By Amy Poole

The 3rd annual St John’s River Blues Festival, who also sponsored our front cover in November, started out quite chilly and as the day went on…it got chillier. That “short little ride from everywhere” seemed to take a little longer to get home! With that said, it did not keep people from strolling St. John’s Street that was blocked off for our entertainment with 2 large stages for the 18 talented musicians. Wandering the festival you would have been amazed, at first, on how many vendors there were and secondly, all the assorted types of vendors from cowgirl hats in all styles, fashionable jewelry, candles in all colors and scents, guitars for big or little people, wreaths for all occasions…and I could go on and on. The various food vendor scents drifted down the street making you not sure where to eat but the cup cake and goodies booth was a no brainer! One block was a kid zone and was full of toys, bouncy houses, and games for the children…and even some of our adult kids horsed around! This is a great event for all ages with many activities to see, play a part or simply sit back and enjoy the show. Also featured during the Blues Festival at the Downtown Blues Bar and Grille was a Thunder Roads Florida and Twisted Tea Event. The music was fabulous, the giveaways were endless and one lucky woman ran off with the $100 cash door prize…oh and the cute little Twisted Tea girls handed out Tea samples and loads of Twisted Tea gear. We would like to thank Twisted Tea for not only being a sponsor of the Blues Fest but for also throwing a “Twisted” event with Thunder Roads Florida. Most of you are familiar with these events and if you’re not you are missing out…so make sure you pick up your Thunder Roads issues and look for our events in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

By Miserable George

Well, the official, opening of the 2012 Chili Challenge was Thursday, Nov. 1...we got there on Tuesday, to secure our regular camping spot, and by Thursday, the place was all but full up! The party out-did itself this year! Yep, THE best biker party in Florida grew in size by one day, and about 15 acres of space...now THAT’S progress, considering that the very first one had only about 40 people, in the confines of a back yard!! The weather was absolutely fantastic this year, bringing out a horde of party animals, as well as, an increased number of vendors...one, offering their services for free...the body painters...who had a line waiting for their artistic talents. This year as always, there was a good variety of food available, with beer on the Hillsborough Co. side only!! New, was the lower platform just in front of the main stage, featuring a pair of bearing mounted stripper poles, which the babes from Show Girls made very good use of! Did I say babes?? They were there in abundance in about every mode of dress that one could imagine! Very camera friendly too, I might add! Master MC, POGO used his talents of talking the ladies out of as many clothing items as possible, and up on stage too!! All these shenanigans led up to the big event day...Saturday! Chili cooking started at 7:30AM, followed by the annual horse shoe matches, while the crowd ogled the bike show entries, and checked out the vendors. Later, bikers showed their expertise in the biker games; out-house races, and mini-bike races. At noon, the crowd scarfed down all the chili, drank a lot of beer, and prepared for the evening events, which included a tribute to our Veterans, and a moment of silence for those lost. Trophies were awarded, the girls did their thing on stage, live music prevailed, and the crowd was...er...ya had to be there!! Hey, a BIG thanks to Roscoe and his huge staff for giving the bikers what they wanted...a real biker party! See ya all next year!! Photos by Kneecap and Miserable George! [autoviewer id="224" width="600" height="600" ] Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu The most “Twisted” event during Biketoberfest 2013 was at the White Eagle Lounge. Sponsored by Twisted Tea the prize money brought in gorgeous girls from around the state. This year’s winner is the beautiful brunette, Ednyr Marie featured on this month’s cover. She was a happy girl taking home the $1200 grand prize. What sets this event apart from others is the opportunity for the crowd to photograph the girls up close and personal, including the owners of the bikes that the girls borrowed to pose on. A special thank you to all who allowed us to use their bikes: Arty, Steve, Bill, Zig, Paul, Mel & Gary from GT Motorcycle. Also to the wonderful judges Willie from Tropical Tattoo, Gary Coleman, James, Gary & Mel from GT Motorcycle, Clint from the audience, and Carol and Rick from the WHOG Radio contest. It was a difficult decision to choose just one. This year we were even able to get guys from the crowd to come dance in pink bras for breast cancer awareness! Thunder Roads will donate $150 to the Tracy Dillon Breast Cancer Fund for their efforts. Our biggest thanks goes to the White Eagle Lounge for being our host, to La Mesa RV for providing a fantastic RV for the girl to change in and to Twisted Tea for their sponsorship! And I personally thank each and everyone who attended…you are what makes it FUN! [autoviewer id="223" width="600" height="600" ] Read the rest of this entry »

