By Lulu

One of the nicest venues to look at sweet bikes is at the Boardwalk during Bike Week. The beauty of the beach and Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop sets this apart from most shows of the year. Even with the possibility of exposing these bikes worth tens of thousands to the sea spray they have a great turnout. The attention to detail is amazing and this year the pipes seemed to really stand out. My favorites this year were the “Twister” with the twisted frame and pipes, the fire department bike with the hose nozzle pipes and “Bad Sled” with its low profile straight extended pipes. Make sure if you visit Bike Week or Biketoberfest you check this out. There is no admission fee to view this show and it is always on Friday.

By Lulu

Cochise Chops, Hold Fast Tattoo and First Turn Steakhouse in Port Orange brought in a new twist to Bike Week. Along with some of the best food in town, a fabulous outside deck and great music…they turned the parking lot into a stunt show complete with burnouts. To end the great Friday evening they had a checkered flag waving contest and a Pensacola girl won the $100 cash prize but generously donated it to the Children’s Home Society. Make sure you include First Turn in your places to ride to all year long; they have a weekly bike night on the deck on Tuesday nights!

By Deborah Speicher

The annual Harley-Davidson MDA Women’s Ride goes on rain or shine, and this year it almost went on in the rain. As my group left for the staging area on Beach Street, the rain started. Thankfully, it was only light rain but it made the morning dark and dreary. However, once we got to Beach Street, it all changed. The three children and one adult with muscular dystrophy joining us for the ride were so excited, and no amount of rain could keep them from being all smiles. Thanks to a trike and some motorcycles with side cars, they got to ride with us. This is one event that they look forward to each and every year.

We had an incredible police escort courtesy of the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Department. The ride took us up Beach Street and over the Main Street Bridge. Going down Main Street during Bike Week with a police escort means no stopping for traffic or lights and is one of the greatest routes of this ride. We then headed north on A1A to SR 40 and into The Loop. The ride ended at Destination Daytona.

With over 100 participants, the ride generated $31,000 in donations. Most of monies raised stays locally to help send children with muscular dystrophy to MDA Summer Camp. In the past six years, we have raised over $300,000 for MDA. It would be hard for me to express how important that is to the children and their families that attend this event each year. I would encourage you to come out and support this event next year either as a rider or just come to cheer us on!

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

May is an interesting month. There are many days which honor many. We have National Nurses Day on the 6th, Mother’s Day on the 12th and Armed Forces Day on The 18th. However, there is one day that is also important to me “World No Tobacco Day” on the 31st. I’m writing this article on April 15th (Tax Day’s 100th anniversary). Eight years ago on this date I quit smoking cigarettes after 48 years. “World No Tobacco Day” brings awareness of the health and dependency issues of tobacco. Tobacco may be the most addictive legal drug we know. With all the aids to help you quit smoking, there is only one that really works. It’s your “HEAD”. You need to make up your mind that you really want to quit and it will happen. I don’t run around preaching about smoking, but the bottom line is if you smoke, you need to kick the habit TODAY. Your LIFE may depend on it.

