By Lulu

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Hadn’t been on an overnight ride with the Rossmeyer sisters in over two years, so when the chance to ride with them to Treasure Island came upI was happy to sign up to saddle up! What I wasn’t prepared for was that it required getting out of a warm king sized fluffy bed before the sun came up to mount a cold seat and ride to the Atlantic Ocean for sunrise…riding in the high 30s. But the excitement of the ride across the state almost made the shivering bearable. That and the knowledge that the first stop was for pancakes at Deleon Springs and a warm griddle at the table to warm my red mittens.

We continued down the highway through beautiful country roads with two gas station breaks to finally find a watering hole known as the Sandbar in New Port Richey. The bartender was thrilled to hear the roar of the bikes pull in on a quiet Thursday afternoon. After a group shot and a shot or two to warm our innards we finished the trek to Treasure Island and our nice hotel, The Bilmar. Most of the group dined at Sloppy Joe’s that night, but we headed off for sushi and a cruise around town, finishing with cocktails and a great evening in the HOT tub poolside. We were not able to make the trip back with the Rossmeyer group as we decided to head to a motorcycle expo that was nearby the next day. The new friends we meet on these overnight rides are what makes going on our adventures fun…thanks for having us!

By Lulu

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One of my favorite antique bike show events happens every January in Frost Park in Dania Beach. This year heavy rains a few days before made for a slightly boggy field and the ample parking that was available across the street at the old Jai-Alai fronton was off limits due to the casino occupying the building. But it was still a highly attended event, hundreds of antique bikes, vendors, swap meet, music and the vintage bicycle show made the ride to Dania worthwhile. If you enjoy the nostalgia of motorcycling in days gone by put this on your list of events for 2017.

By Lulu

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As all of us in Florida know, we are the luckiest bikers in the world. We have year round riding weather! We may get wet, we may be hot, and at times, even need to don our leathers; but we can always ride without snow tires! So our riding brethren from all those cold parts of the USA love to invade Volusia and Flagler Counties for Bike Week and Biketoberfest. But what many, even who reside here, may not know is we have more to offer than the beach and biker bars! We have polled Volusia and Flagler County resident bikers and asked them to tell us the best biker friendly bars, restaurants and the roads they love to ride. Many you will be familiar with and some may cause you to go off your beaten path while visiting.

We have more Biker Friendly Bars than probably any other area in Florida, the favored list is as follow. (Note that the ones highlighted in yellow have ads with Thunder Roads and I would really like to see you visit them!)

In Daytona: On Main St. the list is Main Street Station, Boot Hill Saloon, Dirty Harry’s and Froggy’s. We are proud to have a very classy new gentleman’s club Grandview Live on Grandview. Some of the favorites on 1 are Saints & Sinners, Iron Horse, and during Bike Week and Biketoberfest Broken’ Spoke. Chris’ Lounge on US 1 is part of Bike Week history. Off of Flomich is an old bar Rowsey’s and off of Beach St. is an even older beer and wine bar Walden’s. On A1A in Flagler Beach is Beach Front Grille where I tend bar and gaze at the Atlantic on Mondays and then Finn’s by the pier. Going west on 100 right at the pier in Flagler will take you to the Dog Pound Saloon which one of my best friends is the owner of. If you are here the last Sunday of Bike Week it is Dog Pound’s Survivor Party which includes a free BBQ! West of US 1 on CR 2006 is Bull Creek Fish Camp with a waterfront view. Finnegan’s Black Cloud Saloon is going north on US 1 in Bunnell.

My must do list for Bike Week includes 3 things! Willie’s Chopper Time on the last Thursday of Bike Week, the bikini contest at Main Street Station and a visit to the Cabbage Patch for coleslaw wrestling

Going south on US 1 you will run into the First Turn with a great outside deck and food and we have a new ad client just south of First Turn…The Boat Bar with a very nautical look and in New Smyrna Beach, Chase’s on the beach with a pool and ocean view and Pub 44.

Out in the western area of Volusia we have the infamous Cabbage Patch renowned for their Coleslaw Wrestling in Samsula. And in Deland OB’s and Rudy’s Crossroads both great watering holes and OB’s had great burgers.

Great places to eat that are not chains are listed as: First Turn (Port Orange) for steak & seafood, Beach Front Grille (Flagler Beach), OB’s for burgers, Woodie’s BBQ is known for its great BBQ! Brick Yard (Daytona), Lulu’s off Granada beachside, Babe’s Blue Room (Ormond Beach) and Iron Horse (Ormond Beach) for burgers and DB Pickles (Ormond Beach) for home cooked foods and excellent desserts. The best spots for sushi are Bamboo Garden and Ronin’s. And even though Blackwater Inn isn’t in Volusia County it is just east on 40 and has a great outside porch in the trees and I love the shrimp!

The roads we were told to travel are A1A going north of Granada for the unobstructed beach view. The Loop starting on Beach. Many enjoy riding through the Ocala National Forest.