By Billy "Kneecap" Braddock If you are reading this you have survived the Mayan apocalypse. Maybe after reading this, you may have wished you didn't. The end of the world was supposed to happen on December 21, 2012. However, it did not end. Maybe it was just simply that the calendar rolled over into the next b'ak'tun (20 k'atun/144,000 days/394.3 solar years). It's pretty similar to the Georgian date of January 1, 2000 the beginning of a new millennium. Boy, those last lines sure make me sound intelligent. Like WC Fields once said “If you can't razzle them with dazzle, baffle them with bullshit”. I'm pretty good at that. Another thought that was brought up was that the Mayans didn't include leap years. There have been 514 leap years since Julius Caesar created it in 45 BC. However, the Mayan “tun” (year) is only 360 days long. Not 365 like our current Calendar. So with recalculating, the apocalypse should've occurred nine months ago. So unless Snooki's baby turns out to be the anti-Christ, congratulations for surviving and enjoy 2013. I almost didn't even make it to December. In November, on my birthday I was at Roscoe's Chili Challenge in Lakeland. Now, I'm not much of a camper. My idea of roughing it is going to a Holiday Inn that doesn't have a bellhop, so camping is quite a challenge for me. Luckily for me, friends of mine T-shirts Plus vendors (Gwen & Pete Hockford) were going to set up at Roscoe's. They carried my gear, so my bike didn't look like The Beverly Hillbillies heading to California. When I got there a new challenge confronted me. I had to set up the tent. Lucky for me bikers tend to assist each other when they see a dummy trying to do something. The first guy who came to my rescue was a biker lawyer from Tampa, Brad Souders. Now, we had two dummies trying to screw a football. Thank God, the campers next to me were experienced so they jumped in and had the tent up in 10 mins. Even though I was there to cover the event for the magazine, I still indulged in the fun. The nights were cold, but the days were awesome. Everyone was in a partying mood. Plenty of entertainment and the body painting was exceptional. With everything that goes on it was hard to remember why I was there. This is one of the best adult biker parties I know of. Oh, by the way the chili was excellent. Now, let's get down to an even more important subject. Recently, the word is “We need to get rid of the Second Amendment.” The word is if you didn't have a gun, you wouldn’t have murdered. Now, I heard this and I thought to myself does a 6'2/228 pound man really need a gun to kill somebody? And a few crazies with box cutters were able to kill more people in a single day than anyone with a machine gun, remember 9/11? Even our attorney general stated, “We have no right to possess guns.” Now that's scary! The person who's supposed to be defending the law of the Constitution is totally blind to its words. The anti-gun industry comes up with more false facts to promote their cause. However, if you do a little research the truth will come out. Even in the FBI crime stats it is reported that you are more likely to be killed by hands or feet, than by a shotgun or rifle. Does that mean that gloves and shoes need regulation because they're concealing a weapon? It's hard to lie to the public anymore with all the available information at your fingertips. The one good thing I've been hearing lately is that the sale of handguns and requests for concealed weapon permits are at an all time high. Maybe the criminals will stop and think it's time to get a job instead of trying to rob somebody because he/she may have a weapon. Some words of wisdom: many things can be preserved in alcohol/self-respect isn't one of them. When you get old, would you rather have Parkinson's or Alzheimer’s? Parkinson's, of course. Better to spill an ounce of scotch, then to forget where you put the bottle. See you on the shiny side of tomorrow… Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu

The Friday of Biketoberfest we always ride down Main Street and visit the Boardwalk for the Bike Show right by the pier. Not only is there always plenty of unique bikes to photograph, there is that beautiful Atlantic Ocean and always some unusual sights such as the tiger striped chick or motorcycles with 3 back tires! Bill Chaffin provided us with the names of the winners for Best of Show: Steve Galvin; St. Petersburg, FL; 2012 Wicked Steel "Pipe Bomb", for Judge's Trophy: Steve Galvin; St, Petersburg, FL; 2011 Wicked Steel "Speedstar" and for People's Choice, First Place: Frank Martin; Neptune, NJ; '04 Chopper "Dead Man Riding" . Read the rest of this entry »

