By Lulu

Thunder Beach Rally occurs twice a year…God willing! Between COVID-19 and hurricanes they have had a string of hard luck with cancellations. Last minute, the city decided to let “the show go on”! Of course, Thunder Beach Productions had to jump through the Covid hoops of masks, hand sanitizers, no big bands, no tents for large gathering, etc.!!! But the city was smarter than the City of Daytona Beach who tried to cancel Biketoberfest…and then Ormond Beach picked up the ball knowing full well bikers were coming COVID or not! So it was for Panama City Beach. I was surprised with the last-minute revival of the fall rally how many bikers made the trip to one of the most beautiful beaches in the U.S. With not having the big stage in Frank Brown park, the Ms. Panama City contest was held at Hammerhead Fred’s and the Harley giveaway was held at Harley-Davidson of Panama City Beach. The vendors were happy to have a venue to sell their wares I am sure. One of the biggest events was the Sound Contest at Frank Brown at night, featuring amazing bikes and sound systems! The rain on Saturday cancelled the memorial ride for a fallen officer Kevin Kight, but many still weathered the storm and I took a group shot of those who were there to honor his memory. Officer Kight’s wife and son were there and were thankful for those who came. His young son has followed in his footsteps and is a police officer now. The bike show was also cancelled due to the rainstorm. A special shout out to Holiday Inn Resort for wonderful accommodations!! The pool, room and view are amazing! By springtime, the new Lazy River beachside they are building to add to the resort should be complete. Book your room for the spring rally now! The dates are April 28-May 2…make this your 2021 vacation!!

By Lulu

Biketoberfest was a little weird this year, with COVID-19 keeping Main Street from being the hub of Biketoberfest we were able to take a day for exploring the outskirts on two-wheels. We had about 15 people join us for a day of riding and left from the parking lot of Babe’s Blue Room in Ormond Beach to head out to Renegade’s on the River in Crescent City on CR 309. If you are planning a trip to Bike Week or Biketoberfest and love to ride pretty country roads with little traffic you simply must check out some of the stops we made. Renegade’s is a beautiful St. John’s river front R.V. and cabin rental resort with huge tiki bar, great food and often live music. The day we were there, Outbreak (OBK) had the crowd’s attention! See their ad for dates and time for live music, and their Tuscan style pizza is delicious. Renegade’s always fill up early so book now. Donnie is opening 16 additional RV spots in 2021.

Our next stop was Long’s Log Cabin in Welaka, where we had mouth-watering hot pretzels and a few stiff ones. Tonya and Waylon love to see new people ride in on 2 wheels. They are one of the few bar owners that get on their bikes and ride with us!

With rains potentially coming in, we had to scoot up and make our next stop at Hermit’s Cove in Satsuma, where we sat for a bit in the theater seating and watched the river flow by. This bar is one of those infamous dive bars that you simply must find!

The next stop was Howlin’ Wolf in Melrose right on 100. New owners, Mark and James, keep the beer cold and the drinks strong. The bartenders couldn’t be nicer!

Trying to get home before dark we had to make our way to what was to be our last stop before ending at Iron Horse Saloon for a great band 4 Play. Whenever we are in the Palatka area we stop in at our friend’s Donnie and Amy’s bar 3-D Saloon! We just love these two barkeeps! Amy brings original live music to Palatka so follow them on Facebook.
As we headed for Iron Horse Saloon the skies opened up and we had to DIVE into The Bimini on rt. 100. The wetness kept us there long enough that we missed 4 Play and by the time we got to the Iron Horse, Cowboy was on stage. We honestly couldn’t have had better people to ride with…most were from Brooksville and I was impressed that they were willing to ride out and explore rather than just stay on Main Street. One of the girls, Kim manages Rebar in Brooksville, so if you are on her coast stop in and say hi!

By Lulu

Chopper Time is always one of my favorite events of the year. To begin with I love the “old school” look of motorcycles. I love that unlike cars, people put a personal touch on any bike they own, but Choppers are an extension of the owner’s personality and creativity. At the time I needed to go to print with this I still didn’t have the winners list and decided I would run half of the pictures in this issue and Part 2 in February. On site at Willie’s there is just too much to look at with scantily clothed biker girls, great skin art, always new bikes that I haven’t seen at other events across the state and then all my old and new friends!! Add to that, great music and alcohol, and it is hard for me to stay on task…
One thing that I really want to stress is that this event happens Bike Week and Biketoberfest always on Thursdays and Willie raises money for charity with the beer sales. Willie is very pro Veterans and Biketoberfest alcohol sales went to the Veterans Support Fund. So, when you come…drink up and help out our vets. For all the photos of Chopper Time 2020 please go to Thunder Roads Florida Facebook and find the Chopper Time 2020 album.

Dennis  Hernandez

So, what’s the difference between BI and UM coverage, and
why should you have these coverages on your vehicle
insurance?

