By Lulu

Each October Cotee River Bike Fest has one heck of a 3-day party. 3 stages rock with lots of great music. Vendors line Sims Park, Grand & Bank St. Downtown is closed for bikes only! I can’t say enough about how nice the police are at the event, keeping the peace and keeping us safe. This is a family friendly event and Tina Farrell makes this a charity rally. Bands like Hair of the Dog, Carpool (Car’s Tribute), and Welcome to Destruction (Guns N Roses tribute) entertained the crowds. Children enjoyed the park, face painting and snake handling! Minh from Venom Cycles puts on a bike show on Saturday with trophies by Fran Haasch. A bikini contest, Little Miss Biker Contest, Daisy Duke contest were held and to get the men involved a wet t-shirt contest…but this time the men got wet!

The Fire & Iron Chapter held their yearly poker run out of New Port Richey Harley-Davidson with stops at Starkey Market, The Drunken Mullet, and Get Hooked Grill. The winner donated the money back I believe! The proceeds went to Children’s Burn Foundation and Pasco Safety Town. A special thank you to the sponsors Harley-Davidson of New Port Richey, Team Farrell, Downtown New Port Richey, Doran, Beam & Farrell Pasco Law Team, Brown & Brown, Fran Haasch, Roman Plumbing, and Experience Florida’s Sports Coast for making this event possible. Next year’s event is scheduled for October 11th-13th!!! More photos of the event can be viewed on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook under album Cotee River Bike Fest 2023!

RemasterDirector_1a5c03258

By Lulu

RemasterDirector_18da6b0cf

My second trip to Maggie Valley and the famous Wheels Through Time did not disappoint. Dale, the creator of this museum with decades of history has passed on and is riding the heavens now, but his son and a wonderful tour guide were on hand to make this an informative and great day. If you are a motorcycle enthusiast, you could spend all day here! They charge a fee of $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $7 for children, and each year they raffle off a beautiful bike which helps maintain the building and the display bikes! Not only will you see one-of-a-kind motorcycles, like the Traub, which was encased behind a wall in Chicago dated back to 1916 and discovered during a demo of the building in 1967. The history behind that one is a story you must have Andy Norris share when you take the tour. This museum, that Dale Walksler started in 1969 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, moved to Mt. Vernon, Illinois in 1977 and in 2002 made its way to Maggie Valley, NC. The 38,000 square food building is PACKED full of 300 + rare bikes and memorabilia all artfully displayed. I feel certain this isn’t my last trip to Wheels Through Time. If you aren’t headed to the mountains, visit their website where many interesting articles on their collection can be found.

_autotone

RemasterDirector_18da6b0cf

By Lulu

One of our favorite fall events is at Howlin Wolf in Melrose on State Rte 100. This bar knows how to do Ol’ School bike parties. The day is complete with a good band, bikini bike wash girls, Sexy Biker Chick contest, bike show, bike games, and burn out contest! Add in a lot of alcohol and you have a great day in the country! Mark and James are veterans, and this place definitely has grown in popularity under their control of the bar’s “Throttle”. They bought the bar in 2020 and have managed to grow this event to a packed crowd twice a year. A great destination ride from Jacksonville, Gainesville, Daytona or Ocala on any weekend, but if you get a chance put Throttles & Bottles on your list for 2024!

By Lulu

We had a huge opportunity fall in our lap this summer. Gator Ken and Jeani rented a farmhouse in Clyde, North Carolina and invited us to ride the mountains with them for a few days. I have ridden the Smokies several time years ago but had never “Slayed the Dragon” on even the back of a bike! So, it was on my bucket list! 11 miles with 318 curves and we did it in about 22 minutes! The Tail of the Dragon in Deal’s Gap was amazing, and I only had to flip off one idiot on a jap bike that passed us on a hairpin turn! Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday it isn’t as busy as the weekend. AND don’t look at the Wall of Shame before you go…you will be too nervous! The weather was amazing. The farmhouse came complete with cows and ground hogs!! We were able to spend every day riding to new and interesting bars, restaurants, the Casino in Cherokee and Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge Tn. Every day was an adventure! The place not to miss for future trips was Bobarosa Saloon in Del Rio, Tennessee. This cool dive bar is owned by a Floridian who packed up and opened this watering hole. It is situated right on the French Broad River and people create rock towers while drinking or staying there. The Iron Horse Station, a restaurant in Hot Springs, N.C had amazing food!

