.  The entire group was looking forward to it.

We had a great set of bikes ranging from Cecil’s scooter (gotta love that guy) to Nick’s Raider.  A few e-Glides, Connie’s Kawi and we picked up Yarka on the way.  It was a Class 2 ride primarily because we used I-95 to get to Miami.  The good news was that I only made one wrong turn and it was because I followed the GPS.  Ian got us into the parking garage he knew about and we parked in a nice spot in front of LA Fitness where everyone could see the bikes as they entered the parking garage for the outdoor mall.

It took us no time at all to locate the Cheeseburger in Paradise location and identify the problem.  It was closed.  Not for the day, but totally gone never to return.  We were all shocked.  Trudy had to be resuscitated because she was counting on that little pair of sunglasses she buys that came with the free drink.  Well, we got over it and Connie asked some cute girls ( should one of the guys have done that?) if they could recommend a place.  We ended up at Dan Marino’s and had a great lunch.

Since Mark missed us on the way down he invited us to stop at his house to see his new toy, a 2002 custom Bourget.  Very nice bike.  It needs some TLC, but damn… it’s a beauty.  Exceptional paint.  We enjoyed Mark’s place which is awesome.  He bought cookies and donuts and I was ready to move in.  It will probably be the site of our next 360Bikers party as he volunteered it.

We came back up Federal to Copans and out to US441/SR7.  It was an adventuresome day with our group showing flexibility all the way.  We had fun, food and a nice ride.  Now, we have to find another Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Lee

Share on Facebook

This entry really should have been written by someone that rode the ride.  I, unfortunately, managed to get sick and miss one of the most exciting rides I’ve created.  Of course, the one thing that makes it great is the people, and there were lots of people.

On January 25th the 360Bikers had a convergence ride.  The ride was designed to give opportunity for any level 2 rider or better in our group to meet others in our group.  I was really four different rides from different geographical areas that members.  All the rides converged and gave everyone a chance to meet.

Well, even in a group our size it’s luck to get more than 20 people together on one ride.  This ride culminated with over 50 bikes and more than 70 people.  I have heard more nice things about this event than any that I’ve planned so far.

Below is a slide presentation of over 150 of the photos submitted from the ride.

…..

Share on Facebook

You couldn’t ask for a better day.  We started out at Starbucks, one of our more popular meeting locations.  It’s not for the coffee, but more for the central convenience of a lot of riders, especially organizers.  We got out of there a little after 7:30 and stopped at a gas station to pick up Connie.  A couple riders had forgotten to top off and did so then.  From here, it was the concrete ribbon (Turnpike) to Snake Road.  On the Sawgrass, one of our new riders lost her Sun Pass.  It just fell out of her pocket and crumbled on the highway.

At Snake Road we stopped at the gas station, refueled those that needed it, picked up drinks and snacks, and socialized while waiting for Yarka and Mark.  After a period of talking with everyone we got underway.  The road was nice and had a more turns than your typical South Florida road.  It led us to the Seminole Reservation called Big Cypress through which we had great respect for the speed.  We zigzagged north through road changes to SR80 and then to Clewiston.

Rich, our birthday boy today, had been telling me about the nachos there.  They lived up to expectations.  The group was in rare form (thanks, Slick) and everyone seemed to have a great time.  Afterall, it doesn’t get much better than beautiful weather, great friends, great riding, and great food.

After filling ourselves we gave the others another fuel stop and then went on to South Bay to ride up to the dike on the rim of the lake.  We took pictures and rode home.  It doesn’t sound like much, but it was one of those nice, relaxing rides with lots of friends.  We had 12 bikes and 15 people on this one.  You can see photos, get screen savers, and learn more by clicking here.

Share on Facebook

I started this entry thinking about the things we have to do in south Florida to plan a summer ride and realized that it’s not that different anywhere else.  There are several things to do and some have to be done at different points than others.

One of the first things I did was to emphasize the need to check your bike before riding.  While this should be a standard thing to do before a ride, it’s even more important in the summer heat.  Your riding will have more wear and tear on rubber parts and your oil is not as happy in this weather.  If your bike is liquid cooled, check your fluids before leaving.  Oh, and don’t forget a toolkit.  You always need it with you, but summer is just the time to breakdown.

