By Lulu

2020 has been one hell of a year! Coronavirus closed down the last 2 days of Bike Week in Daytona, hurting many of the bars and vendors as the last weekend is the “profit”. Many motorcycle events since March have been cancelled all over the country. So, when the beautiful governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, kept her state open for business we just had to go to the 80th. This was my third trip, but first on the back of someone’s bike. My first trip I had my own bike there. The second I worked for what is now the Iron Horse Saloon in Sturgis for 5 weeks. Most of the photos in this article were shot from the back of TJ’s bike some at 60 mph! If you haven’t made the trek to South Dakota, you MUST. Our first stop was my sister’s house in Louisville where we were fed like kings. Thanks. Jen and Kerry!

We camped in a RV with Waylon and Tonya Long from Long’s Log Cabin in Welaka, Florida at Kristen’s Campground (her personal residence actually). Only spending 1 evening doing the party scene in Sturgis we bypassed the night parties at Buffalo Chip, Glencoe and Full Throttle Campgrounds and chose to make this year all about the riding. Each day we set out to explore new highways and make stops at the famous parks South Dakota is known for. We found many food vendors were unprepared for the crowds that dared to come amid covid worries and ran out of food early each day. Estimates have been as high as 400,000 in attendance, although both TJ and I think it was probably closer to 250,000. The vendors all claimed to have had a successful rally, but many vendors didn’t come so there was less competition. Most famous bands didn’t come either. In fact, I think Hairball was the most packed night of music at The Iron Horse.

We only had 5 days to explore and you really need at least 7. Our first day of exploration was to Mount Rushmore and it really held a special feeling for me this year with all the destruction of our monuments in 2020 making the nightly news. Simply beautiful! Day 2 we did The Badlands with all its majestic views. Day 3 we made it to Custer State Park where the buffalo (bison) roam; but we missed the day the young lady approached the baby bison and the mother knocked her out of her pants and unconscious. The video of that is on our Facebook Page Thunder Roads Florida. The same day TJ took us to Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road. We pulled over near the top at an overlook and was approached by a guy wanting to borrow a portable air compressor. We didn’t have one, but our friend Pete, who must have been an Eagle Scout growing up, not only had one but also had a patch kit. Pete saved that guys day as no one was willing to come up the mountain for him. TJ went right to Harbor Freight for one of those compressors when we got home. I hope we never need it, but it was a well spent $10 bucks. Day 4 one of my favorite rides which we did two times was Spearfish Canyon. Had to stop in Deadwood to visit Doug and Misty at Sick Boy Motorcycles store to purchase some of their new Tees. One of our final days was spent heading to Devil’s Tower which you can’t imagine what created that lone giant rock formation.

Stonehouse Saloon was on that adventure and rode into Wyoming to visit Hulett. At some point I ate a buffalo burger for the first time. Most of the state parks are $20 per bike, well worth it. Mount Rushmore was only $5 per person. We ran out of time and didn’t make it to Crazy Horse, time passed altogether too quickly. Although Jack shared a picture he had for the article. Of course, the 3 days there and 3 days back hauling bikes behind the RV takes a toll on you. We also missed the one day of protest that happened in Sturgis which was small and uneventful until a moron kicked at a bike. Luckily, the bikers allowed the police to escort them to safety and no damage was done to anyone or anything.

At the time of writing this, the Covid count is estimated at less than 300 from the huge rally with one known death, even though a fake news alert was running on Facebook and the news saying it was a super spreader causing 20% of all new cases. Governor Noem went on Fox and said the numbers I am posting are the real numbers and that it is clearly FAKE news. Any death or illness is tragic, but I could have stayed home and gotten it in line at Target, so I am happy I made the trip and didn’t catch a damn thing!

A special thank you to our friends Waylon and Tonya for hauling us across the country. To Wade and Kristen for the use of a little slice of South Dakota. To Bill for his forever friendship. And to Pete, German Dave, Jack, and Sheri for sharing their time with us on the highway.

Next year we will be shooting to spend 7 days in the beauty of this part of America. Please promise yourself to make this journey in your lifetime.

By Lulu

Exploring highways is a favorite pastime for those who love to ride 2 and 3 wheels. Melrose, Palatka and Satsuma have a few hidden treasures you should saddle up to check out. In Melrose, on FL 100, sits The Howlin’ Wolf. New owners James Cuneo and Mark Cochran have worked hard to breathe new life into the historic Howlin’ Wolf. Mark and James are both veterans who ride!