By Miserable George Man, I’ll tell ya, the 2012 Biketoberfest edition of Willie’s show was as good as any I’ve ever seen...maybe better! Eleven years, and getting better every year! Yeah, it was HOT, but the huge crowd braved the late summer warm spell, and came out to check out some of the rarest and hottest hand-made choppers in the state of Florida! As an added incentive, the builders were competing for some of the most unusual hand-fabricated trophies I’ve ever seen...most fashioned from discarded motorcycle parts, along with plaques, bowling pins, and a Mason jar goblet, containing some questionable liquid, that when sipped, caused a funny look to appear on the drinkers’ face! Hmmmm! I wonder.....! Contributors of these trophies included world famous bike builder, Dave Perewitz, and well known Easyriders photog and writer...Rogue. Also in attendance was world class motorcycle event photographer, Michael Lichter from Paisano Publications. Hey, this event was COVERED!! Doing his usual bang-up job as emcee, Roadside Marty kept the crowd in stitches, as well as, keeping the show moving along at a fast pace. And, as always, Willie always recruits a bunch of hotties to act as trophy girls. The several beer stations around the grounds were manned by some real eye candy as well. Oh yeah, just $2.00 for a beer...not bad, while many other places hawked it for $4.00 or more! Live bands all day long were the icing on the cake, as well as, some good food vendors! Yep, yer gonna go pretty far to beat this show, that is, if it CAN be beat! It’s my favorite event of Biketoberfest or Bike Week. Give it a shot...easy to find, right on US#1 in Holly Hill. Lots of free parking all around the place. Hey, ride safe... Read the rest of this entry »

By LuLu

Usually our Bull’s Eye is about someone who is an avid motorcyclist that lives and breathes bikes. Occasionally that love of bikes spills into their professional life also, that can’t be truer than in the life of Frankie D. Frankie lived the biker lifestyle in a grand style rockin’ us with his vocals, guitar and charisma. Several bars in the greater Daytona area had parties to remember Frankie D and his music. Here are some pictures submitted by Bobby Lollis from one of the events at Boot Hill. Our prayers and sympathy go out to the band, Repeat Offenders and to his family and friends. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu One of my favorite events each year doesn’t occur on 2 wheels…it takes 4. In the fall Micah and I join a lot of great people and play “18” for the White Eagle’s yearly golf tournament for charity. This year the money was given to three charities: Second Harvest Food Bank, Children’s Home Society, Feed Flagler and to the Tracy Dillon Mammogram Fund. Between the entry fees, “desperately needed” Mulligan’s, T-sign sales and raffles they had $4000 to share. Thank you to the White Eagle golfers for a great day on the greens and to the sponsors who help make this a huge success. Read the rest of this entry »

Biker Friendly Places

Look for Thunder Roads Magazine Florida in our Biker Friendly Locations and please support our advertisers!!

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By Lulu First, even though the article for our Grub Run will run in the February issue, I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make it a HUGE success. Rue, Ziffra and Caldwell law firm have taken this to places I never dreamed possible. We raised over 3000 lbs of food and $2800 for the Children’s Home Society and Second Harvest Food Bank. SPECIAL thank you to the wonderful men and women from Rolling Thunder Chapter 8 for always being there for me. They are just great people!!! Also to the HOG from Destination Daytona this was their first year to step in and lend their collective helping hand! The article next month will go in more detail about the event, but we certainly were able to make bellies fuller during the holiday. It is only due to each and every pound of food you wonderful people on 2-3 wheels collected. I love you for your generous hearts! This will be a yearly event and I would ask you all to bring more riders next year. Second, our Bike Night Listing has a new look and sponsor. Twisted Tea has joined us to co-host events at our ad clients that sell Twisted Tea. So we will visit 2 bars a month which will be listed in the Twisted Tea ad next to our Bike Night List page. We will attend with our cameras to catch you in the act of being “TWISTED”. We will have giveaways and if you bring in non-perishable food we will enter you in a raffle for a prize to be given that night. Please try to ride in for these events…we love to have a hearty, party! For a more complete list of Bike Nights or to get your Bike Night listed visit our website ThunderRoadsFlorida.com. Do something nice for a stranger, kiss someone you love and please even in cold weather don’t forget your sunscreen. Read the rest of this entry »