Smoking is not the only thing that can kill you. We’re in the middle of gator mating season and I don’t mean the University of Florida cheerleaders. So remember, we live in a state (Florida) where you can be eaten by both alligators and crocodiles. If you need a hug, we also have boa constrictors. Then there are Sinkholes, which is Mother Nature’s way to allow Florida itself to commit murder. Mother Nature also gave us mosquitoes, ticks and fleas that like to give you little love bites. Florida is one of the country’s top tourist destinations. The roads are flooded with people who don’t know where they’re going but in a big hurry to get there. If that isn’t enough, we have blue haired, white knuckled, Buick drivers who don’t use turn signals and have a tendency to turn left in front of you. When I was a kid, we would say the most dangerous thing you can see in Florida was a Northerner traveling south on I-95 in a U-Haul.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about legalizing marijuana (cannabis). Cannabis has a long history. The first direct reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent dates back to 2737 BC. It was used as a medication for rheumatism, gout, malaria and oddly enough absent-mindedness. In 1545, the Spanish brought marijuana to the New World. The English introduced it in Jamestown in 1611, where it became a major commercial crop alongside tobacco. By 1890 it had been replaced by cotton as a major cash crop in the southern states. It was in the 1920s that marijuana began to catch on. Some say that was brought about by Prohibition. Marijuana was listed in the U.S. Pharmacopeia from 1850 to 1942, and was prescribed for such things as labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. I grew up in the “hippie generation” where it was a symbol of rebellion. I can remember this nerd I knew who was going on vacation. He asked me, “Where can I get some marijuana to take with me? I asked him, “Where are you going?” to my surprise he said Mexico. After I stopped laughing hysterically, I had a visualization of a newspaper headline “Stupid gringo tries to smuggle marijuana INTO Mexico”. Until The Controlled Substance act of 1970, the majority of marijuana came from Mexico. After the Mexican government agreed to eradicate the crop in 1975, Columbia became the main supplier. So now, we advertise our easy giveaway of food stamps in Mexico. With this stupid “Zero Tolerance” climate, the so-called “War on Drugs” and mandatory sentences for possession the police prosecuted 848,408 persons with marijuana violations in 2009. 758,593 were charged with nonviolent possession only. Our jails are overflowing and with 224 million users in the world’s adult population, maybe we better take another look at our laws. Like they say, never let the truth or the facts interfere with the passage of a new law to control.

Quote from the person who invented the Internet and global warming. “It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it”. Al Gore, Vice President

See you on the shiny side of tomorrow…

Slide Show Viewer

Hover your mouse over the picture to see the controls

Click the arrow at the bottom for a slide show or use the right and left arrows to change pictures manually

Scroll Down For May 2013 Thunder Cam and Skin Art

Thunder Cam

Skin Art

By Amy Poole

The World Famous Iron Horse Saloon sponsored our “Twisted” cover for Bike Week 2013 and rocked us off our feet featuring David Allen Coe, a known legend…Jared Blake, an awesome county singer…Mustang Sally, an all women country/rhythm/blues band and the many FREE concerts during the week!! The Horse has it “ALL” going on during the off season and during the rallies. Off season if you are out and about you can hit Bike Night the 1st Saturday of every month with live music and a bike contest, during the week play in tournaments for cash prizes either corn hole or horseshoe, eat inexpensive good grub and drinks, join in on the poker runs for great causes, etc. Throughout the rallies you can pretty much do all those things with extras like the Horse teamed up with J&P Cycles (the world’s largest retailer for motorcycles), and had a burnout contest right by THE STAGE until there was no rubber left!!! They even have a place for you to sleep…well, not at the Horse but at their campground called Moonshine… a short distance away. And then there is always the famous beef tip sandwiches and fabulous T-shirts! Everyone always makes a stop at this Famous site!! Check Thunder Roads Florida for all the Horse’s upcoming events!!

By Amy Poole

IT’S CHOPPER TIME!!!

I have to say that the BEST part of Bike Week is Willie’s Tropical Tattoo Old School Chopper Show…for a few incredible reasons! It’s quite simple how this all began. Willie’s bike show began about 12 years ago. Willie and a few of his custom builder buddies, such as Jeff and Donnie from Sucker Punch Sally’s, and Adam Chandler would meet up on Thursdays at the shop on their choppers to gear up for a night out. As this continued, many onlookers were aware of this and chose to ride their chopper in, park, shoot the breeze, and from there it just got bigger and that is how we got to the present.

This year’s bike show was BIGGER than ever with 173 bikes on property and Willie and the crew’s choppers were not counted!! The eager crowd, getting inked or not, and the unique bikes were packed in tighter then a locked up wheel!! The builders were competing in many categories for some rare hand made trophies handed out by tatted babes and the Twisted Tea girls. Drink stations, like $2 beers, wine, cocktails, soda and water were set up all around along with snacks for lunch, if you got the munchies while listening to the non stop live music. An added perk too were the bales of hay stacked up in the sunshine so many of us parked ourselves on them!