I always carry a rainsuit with me, but sometimes you take it out to let it dry or just because you need the room for a little bit.  Don’t forget to put it back.  That happened to one of our riders recently where he had left it hanging to dry.  Naturally, we encountered a storm and his rain gear wasn’t there when he looked.  You should also carry sunscreen on your bike.  No matter how good the stuff is, it needs to be re-applied every couple hours or you will find yourself crispy.  Never underestimate the power of the sun, even on cloudy days.

Finally, there’s the weather.  It’s unavoidable and somewhat unpredictable.  I’m fanatical about weather, especially when planning group rides where I feel responsible for the overall experience.  I check a few different forecasting sites like weatherbug.com and weather.com.  I’ll look at the forecast a few days in advance and then go to hourly forecasts starting a day or two before.  I’ve come to realize that these lack accuracy, but give you a feel for what might happen.  I also rely on radar.  Technology is great and there are several formats you can use for this.  The two web sites I mentioned will give you an animated or even an interactive radar view.  I also use a couple desktop applications like WeatherBug’s and one from our local television station that is made by  BIA Information Network (BIN).  This app lets you see radar for rain, humidity, temperatures, and wind speed and direction.  It also includes a radar and temperature view for a national look.  You can see the direction of major fronts and make a very good decision on whether the ride should take place or not.

So, there are tools out there to help you decide whether to ride.  There are things to make sure you take with you to make summer riding more enjoyable and safer.  Take care when you ride and plan for a safe return.

Share on Facebook

[ NOTE TO SELF: US98 makes an unmarked left turn in Okeechobee]

Well, today’s ride was not what was planned. It started out sorta right. We got out of Wellington later than planned, but we were on track and did the zig-zag up to SR710 to Okeechobee. That’s about all that went right. (See note above) I missed a turn somewhere right after crossing Parrot Ave. in Okeechobee. No one else saw the sign either, but there might be one there. It’s just poorly marked where SR70 continues straight west and US98 goes off at an angle. Well, about 10 miles into it I’m suspicious because while the two roads overlapped in Okeechobee for a little while, I’m no longer seeing US98 signs. Well, it was only a 31 mile leg and I thought we couldn’t be too far off. I was wrong.

It is a nice road so we kept going and I kept looking for Arbuckle Road in the mileage vicinity that I expected. It wasn’t there. Now, due to the angle that US98 takes and the lack of angle that SR70 takes, we were now way off course. I had screwed up royally. (See not above) The group being supportive as they are rallied and we rerouted to find a way to Wauchula.

We set out on US27 towards SR66 & SR64 (The Florida Cracker Trail) to connect with the roads that lead to Wauchula. We missed again. It sucked. I felt terrible as nothing was going as planned. Everyone in the group said, “It’s fine! We’re having a good ride!” and I just felt lousy. I like things to goes as planned. I had studied the plan submitted by Sue T., who couldn’t ride due to illness. I missed one turn and it destroyed the plan. Well, other things happened, too.

First, this is the first time we have ever had a ride where every bike was a Harley-Davidson. I thought that was interesting in itself, but it actually paid off big time as we rode aimlessly trying to find a route that would get us back on track. We had three Electra Glides (2 of them Ultra’s with the 6 speed), a Dyna Glide and a Soft Tail Deluxe. Now, the Electra Glides are made for touring and typically get almost 200 miles to a tank of gas with no problem. But I wasn’t sure of the range of the other two bikes. While going across SR66 and SR64 we were approaching the 200 mile mark on our tanks. Ian’s bike had almost 230 miles since he last got fuel. I was really concerned about the other two bikes with Yarka and Mark. Long story short, we pulled into the first gas station we found ( it’s a long, desolate road) at 199 miles. I was very relieved at that success. I’m also impressed at the range that all the Harley-Davidson bikes seem to get. Sure, you can pump them up for more power and less mileage, but as a bike out of the box with just a few modifications, it rides the distance.

Well, things didn’t get much better when we tried to find a place to eat. We headed south back toward SR70 and found a Deli Cafe. Vic was really ready to eat and Ian was right there with him. But… the deli was closing. We rode west looking for the first restaurant we could find that wasn’t associated with a fast food chain. There were none! We got all the way to Arcadia before we found a place to eat. We barely made it there as they locked the doors 10 minutes after we got there. The buffet was good, home-style cooking at Boo-Boo’s. We ate and got back on the road to home. We took fast roads (SR70 to US27 to SR80) and got home with a net loss of about 3 hours. It just wouldn’t have been any fun without friends, though.