No visit to Volusia County is complete for a biker without dropping in on Destination Daytona. Just browsing makes it a great place to spend a few hours. Places to make stops that may not be your typical biker destination, but things we think are worth your time are The Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet, take a ride ON the beach in Daytona (don’t forget to wash the salt off), the Speedway in Daytona, Tomoka State Park with the old Fairchild Oaks and the statue of Chief Tlmokie, Bulow Ruins, visit the manatees in Blue Springs, the city of Deland has a historic downtown area and you can cook your own breakfast at DeLeon Springs. Our county also has golf, horsebackriding, sky diving, boat rentals, camping and fishing expeditions.

Many of the bars in our areas have bike nights and free BBQ to thank their biking patrons for choosing them as their riding destination. We offer wonderful homegrown musical talents so find a “Cool Joint” after a long day of riding and relax or dance the night away. And thank you for visiting Volusia and Flagler!

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

Here I am getting excited about the upcoming 75th Daytona Bike Week. Who wouldn’t be excited with approximately 500,000 bikers coming to their neighborhood for a rally that includes motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals? The rally started back in 1937 but took a break between 1942 to 1947 because of World War II. I must admit I haven’t been to all of them but I did make many.

I started thinking, “Oh My God”, I made it, and according to today’s standards I shouldn’t have. Things have changed dramatically since I was a kid. I realize life has an expiration date, but I guess mine is longer than the one on my milk carton.

When I was growing up we didn’t have child car seats or airbags. The thing that protected you from going through the windshield was your mother’s outstretched arm across your chest when she locked up the brakes… When one of your classmates died, you dealt with it. The school didn’t send in “grief counselors”. ADHD wasn’t heard of and kids were not given Mind Altering Drugs. Nobody cared about your “self-esteem”. If you failed you learned to deal with the consequences. Not everybody made the team, and the teams kept score. There was a winner and a loser. This had a way of making you stronger. I ate eggs fried in bacon grease. The biscuits, pie crusts, and fried foods were made using lard. Spam came out of a can, not in your e-mail. Come to think of it, we didn’t have the Internet, computers, cell phones, X-box’s, play stations, tablets or television with limitless channels. We had real friends and real books not a thing called Facebook .We had “Social Networking” it was called “Go outside and play”. We even got into fights with other kids, even our friends. We’d end up with bruises, scrapes, cuts, and sometimes even broken bones. I rode horses, went hunting when I was 10 with a real gun, and drove a pickup long before I was old enough to get a license. I was spanked by my parents and the teachers at school when I needed it. Of course, I would never tell my folks that I got my butt spanked at school because I knew they’d whip my ass again. That did teach me something. It was called “Respect”. I always carried a pocket knife, rifles and shotguns on my pickup gun rack and a .357 in the glove box. I never remember hearing about killings in our schools. The “Pledge of Allegiance” started my school day. I didn’t even lock the doors of my house. I never worried about going out after dark. There were bad things and good things but we didn’t need the government to tell us what was right or wrong. The 10 Commandments told us. I was not Politically Correct, because I wasn’t afraid to say what I felt and thought. Everyone had the right to be offended or offend. I’m not sick, I’m twisted. Sick has a cure. On second thought, maybe it was all the lead-based paint that I chewed off the windowsills that led me to be able to write this column. When we have a meeting of the minds, mine has a tendency not to show up.

Remember Florida, March 15 is the Presidential Preference Primary election. Polls show that many of Americans are dissatisfied with the way our politicians are running our government. But who picked them? Take the time to research the candidates and “VOTE”.

Read more on my website nobodiesopinion.com

See you on the shiny side up tomorrow

By Lulu

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Cold and windy, a lightning storm would have been the only thing to make the weather worse for the annual Builder Expo at Quaker Steak & Lube. Tents were flapping and most vendors finally just put them away and settled for full sun. But as always Tony had a room full of cutting edge bikes all vying for the champion ring and trophies. Live music by the likes of the Greg Billing Band entertained the crowds when the burlesque girls were done. Lots of vendors and of course great food and drinks were being served! Always nice to see old friends which to our surprise included Bill Grotto from Twisted Tea who puts more miles on the highway than anyone I know.

By Lulu

Our Thunder Roads Twisted Tea Bike Night in January was on a cold night, but the insides of Rudy’s Crossroads were on fire! Carly, our Twisted Tea girl of the night, was looking smokin’ hot and serving up ice cold Tea. But the real heat of the night was when Rudy set the bar on fire! We raised $83 for the Second Harvest Food Bank in our raffle and a bit of groceries which made a night of music, food and fun…a night of something good for those less fortunate. The free wings and macaroni and cheese served that night was AWESOME! So when you are looking for somewhere fun to ride to make sure you put Rudy’s in Deland on your map!

By Lulu

If you haven’t made it down to Six Bends H-D in Ft. Myers you really should. The new dealership is awesome. We happened to be on premise for their car show. The parking lot was crammed full of bikes, cars and people. Music filled the air and the smell of grilled hot dogs made us want to stay when we really needed to hit the road to continue dispersing the new issues of Thunder Roads throughout the state. The staff, in particular, Alexis, couldn’t have been nicer. A beautiful showroom, a great staff and a dealership filled with Harleys makes this a stop for any bike traveling I75.