Another thrilling factor at Tropical was having celebrities Josh and Bill from Moonshiners TV show and of course Cutie Pie, Josh’s dog, on site selling shots of moonshine and boy was it tasty!! If you are not familiar with the show you fail to see the humor and the hard work they put into their stills, but sippin’ on some shine while doing so…makes it well worth it!

The topper of the day was that ALL monies that were profited at the show from selling the beer, refreshments, food, moonshine; the gals and guys tip money, etc. ALL FUNDED the Arni Foundation Animal Shelter!!!! Raising $9,000.00!!!!! Arni is a nonprofit no kill shelter located here in town. They save 100’s of animals from other shelters that are in danger and find them loving homes! Arni has been onboard with Willie at Tropical’s bike show for the past 5 years. Nikki Lynn, founder of Arni, is an angel for these furry friends…she has a heart larger than life!! Here is their website if you are looking to give a 4 legged friend a loving home or to donate…arnianimalrescue.org

A big thank you to Dave Perewitz, Twisted Tea, Spectro Oil, Big Rick and the Troublemakers, and to all who supported this event!!!

Biker Friendly Places

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

APPAREL, GENERAL MERCHANDISE, ETC

VaperMate (electronic cigarettes)
Stuff-n-Puff
2550 S. Nova Rd.
Daytona
(and)
Smokes 4 Less
765 N. Wickham Rd. #`103
Melbourne
vaperMate.com

ATTORNEY

Rue & Ziffra, P.A.
640 Dunlawton Ave.
Port Orange
1-800-526-4711
www.rueziffra.com

BAIL BOND

Ace Bail Bond
3798 W. ISB Daytona
386-258-2223
11 E. Moody Bunnell/Flagler County
386-437-4357
Palatka 386-329-2223
St. Augustine 904-825-4357

BARS AND RESTAURANTS

BREVARD COUNTY

American Legion Post 359 Riders
7260 S US 1
Port St. John
321-323-6101 www.ALR359.com

H&D Roadhouse
SR 520
Merritt Island
321-449-1110

DUVAL COUNTY

BarZ Bar & Package Store
9560 Heckscher Dr.
Jacksonville
904-251-3330

Rusty’s Pub
8970 103rd St.
Jacksonville 32210
904-771-4199
Rustyspub@att.net

Smitty’s Bar
3553 Kori Rd.
Jacksonville (Mandarin)
904-683-0388

FLAGLER COUNTY

AMVETS POST 59
5959 N. Oceanshore Blvd. (A1A)
Palm Coast
386-597-2917

Dog Pound Saloon
1406 Hwy100 E.
Bunnell
386-586-0200

Pan Co Todo Cuban Café
210 S. Central Ave.
Flagler Beach
386-693-4939;

Smiles Nite Club
9 Palm Harbor Village Way
Palm Coast
386-986-1500

White Eagle Lounge
5533 US 1
Korona
386-437-2341
www.whiteeaglelounge.com

HIGHLANDS COUNTY

Neibert’s Fishing Resort
& Fred’s Bar
4971 US 98
Sebring
863-655-4737 or 655-1416

Main Street Tap Room
205 W. Main St.
Avon Park
863-453-3056

LAKE COUNTY

Blackwater Inn/Williams Landing
Hwy 40 & Blackwater River
Astor
352-759-2802
www.blackwaterinn.com

Irene’s Restaurant and Lounge
14942 Old Hwy 441
Tavares
352-343-6389

Steel Around Forest Tavern
US 40
Astor Park
352-759-3991

NASSAU

Reni’s Redneck Yacht Club
850019 US Hwy 17
Yulee
904-225-0272

OKEECHOBEE

Iron Eagle Bar
9441 Hwy. 78 West
Okeechobee
863-467-1360

PUTNAM COUNTY

3 Bananas
11 South Lake St.
Crescent City
386-698-2861
3bananas.com

Downtown Blues Bar & Grille
714 St. Johns Street
Palatka
386-325-5454
www.downtownbluesbarandgrille.com