Since purchasing the bar, Covid has had them shut down or running as a package drive through for months. It is a full liquor bar with outdoor seating, pool tables, and even bonfires on the weekend. Sunday Fundays includes $3 Bloody Mary’s and free pool all day! James organized a ride to Tallahassee with other bar owners to demand the chance to open their doors instead of being forced to have their businesses discriminated against due to Corona. Ride out to visit these vets.

They have proudly served their country and would love to serve you a beer or two!! No better way to show them respect for their time served!! They have live music by 2 Peace Band on October 4th from 2-6pm. The Howlin Wolf is also having a Motorcycle Swap meet on October 25th from 1-4p and vendors are welcome. Ending the month in a Howlin big way they are having a Halloween Costume Party from 9p-1a with live music by Fas Train and a costume contest!

Another cool joint owned by friends who ride, Amy and Donnie, is in historic Palatka, City of Murals at 101 S. 10th Street. Donnie is also an Army vet. The 3-D Saloon is a full liquor bar and you WILL NOT find nicer barkeeps than these two. 3-D is known for bringing original music acts to the city and two of our favorites we see there from time to time are Framing the Red and Austin Neal. Austin Neal and Savannah Road Band will be playing their hearts out at 8pm on October 17th! Their ad reads A Little Country, A Little Rock N Roll and a whole lot of Good Times, and every time we have visited, they have delivered what is promised! Another claim to fame of 3-D is $2 Bud & Bud Lite bottles 5-7pm! Pool tables and darts are also there for your entertainment pleasure. If you prefer sitting outside, they have a beer garden porch to enjoy the autumn temps with an ice-cold beer. 3-D is closed on Sundays and Mondays, but they are happy to sling you a cocktail or beer Tuesday through Saturday.

For those a little more adventurous, Hermit’s Cove on the St. Johns River is one of the coolest REAL dive bars you can find. A true Trump fan, owner Gary Burch’s bar is located at 482 Cove Dr. in Satsuma. Beautiful sunsets await right on the river. He has rows of theater seats for your beer sipping comfort…while taking in the sunsets and wildlife!

While exploring this part of Putnam county, Angel’s Diner on FL 100 is right in the heart of Palatka and is known as Florida’s oldest diner established in 1932. A very real retro dining experience with car hops like back in the 50’s! The murals throughout the city of Palatka are worth checking out and spend some time on the St. Johns River one of the only rivers in America that flows north!

If you enjoy exploring nature, Ravine State Park is beautiful with a swinging bridge and a great hiking trail to spend some time exploring.

No matter which one of these watering holes you start at, the highways are wide open, and you will enjoy the feel of riding great country roads and meeting new friends.

October is my favorite time of the year. I love the weather change. I love the fall rallies. I DON’T LOVE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN 2020!! I went to Sturgis and had a wonderful time. I did not catch Covid there, and knock on wood so far, I have not been exposed in Florida either. Many of my family and friends have had it and they have nothing to do with motorcycling or crowds. The news has been reporting particularly on Facebook the Covid was a super spreader at Sturgis. FAKE NEWS!!! See the press release explaining the real statistics. Countless cities have cancelled events or limited them due to this fake bull crap!

The San Diego State University IZA study regarding the COVID-19 cases resulting from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is blatantly faulty. The study concludes that nearly 20% of the COVID- 19 cases reported in America from August 2 to September 2 are due to the event. This outrageous conclusion is antithetical to actual case data as numerous State Officials across the United States have been actively seeking to tie any COVID-19 case to the event. Despite these active efforts, fewer than 300 cases have been identified nationwide. The careless ease with which mainstream media outlets have published a report that multiplies that factual data by 1,000 is shameful. The absolute preposterousness of the conclusion is further demonstrated by the results of the community-wide mass testing which occurred after the event, where there were 26 positives cases out of 650 patients tested.

The City of Sturgis holds those affected by COVID-19 in our thoughts and prayers as the virus continues to impact our nation and world. We recognize that individuals were exposed to the virus on their trip to, from, or while at the Rally, but the data reported by health officials across the nation show that the impact from the event was a mere fraction of what was projected and anticipated by many of the experts. The continued media focus on infection and the hope of increased transmission rates and death, following this event are reminiscent of the models that told us that locally our hospitals would be overwhelmed, we would have a massive lack of ventilators, and 3-5% of us would not survive. Fortunately, as we have seen, the underlying assumptions of these

By Lulu

Challenges in life are to be conquered. Victories in life are to be celebrated. So, when Diesel decided to enter the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge he set his mind to be victorious. Diesel (Dustin Arledge) is a personable 33-year-old originally from Laurelville, Ohio. He started riding motorcycles as early as age 3! When asked how old he was when he got his first bike, he quickly answered my Dad got a bike “for all us boys” when I was about 8 and the three brothers shared it. In February 2007 Diesel joined the Marines and did a tour in Afghanistan where he suffered multiple concussions from explosions finally resulting in brain injuries that caused him to be medically retired. He took the photography session with Honoring Our Veterans and later used his GI bill to get a AS degree in photography which he uses as a release. “Honoring Our Veterans” mission is to improve the quality of life for combat wounded veterans by offering them activities that strengthen their physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. This organization helped not only Diesel, but also his friends Beetle and Smuggler’s wife which made him choose to raise funds for them when he decided to ride the Hoka Hey. This was a way for Diesel to give back.