By Miserable George

The 16th Annual Cocoa Beach Biker Bash, this year, doubled as a 30 year celebration for the founding of the Brevard Chapter Warlocks MC. The party actually began at the Station 23 Clubhouse on Friday night, with a nice crowd, live music, many out-of-town brothers and sisters, and the usual bevy of beautiful babes. Saturday afternoon at 3PM, everyone headed for Capt. J’s on the beach in Cocoa Beach, where the party began in earnest! Good food, every drink you could think of, again, live music, lots of hotties, T-shirt sales, a vendor or two...everything to put you in a party mood! Several presentations were made to the Warlocks of Brevard in commemoration of their 30 years of existence. Also, there was an auction of various items to benefit the Shriner’s Children Hospitals, who, by the way, receive all the proceeds from this event. It was a bit nippy that night, but that didn’t stop several of the ladies from baring some ...er...assets! After things wound down at Capt. J’s, the gang moved to the Wakulla Suites just south of there, and partied the night away! Lots of clubs present...a wonderful showing of brotherhood...no problems! I’d like to thank the Warlocks of Brevard for their ever-present hospitality, and the staff at Capt. J’s for fast and courteous service! A good night all around! Hey...see ya next year...?? Read the rest of this entry »

By “Kneecap”

Deland, Florida goes out of their way to celebrate Veterans Day. It all started with one of the better parades I have ever witnessed. The streets were lined with patriotic Americans all waving flags or holding signs celebrating our veterans. The enthusiasm brought chills up my spine. We live in the greatest country in the world and it's inspiring to see the support the veterans received. After the parade I went to OB's restaurant and Lounge on N. Woodland Boulevard for a very special veteran’s ceremony presented by Rolling Thunder's Chapter 8. Being it was held on November 10, the Marine Corps birthday, they even brought a cake which was cut by the oldest and youngest Marine in attendance. It was also attended by previous POWs. After the ceremony that was sponsored by Rue & Ziffra law firm, we were treated to a great meal and entertainment provided by OB's owner Ronnie O' Brian. Deland really knows how to thank our veterans for their service. God bless the Military and their families who have sacrificed to keep our country safe and free. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu

Our Bike Week and Biketoberfest ritual includes waking up too early on Sunday morning to photograph the bikini contest winner for our Biketoberfest coverage. Generally we have stayed out too late the night before!!! So we are happy to end our Biketoberfest at the Dog Pound in Bunnell and just chill with good friends on the back porch with a stiff drink and great music by MisHap. And I better not forget to mention the great free food cooked by Harriet and Brian! If you haven’t been to the Dog Pound in Bunnell they have really great bartenders that are happy to serve you, great front, side and back porches and friendly locals that are glad you stopped in! So ride on over to Flagler County and get a “nip” at the Dog Pound Saloon. Read the rest of this entry »

By Raven Van Pelt

Motorcyclists from all over northeast Florida joined the ride for Bikers for Babies at Adamec Harley-Davidson, on Baymeadows Road, Jacksonville. There was food, giveaways and a 50 mile police-escorted ride through Jacksonville, and ending at TRIO, The Event Place at Tinseltown Touchton Rd., Jacksonville, all proceeds benefit the Northeast Florida March of Dimes. The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, their mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. 81,686 babies are born in the US. 10,058 babies are born premature. 6,677 babies are born with a low birth weight and 548 babies die before their first birthday. Dee Snider, best known as the lead singer of Twisted Sister, is the National Spokesperson for the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies; two of his four children were born prematurely. Special thanks go out to Ray and his wife Annie Grogan chairs, and Stephanie Lippmcott community director, for the March of Dimes. Also thanks to LAMA of Jacksonville who received plaques for their fund raising efforts and another for most riders in the First Annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies in Jacksonville. Read the rest of this entry »