Welaka Lodge & Resort
1001 Front St
Welaka, Florida 32193
386-467-7171

ST. JOHN’S COUNTY

Barnone Saloon
312 Anastasia
St. Augustine
904-825-4202

Giggling Gator
121 King St.
St. Augustine
904-824-0444

Mardi Gras
123 San Marco
St. Augustine
904-823-8808 www.mardibar.com

Sand Bar
7025 A1A
Crescent Beach
904-461-4671

TAYLOR

The Beach Bar
16260 Beach Rd.
Perry, FL 32348
850-578-3046

VOLUSIA COUNTY

Beaver Bar
1105 N US 1
Ormond Beach
386-673-3400

Cabbage Patch Bar
549 Tomoka Farms Rd. Corner of Rt.4118 (Pioneer Trail)
Samsula, FL 32168
386-427-8969
www.cabbagepatchbar.com

Dirty Harry’s
705 Main Street
Daytona Beach
386-252-9877

First Turn Steakhouse and Lounge
5236 S. Ridgewood Ave. (US 1)
Port Orange 386-788-5434
www.FIRSTTURNSTEAKHOUSE.COM

Frank’s Place
1542 N A1A (Dollar General Plaza)
Ormond By the Sea
386-441-3715

Iron Horse Saloon
1068 N US 1
Ormond Beach

One Horse Saloon
1130 N. Ridgewood Ave.
Holly Hill
386-872-3664 www.1horsesaloon.com

CAMPGROUNDS

Welaka Lodge & Resort
1001 Front St
Welaka, Florida 32193
386-467-7171

GUN RANGE

River City Gun Range
706 St. Johns Ave
Palatka
386-328-9280
www.cliffhangersgunshows.com

MOTORCYCLE SALES, SERVICE, RENTAL AND GEAR

Adamec Harley Davidson
Jacksonville 3 locations
Baymeadows 904.493.1931
Orange Park 904.215.1931
Regency 904.641.3735

GT Motorcyles
2840 Allen Hill Ave.
Pineda
321-255-BIKE (2453)
www.GTMotorcycles.com

Gainesville Harley-Davidson
4125 NW 97th Blvd.
Gainesville, FL
352-331-6363
www.GainesvilleHarley.com

Gator Harley Davidson
1745 US Hwy 441
Leesburg
352-787-8050
www.GatorHarley.com

J&P Cycles
Destination Daytona
Ormond Beach
386-615-0950
www.JPCycles.com

Mind Ride Cycles
9532 Historic Kings Rd.
Jacksonville
904-724-8558
mindridecycles.com

Stormy Hill Harley Davidson
2480 S. Hwy 27
Clermont
352-243-7111
www.StormyHillHarley.com

Tough Love Cycles Inc.
120 E. New Hampshire Ave.
Deland
386-279-0024
www.toughlovecycles.com

Treasure Coast Harley-Davidson
4967 SE Federal Hwy. US 1
Stuart
772-287-3871
www.treasure-harley.com

Tri City Cycles
308 S. 2nd St.
Flagler Beach
386-439-3967

SEATS

Ultimate Seats USA
348 Destination Daytona Lane
1-386-672-0288 www.ultimateseats.ca

TATTOO ARTIST

Altered Imaginations Tattoo
Ormond Beach Fl 386.672.8288
www.alteredimaginationstattoo.com

Shamrock Tattoo
1435 US 1 Ormond Beach
386-677-7670 shamrocktattooflorida.com

Tropical Tattoo
825 S. Yonge St.
Ormond Beach
386-672-1888 TROPICALTATTOO.COM

I met this month’s Bull’s Eye, Mark Manuel, at the Boardwalk Classic Ride In Bike Show during Bike Week. His creativity and passion for design is evident in his bike “Bad Sled”. In addition to being an extremely creative bike designer he also writes exceptionally, so I have asked him to submit his own story.  Lulu