The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is a 10,000-mile challenge to test the fortitude and determination of the rider. The Lakota Sioux of Wolakota celebrates all that is pure and powerful in the warrior spirit by this event, which is presented by the Medicine Show LLC. The 100 new riders and any previous riders pay $500 to register for the torturous ride. No cash award is given. A trophy is presented to the winner which they hold for two years. The motorcycle challenge takes place every two years. 2020 started and ended in Panama City Beach, Florida. This year for the first time a pandemic has affected others coming into the country to do the challenge. The route took riders through 31 states with directions to check points along the way. Diesel started in the first group of 25 and finished in 10 days and 3 minutes! The actual mileage this year was 9,661. To make that distance in the 10 days Diesel traveled 1500 miles in the 1st 24 hours, sleeping only 2 hours on the ground by his bike. After day 3 he hit that wall of wondering why in the hell he was doing this, but after getting more rest (4 hours instead of 2) he got a second wind and was more determined to not only finish but to WIN. He led most of the 10 days, although with some bike problems, including new tires and brakes in Vermont, blowing the left rear shock, needing to use brake cleaner to clean the air filter and being lost a time or two he lost some of the 3-5 hour lead he had established early on. One rider did pass him on the last day, so he was not positive that he had won until later that day when he learned he was back in the lead.

This is not only a physical and mental challenge; it is a challenge with risks. On the second day rider, Todd Moreland #909, died on the challenge this year. Another rider hit a deer and broke his leg. The second-place rider arrived at the finish two hours behind Diesel. Another part of the challenge is to raise money for the charity of your choice. I mentioned earlier that Diesel chose Honoring Our Veterans to ride for, he was able to raise $7,355 in sponsorship dollars. Diesel set lofty goals, then went for them as a warrior (or Marine) would. Depriving himself of sleep and a bed when he did sleep, enduring miles and miles of road weariness, thirst, hunger, dealing with frustration of accidents, closed bridges, bike problems and just mental fatigue…he pushed through it all. Even more important to me is that he did not neglect the importance of the charity aspect of the challenge. To raise thousands of dollars during a pandemic is remarkable. Job well done Diesel. I know he would like me to thank his sponsors Legend Suspensions, Heise LED Lighting, Bad Apple Orchard, The Original First Turn, Iron Axe, Ormond Brewing Company, McKenna’s Place, Tailgatorz Sports Bar, Dan Newlin, Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Harley Davidson, Destination 4X4s, More Altman’s Cooling & Heating, Street Thunder, Inc., Gunner’s Cave, OnlineLabels.com, Curly’s Barber Shop and East Side Tattoo. All of which in one way or another helped Diesel with his challenge. A special thank you to Bad Apple Orchard for creating a second trophy as Diesel will have to return the one, he holds until the next challenge in 2022, when once again Diesel will ride to win! If you would like to donate to Honoring Our Vets, you can go to PayPal.me/Diesel171 or directly to HonoringVets.org

By Lulu

When the highway doesn’t pull us to other parts of the state or country, we love to ride with our friends we have accumulated over the past two years on Tony’s from The Boat Bar in Port Orange monthly Mystery Ride. You should try to ride on one of these it is always a great adventure on two and three wheels. During football season it changes from a Sunday ride to Saturday. We generally ride out about 11am after paying $5 for our wrist band for the 50/50 and food at the end of the ride. This ride took us to Foxhead’s in Osteen, and then to two new locations to me. I had never been to The Black Hammock Marina in Black Hammock. A wonderful outside waterfront area complete with gators for petting and parrots, is now adding a new elevated inside bar. The restaurant has one of the best jalapeno burgers I have ever put in my mouth. One of our riders suffered a bad laceration to her leg which I am sparing you the photo of (although you can see extra pics on our Facebook page from the day). She somehow cut it badly on a set of fishtail pipes. Ouch!!! Our next stop was The Alibi a cool bar in Geneva. WE LOVE TO HAVE NEW PEOPLE JOIN OUR RIDES…next one is October 24th and where we will go is a MYSTERY!