By Deborah Speicher

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On Sunday November 22, we celebrated two anniversaries. The 19th anniversary of Full Throttle Magazine and the 12th Anniversary of Quaker Steak & Lube. The party was hosted at the Lube and started with free lunch (pulled pork/chips and beer).

There was also a lot going on to keep everyone entertained – music by The Black Honkeys, bike show, slow race, weenie bite and a bikini contest. During the day, $100 H-D gift cards were given away and a big screen TV was the last thing to go to one lucky winner (courtesy of attorney Fran Haasch); and all you had to do was be there!

Congratulations Full Throttle Magazine and Quaker Steak & Lube!

By Lulu

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Summer in January? Well if you ride south from Daytona Beach to Fort Lauderdale is seems like you experience a change of season…The Sunday afternoon was for the most part balmy, and attendance at the 8th Annual Summer Bike Fest hosted by my good friends Mike and Dee Dee was only down a bit due to a huge January storm that spawned killer tornados on the event’s weekend and destroyed his stage’s roof. The partying crowd seemed to be happy to be in the parking lot and bar of The Round Up drinking Bud products, Jager and Twisted Tea!!!

The lot was full of vendors and bike builders/shops including Rick Case Honda, Broward Motorsports, Kryptic Concepts, A-1 Cycles and Cash for Motorcycles. Billy Bob’s was serving great BBQ. The food including the roasted corn was amazing.

Terry Kirby, retired 10 year NFL veteran who played with the Miami Dolphins, 49ers, Browns and Raiders including a final game Super Bowl appearance, was a celebrity judge. He was judging from his bike built by Ken’s Cycle Center.

Frozen T contest that was hosted by Freddie from A-1 Promotions and the bikini contest added to the festivities and entertained the crowd along with live music and tons of giveaways. The bikini contest winner was Reyna, second place Carlie and the 3rd place prize went to Kody. The crowd favorite seemed to be the 5 time cover girl from Playboy, Andrea Jarova, was happy to pose with her puppy for the eager photographers.

By Lulu

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The International Motorcycle Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center in January is full of vendors, and new models of motorcycles and gear. There is a huge train track and this year there was even haircuts! The guys from Cartel Baggers seemed to dominate the bike show hosted by JP Cycles. Vendors from BMW, Ducati, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Indian, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, Yamaha, Can Am/Spyder, KTM, Victory and Star filled the showroom. I also want to give a shout out to my friend Jillian who was down from St. Augustine doing pin striping at Hellcat’s booth and to Tony from Full Throttle…that is what I love about visiting distant events…seeing friends on the circuit. The dates for the February International Bike

Shows are 2/5-7 in Minneapolis, MN, 2/12-14 in Chicago, IL and 2/20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

Aristotle teaches that while we must love our friends, we must love truth more. We need to understand what has happened to America and we need to reverse the damage and restore our crumbled Constitutional Republic. Radical Islam is gaining energy daily. European cities are under siege by Muslim immigrants who refuse to integrate and are often lawless. Our own government, including the leaders of both parties, is welcoming thousands of poorly vetted refugees, even with new Islamic attacks happening on American soil with more frequency.

However, we are being saved by King Obama, who says the only thing we have to worry about is global warming. Those who denounce this action are considered racist or extremist. We are a nation already on life support with the lowest labor force participation rate since 1977, 47 million Americans, one-sixth of the country; now receive food stamps, and a national debt of more than $18.9 trillion or $154.161 per tax payer. The red ink will likely be crowding the $20 trillion mark right around the time Mr. Obama leaves the White House.

The foundation of America is rooted in the Constitution and if we stop living by its principles America will become extinct. We have an unconstitutional administration that is making a mockery of our representative government. The Iran deal and Obamacare are disasters as well as most of the policies of this administration. We need to rally our citizens, and I emphasize “Citizens” who are dedicated to the principles that our country was founded on. We need to educate our adolescents in liberty, freedom and individual rights.

They need to learn that the only “Safe Zone” is solitary confinement in a maximum security prison. In America you can be a gutless, useless, freeloading parasite that pisses on the Constitution and still get a check from the government every month. That’s true even if you’re not the President. If you are only getting minimum wage, you probably are only putting out minimum effort. Remember, the only tranquilizer you need to sleep is called “work”.

Warning: PETA is coming for Rover the puppy, Fluffy the pussycat, Goldie the goldfish and probably any other animal you have as a pet. I was brought up on a farm and learned early to separate farm animals from pets. I always felt chickens were best fried after they stop laying eggs. When I go by a pasture and I see cows I think milk, steers I think steaks, sheep I think chops, pigs I think bacon, etc. They made Ringling Brothers retire the elephants from the circus. I’m going to miss watching the beautiful pachyderms parade down the streets of Orlando and triumphantly enter the ring, then perform a synchronized dance routine. They’re also trying to shut down Sea World.