Share on Facebook

This was our first attempt at doing a class to help prepare riders for group riding. I thought it went exceptionally well. I might look at a different place to meet so we can do the oral part a little better, but our materials, examples, and explanations were good. Rich and I tagged back and forth as we went through the list of items on my clipboard and then we did the ride. I almost want to thank the cities of Wellington, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Lantana for making such a great course to teach group riding.  I led the group as Rich rode tailgunner.  A relaxing ride down US441 provided our lane change exercises which went exceptionally well. We did our first real turn from US441 to Atlantic changing from a 4-lane highway to a 2-lane road. About a mile later we turned onto Hagan Ranch Rd., which is a suburban 4-lane at that point. Nice little curves and several round-abouts gave us the opportunity to practice the switch from staggered to single and back.  Then, we took a short connect on Lantana Rd.  to Lyons north to pick up Lake Worth and back to US441.  It was a great great ride. Great class. We’ll do it again for sure.

Share on Facebook

OK, again it has taken me entirely too long to post about this event.  What can I say?  It has been a busy week after a fantastic, relaxing weekend.  As I said before Leesburg Bikefest, this is one event everyone should attend.

The ride up was nice.  Ian and I rode together and stopped at Ft. Pierce for breakfast at the ever popular Waffle House.  Apparently the Denny’s there went out of business, but there’s enough customer base to have two WH’s within a half mile of each other.  From there we rode to Yeehaw Junction where we stopped to split up.  Ian was meeting a friend in Ocala and I was meeting my son north of Haines City.

I took SR60 west on what turned out to be a very nice ride.  Traffic was low and cruising between 65 and 70 was without interruption.   I got to US27 and rode towards Haines City.  In spite of being in town and the construction, the ride wasn’t bad.  The speed limits were 50 or better and the lights were spread far apart.

I pulled into a Walmart to refuel and wait for my son and his friend (following in a dune buggy) to arrive.  That was over 30 minutes, but after they got there we were soon on our way.  It’s only a short hour ride to Leesburg from there unless a biker lays one down.  Naturally, someone laid it down, but there seemed to be no life threatening injuries as we rode past the slightly damaged bike.

As we neared Leesburg bike traffic picked up rapidly.  Where we had been seeing dozens of bikes on the highway we now say only a few dozen cages!  It was bikes everywhere and it sounded great.  Riding US27 with its hills into Leesburg let us know there was good riding around.

We spent the day doing the carnival acts.  We looked at vendors, the Rats Hole for bikes and babes, listened to some really good bands, and just looked at bikes and people.  We met friends and made some, too.  We ate some pretty good road food and had a beer or two.

By 5:00 I was really getting antsy.  It was hot in the parking lots and I wanted to ride to cool off.  Now, David (the dune buggy guy) had to ride bitch with Wes to get over to Main Street.  Wes didn’t like the ride so I humbled to give him a ride back to his buggy.  Then, the three of us road our respective vehicles our through the villages.  It was nice and peaceful riding the back roads and through the golf course developments.  We topped off the tanks and headed back to the hotel.

After dark the old fart (me) decided it had been a long day.  I was up at 5:00 AM and rode 4 hours to meet them before they leisurely came along so I was pretty tired.  The young guys wanted to go downtown to party and I bid them good night.  They came back sometime in the night and had a few good stories, but nothing remarkable.

Sunday was great.  We started after checkout with a gourmet breakfast at the Golden Corral.  Not bad!  Then, riding out we split up as they had to attend a Rotary benefit bowling thing and I had to check out my proposed ride for the way home.  I was the winner on this one.  I rode out through hills and took a few “wrong turns” to see what was there.  I had beautiful curves and fantastic vistas.  Yeah, I said vistas in Florida!  There was one spot high on a hill where I could see for literally 30 to 40 miles.   There was one hill that went up, dipped, went up a little more and then crested to a 45-degree incline straight down about 400 yards to a traffic circle out in the middle of nowhere.  I rode past lakes and homes and was so anxious to take everyone on the route that I hooked back after I hit SR50.

I haven’t finished working on the videos for this trip.  I have an avi file that is over 6 GB that I have to bring home somehow to edit.  The ride home with friends was great even though we compromised to the turnpike to get home before dark.  It was a great weekend and I hope to see more of our riders on it next year.  It’s that good.

Share on Facebook