2nd Annual SoFla 360 – Part One – The Ride South
Posted in 360Bikers, Just Plain Cool, Local Events, Motorcycles, Rides on February 16th, 2009
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
Motorcyclist really are a social group. Rides are a nice mix of solitude and socializing that gives you the opportunity to be alone and with a group. The support you get from fellow bikers is unmatched and I know of no other group that takes care of each other as much.
Vic had gone out earlier in the week and shot a small wild boar. Yes, to go along with our “Wild Hogs” movie we actually ate some wild hog. Will’s crowning moment was when he unveiled the bleached skull of the pig as the center piece of the party. Steve (“Slick”) gave some musical parodies and earned a few part recognitions in the movie. Somehow, it’ll never be the same watching that movie again.