I live just south of Marineland and Northeast of Sea World Orlando and have witnessed all the good they do. The animal-rights group that touts responsible pet adoption and veganism euthanized 88% of all pets PETA rescued. Next they’ll probably say that plants have feelings, so we shouldn’t eat them either. I used to think PETA stood for People Enjoying Tasty Animals. I think now that they need to change their initials to PITA. Pain In The Ass.

This year to relieve some tension, I have decided to put a little humor on my website instead of all politics. Funny life stories before political correctness. Check it out nobodiesopinion.com.

I was told to drink responsibly. I didn’t know they made vodka named responsibly.
See you on the shiny side of tomorrow.

By Lulu

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It was a pleasure to attend my first Gibtown Bike Fest in Riverview. Set on a large waterfront property owned by an organization of carnival participants, they offer ample free car and bike parking, plenty of indoor and outdoor full liquor bars with $4 ice cold 16 oz beers, a large circus tent for the stage, a large indoor building for vendors and outdoor vendors and it was great to see our friends from Painted Harley Fairings out of Jacksonville and Custom Lighting Efx, Inc. from Daytona Beach, and some of the best burgers and carnival fare.

For a $10 admission fee you can go back in time at the I.I.S.A. museum across the street and revisit the history that has become the modern day carnival. Lots of interesting exhibits and antique rides are on display. The organizers included great bands on 5 stages including Big Engine, Molly Hatchet, Highway to Hell, and the Greg Billings Band. The Daisy Dukes contest and bikini contests were big hits. To round out the activities they had Harley-Davidson test rides, helicopter rides for $20, the Wall of Death, bike show, corn hole games, and a motorcycle stunt show.

The weather got nasty on Saturday night which I am sure hurt their attendance, but I certainly enjoyed the event and loved being able to spend the night and visit Ybor City area for the vibrant nightlife. Put this on your event calendar for next year…we think you will enjoy the fair like atmosphere that sets this bike event apart.

By Lulu

Our monthly Twisted Tea bike event takes us to a different watering hole each month. As part of the event we collect non perishable food items for the county’s food banks.

Each item you bring gives you a chance to win $50 cash. In December my bosses at Beach Front Grille were excited to host the event and even though the clouds were spitting on us a bit we had a large rowdy crowd, happily imbibing on samples of Twisted Tea and tasting the scrumptious food. If you haven’t checked out Beach Front on A1A in Flagler Beach, the food is great; the owners are great and the view fabulous.

This month’s event will be at Saints & Sinners for their Thursday night Bike Night on February 25th 6-9pm there will be snacks, $2 Twisted Tea and entertainment so put it on your calendar and come fill the food bank!!

By Lulu

I have only repeated a Bull’s Eye one other time and that was when Bruce Rossmeyer passed away, but a very dear friend of mine and of bikers in Florida died this month and I wanted to rerun the article I wrote about him years ago. Thank you for reading about someone I admired and loved dearly and will be missed by family, friends and fans!!!

There are people in life who simply live each moment, for the moment and make that moment as full as it can possibly be. Dan Haggerty, a.k.a. Grizzly Adams, is one such soul. Born in Hollywood, CA, raised in a Franciscan monastery from the age of 7-16, he was destined to spread his wings once he left to explore the world. Throughout his entire life, he has been in the midst of interesting and extraordinary people. His grandfather was the president of the AFL-CIO. His father was an Olympic skier and a union rep for the film industry. In his youth he fell in love with exotic animals and nature.

He befriended Mabel Stark, a 75 year old animal handler with Barnum and Bailey Circus. She gave him his first lion cub, which started him down the road of being an animal trainer in the film industry. He still has a game park, Wild Life Images, in Grant Pass, Oregon. At 14, he chopped his bicycle and the custom bikes he has built look very similar to that early creation. By the age of 16, he was working under Von Dutch, where he learned painting and pin striping. He has owned his own leather business, Cornocopia. He made the hat Clint Eastwood wore in Two Mules for Sister Sarah.

While at work in his leather shop with his pet wolf at his side, he was approached to have the wolf star in a movie in the south of France. So, as a true adventure seeker would; he closed up shop and flew off to France. Loving the country and life style he stayed for two years and while there attended the Cordon Bleu Culinary School. He was an animal trainer for the TV series, Tarzan, filmed in Brazil. A scene in a movie, in which he wrestled a Siberian Tiger, led to his landing the part of Grizzly Adams in the movie and eventually, the TV series with his co-star Ben. He has built custom bikes for Bill Smith of Rich Man, Poor Man fame, and Ann Margret. Dan, Sugar Bear and Tex Hall built the famous red, white and blue bikes in Easy Rider.