Essentially, bodily injury (BI) cover other people’s injuries, and uninsured
motorist (UM) cover your own injuries. Both BI and UM insurance coverage are
not required by the state of Florida. Since they’re not required, you may be
inclined to think you don’t really need them. However, both types of coverage
are important to protect you if you’re ever involved in an accident. BI pays for
the serious injury or death in an accident where you’re at fault to some degree. If
someone sues you for an accident, they will be going after your BI insurance
instead of you and your personal assets.

UM pays for your injuries when another driver is at fault and doesn’t have BI
coverage or any insurance at all. If an at-fault driver has insurance, but not
enough to cover your injuries, but not enough to cover your injuries, you can
make a claim under you own UM policy to save you from paying out of pocket.
Florida has the highest rate of uninsured drivers in the nation. If you’re involved
in an accident, there is a 1 in 4 chance the other party won’t have insurance.
That means there’s a 1 in 4 chance you will need to make a claim under your
own UM policy to cover your injuries. With the average cost for a crash
resulting in a non-capacitating injury coming out to $21,000 you won’t want to
be paying those costs out of pocket. Florida has the highest rate of motorcycle
accidents in the country, but that fact won’t keep us from riding. Make sure you
have the right kind of coverage to protect yourself, regardless of who’s at fault
in an accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call Dennis Hernandez &
Associates, P.A.

It has been a bit since I have bragged about how wonderful and generous motorcycle people are…but this year during the Covid holidays they didn’t let me down. Not only are the riders who show up at events all over the country quick to pull their wallets out for any worthy cause…the bars, riding groups and dealerships that do the work behind the rides and events give their time and dollars to help people. This year I saw trees with unwrapped toys and bikes at almost everyone of our ad clients. You may say well the bars and dealerships do it to get people on their property. If that is their motive all they would need to do is giveaway food or beer! Nope! All the hardworking bar owners and managers of bars or dealerships genuinely enjoy giving back to the communities they live in. The smiles on the faces of the Rossmeyer’s while hosting the Ride for Children is contagious. Jan at Gator Harley works her butt off for all types of charitable causes. I just attended an amazing gathering of veterans at the Nam Knight’s Clubhouse in Groveland that collected more toys than I have seen in one spot! Just this month we have ridden for a few bikers that are fighting the original “Big C”…Cancer not Covid. And on those rides, even more than the money, it is the gathering of people for them that lifts their spirits and gives power to their fight.

My prayer for the New Year is that the Democrats and Republicans can meet in the middle and give relief to the people who are having trouble keeping their businesses afloat. We don’t need to give money to illegals as part of this (Democrats). We don’t need to promise no lawsuits as part of this (Republicans). We simply need to take care of those in this country in need just long enough for this vaccine to put an end to this pandemic.

I also want to thank every ad client, that continued to be a part of our Thunder Roads Florida family and kept us in print through a difficult year. Their support allows us to bring the biker lifestyle and events coverage to those who love to ride. Please let them know you read Thunder Roads Florida and that is how you found them.

Call someone that is stuck inside due to Covid, tip a bit more on that liquid the bartender slings you and don’t forget your sunscreen!

By Lulu

In Hudson on SR 52 Lisa and Bob threw a Christmas Kick Off event complete with two great bands Jetter and Grindstone. Vendors, food and beverage were onsite. A bike show with trophies and $250 for best bike had some sweet rides. But the Christmas sale was what got my wallet out! I had to get some blinged out dew rags and a Christmas present or two. Along with a showroom full of retail items including boots, leathers, collectibles and more…Lisa specializes in custom patches and embroidery. Bob on the other hand opened a full service and repair shop at a second location on Springer Drive with a garage full of lifts and bikes in various stages of repair. Luckily, they both survived a horrible car accident this fall, and both are on the road to recovery!! A special thank you to Fran Haasch for her support of Let’s Ride and providing the trophies for the bike show.

By Lulu

A new group of riding buddies live and work on the west coast of Florida. Our friends Kay and Barry who visit us often, live in Wesley Chapel and bar hop on a regular basis. Their friends met up with us at Rebar in Brooksville for a day of riding. This crazy group followed us to Let’s Ride Christmas kick-off in Hudson. We caught back up with them at a new bar in New Port Richey on the west side of Grand, The Garage on Grand. This is a newly remodeled cool bar and right next door is another brand-new bar I had hoped to stop in but wasn’t open for business yet called the Dirty Mullet. Guess we will have to make another trip over to check out owner John’s second bar. He also owns a great bar in Hernando Beach, the Drunken Mullet. Next stop was one of our favorite bars on the west coast, Little Corona Cigar Bar. TJ loves a good cigar, so the walk-in humidor makes him happy, but the real reason we love this bar is the staff. Tom was behind the bar this trip and took great care of the house full of peeps. The owner Tim rides and was a fire chief before opening Little Corona. Little Corona has been a loyal supporter of Thunder Roads Florida so please stop in and visit them when you are in the New Port Richey area. Our final stop of the night was Horse and Crown in Hudson on 19, a few in the group love to karaoke and entertained us with their vocal skills. Can’t wait to visit with our new friends and explore more of the Nature Coast.