By Mark Manuel

My story, like this build, is a little different from most. I fell hopelessly in love at 19 years old … twice! First with my wife of 35 years and second, with my Suzuki…not necessarily in that order! Thirty-five years later, I’m still in love with both. The only difference is that I’m into the design and creativity of bike building as much as riding. Like any love affair, it’s been a love-hate relationship at times, but that’s okay, because I’m a clinical psychologist. I work with bad boys at the Florida Department of Corrections, but my true love is a nine-year build that started in Miami at New Age Motorcycle, and continued by builder/painter Jay Horton from Alachua. My bike began life as a 1982 GS 1100 in-line 4 cylinder 16-valve chain drive Suzuki Katana. When I got tired of gear-heading around Miami, I decided to build my own signature motorcycle. I wasn’t into sport bikes or conventional Jap cruisers anymore, but I didn’t want to build another H-D cookie cutter chopper, bobber, or bagger. I wanted to build a whole new breed … a high-end prototype, integrating the old school radical retro FLH design with a wicked drag bike engine. The original 1100 was bored out by Star Racing using a Stage One pro-stock 1200 cc drag bike kit featuring a race cut/heat treated tranny, competition cams, valves, rings, pistons, chain, clutch, 38mm Mikuni stacks, and two 30 pound NOS tanks. This “Bad Sled” claims a staggering 140hp and a heart–stopping 170hp + with the NOS engaged. As of the spring of 2013, ¼ mile and top speed are still unknown pending engine break-in. In terms of design, I incorporated Arlen Ness Tail Dragger fenders, prototype 7 foot side by side fish tail pipes, a functional suicide shift, “floating” suspension, air shocks, flame thrower (gulp!), and $5000 in chrome. Roping it all in, the west coast “True Fire” air brush paint job is designed to reflect the notion of riding and splashing through liquid fire.

Not only is this thing crazy fast, it’s a Radical Metric 1000 cc+ show bike, having taken first at the 2012 Rat’s Hole show at Leesburg, 2nd at Rat’s Hole Biketoberfest 2012, 2nd at the 2013 Full Throttle Biker Build Off, 2nd at the Rat’s Hole Bike Week 2013 and 1st at the 2013 Boardwalk Classic Bike Week. That’s 5/5 shows guys… and the bike has been featured in several biker magazines as well. My ultimate goal is to win or place at Sturgis, the biggest and most prestigious custom motorcycle show in the world. I have “Bad Sled” priced at $50,000 and with all the hours, chrome, paint and design innovations, it’s a steal. Blending the past and present, I’ve taken an antique Suzuki and integrated H-D, Arlen Ness, and Indian influences, making this an awarding winning bike. Long… Low… Loud… Phat… and Fast … This is truly one “BAD SLED!”

By Lulu

During Bike Week, I was wandering around the Speedway and ran into my friends from Rolling Thunder Chapter 8. They were showing me the coolest piece of art that someone generously donated to them (see photo). A bit later in the day I came upon that artist’s booth and had a chance to meet the artist “Dirt” (James Dorner) and see more of his creations. Upon hearing that I had a friend with lung cancer, he gave me a piece of art to auction at her poker run. This is one amazing and generous man. He didn’t know me or my friend. He wasn’t a local, and yet he insisted I take the pair of metal angel wings his hands had sculpted out of metal. His creative works are sold under the name Art by Dirt and he really creates amazing art made with American motorcycle pieces. From tiny rosebuds to huge eagles his mind and hands take metal art to a new height. So far he has given over $64,000 to his charitable causes, which he is very involved in veteran and children causes. I am keeping this Pony Tales short to make room for the photos. The artist has been featured in Easy Rider magazine and you can find him on his website www.artbydirt.com Thank you Dirt from Thunder Roads Florida, Rolling Thunder Chapter 8 and my friend Sam you are certainly a delightful man and I am impressed by your art and generous spirit!