Today he is involved with Club Navigo Resorts as their spokesman and he says being in Florida has been an energy boost for him. He also is involved in a line of log cabins, Lang Creek Log Homes. Dan filmed 86 episodes of the Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, he has a full page of movies he has been in, including Girl Crazy with Elvis Presley, Muscle Beach with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and even Easy Rider. He was the stunt man; animal trainer and actor in Snow Tiger which he helped bring to the screen with an $185,000 budget. This film’s return for the studio was a 435 million dollar. If all of this doesn’t exhaust you, trying to get it all down on one page did me! Yet this 67 year old doesn’t seem to rest. A new Grizzly Adams film is to begin filming this spring with co-stars that include David Carradine, Robbie Knievel and possibly Drew Barrymore as his granddaughter.

He is on his bike more than just about anyone I know. When asked about his love of riding he replied, “My bike is my girlfriend, one day I love her and the next day we’re cranky, but the sound of a Harley and Ferrari are the two greatest sounds in the world.” Even a horrible MC accident in Benedict Canyon in 1994 which actually resulted in a death notice with his name on it, and left him with a bad leg, didn’t keep him off two wheels. He says he meets the most wonderful people on two wheels, recalling a time on The Love Ride out west, when the man riding next to him introduced himself and it was Malcolm Forbes.

Talented…energetic…creative…adventuresome…loving…extremely funny and smart, but the two things that leave me in total awe of Dan is his passion for people and commitment to helping charities like Angel Flight and Shand’s Burn Center. He NEVER seems to tire of requests for pictures with him and when he signs an autograph it is never a quick Dan Haggerty, it becomes a touch and a conversation. At that moment the person making the request is the most important person in the room. In a crowded room, before anyone realizes who he is, he fills the room with such energy, people want to be close to him and his energy for this amazes me. This is a biker with a story that had so many bumps in the road anyone else would have put their kickstand down, but not “Hag” as his brother refers to him. His mother, Ruthie, says “being Dan’s mother is like being on a roller coaster”. But when you live a grand life you take the good with the bad and just focus on the next cycle of life. In Dan’s words, “Nothing remains the same”. I would have to argue with Dan on that, the love and respect of Dan’s friends and fans will always remain the same…

By Phaedra Lee

It is unanimous! Daytona Beach has once again proven to be a generous community! The December 12th ride was successful with over 60 riders for the first event and we look forward to doing it again next year. I remember as a small child receiving my first bicycle and it really made me feel free. Many children will never have the opportunity to have their own bike since new bikes are $50-130 depending upon the size.

However, with the generosity of our community, we will be able to share over 35 bicycles each with a helmet to our local kids. The day started at Main Street Station at 11:30am with our jumbo, all beef hot dogs with all the fixin’s and kickstands up at 1pm to head over to see Steve at the Iron Horse.

We then stopped for a wild card at the Dog Pound Saloon before heading to Finn’s Beachside where Cy rescued one of their patrons from causing an accident heading out onto A1A. Cy Manula, who was a huge help in carrying all the bikes for us, said this was an extremely humbling experience seeing bikers come in with tears in their eyes to donate bikes.

Next stop was Frank’s Place to see Annette and enjoy her hospitality before heading back to Main Street Station for our final card and Backyard Boys BBQ. A big thanks to our sponsors including Tiesa at Rice & Rose Law Firm, Brigit’s Custom Works, Constance with Department of Family Services, the Chrome Divas, Elaine Holt, Ned Wald at Travelhost Magazine and all our special guests for spending the day with us enjoying the perfect Florida weather.

These bikes will go to Allison at the Early Learning Coalition, Christina at Tomoka Christian Church, Family Renew, Volusia County Family Services and numerous local families.

By Ron Cox

The Southwest Chapter of ABATE hosted its annual Christmas run to the Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans Home in Port Charlotte on Sunday,
December 20th. The Home is home to 120 Veterans, 112 men and 8 women.

More than 170 riders assembled at Sun Sports Cycle for the police escorted ride to the home. Several clubs from the area sent contingents including the Lost Riders, SWFL HOG, LAMA and the American Legion Riders.

Upon arrival the riders were greeted by many of the Veterans who were seated outside, anxious for their arrival. It was especially poignant when many of the riders, who are Veterans themselves, thanked the elderly Veterans for
their service. Sad to say but the bikers visit will be the only visitors some these aging Veterans will receive all year.

Veterans Home Administrator Liz Barton thanked the riders for their continued support and commented that the money raised from the run will enable each Veteran to receive a $50 Wal-Mart gift card in addition to sundries (socks, underwear, razors, toothpaste & brushes) the riders brought.