The Twisted Spoke in Maggie Valley, is also owned by a Floridian. And Legends Bar & Grill, also in Maggie Valley, was very cool with the beer iced down in a canoe! I wouldn’t waste a trip to the casino again. The minimum bets have gotten ridiculous. And to me even though it was cool to drive by Ole Red (Blake Shelton’s Bar) and Jason Aldean’s bar in Gatlinburg, the place has turned into a complete tourist trap. It is nothing like the quaint town it was 30 years ago. The traffic even in August was too much, it made that part of the trip not worth the trouble. Truthfully, you are in the mountains for the riding, the view, and the weather!! My favorite rides were Thunder Ride in Maggie Valley which is along the water and the Rattler which has a lot of curves, but not of the nail-biting hairpin type. We also toured Wheels Through Time again, which I consider a MUST DO! Thank you, Ken and Jeani, for an amazing few days…and the home cooked ribeye dinner. Felt a little guilty eating it after getting to know the cows at the Farmhouse!

By T. J.

Dick’s Wings in Orange Park is back! Jeanina, the new owner, and general manager Beth, decided to bring back the bike night that the previous ownership had let fade away. We attended a recent one and had a great time. The band Rocking Machine rocked the house. The local Fire and Iron chapter was on hand and are big supporters, as evidenced by the display of some of their firefighting gear on the walls. The wings were hot, the beer was cold, and the service was awesome! The turnout was good even with the threat of rain which tells me that people are ready for a good bike night in Jax. It happens every first and third Wednesday at 6055 Youngerman Cir. so come on out and tell Beth and crew that Thunder Roads Florida sent you. See you there. Here is a testimonial that we received from Fire and Iron MC Station 21. I think it says it all!!!

Fire and Iron MC Station 21 was started back in 2002 in Jacksonville, Florida. Our Station is made up of Firefighters and other people associated with the Fire Service who love to ride and have a good time. Each member is either an Active Full-Time/Career, or Retired Member from the Fire Service Community. Over the past 20 years we have built a strong relationship with Dick’s Wings, originally this location was called Buffalo’s Southwest Café. We have always been a big supporter of Dick’s Wings and they have always been accommodating to us when we have Regional and National Officers in town visiting. It is our go to place for fundraisers for community outreach/support, Bike Night or just an evening out for dinner with our Station of Brothers and Sisters. The Dick’s Wings Team has always been instrumental in ensuring our legacy and relationship with the Dick’s Wings Franchise always remains intact. They are always supportive of our charity events to raise funds for fallen/injured firefighters and their family members during their time of need and to raise money for our annual donation to the Children’s Burn Camp Foundation.

By Lulu

The first Saturday of every month from April through November O’Calahan’s in Silver Springs on Fl-40 is host to a central Florida Bike Night. Live music, great food, stiff drinks, and vendors make an event worth adding to your calendar. The final one for 2023 in November had Epidemic on the stage covering bands like Metallica. Our dinner of corned beef sandwich was scrumptious! Vendors were on hand and the tent with PB Dezigns had some creative gifts to purchase. O’Calahan’s is a great spot for watching games too!

Put this on your list of destination rides for 2024! The first Saturday of April is the 6th, the fun starts at 6!

By Lulu

I don’t smoke cigars! But TJ does. So, when we met Tim, Tom, Heather and the crew at Little Corona a few years ago during Cotee River Bike Fest it instantly became our place to sit, chat, drink and get to know some of the best people on Earth. Tim Fussell is a retired fire chief so lots of firemen come by to visit. Tim rides so lots of peeps on 2 and 3 wheels feel at home here even if they don’t smoke cigars. There is an outside patio, a full walk-in humidor, ice cold beer & Twisted Tea and plenty of wine for non-beer peeps like me! If you are looking for nice Christmas gifts for a cigar smoking fellow or lassie, Tim’s humidor will be a good place to help fill a stocking or two. Next year’s dates for Cotee River Bike Fest are October 11th-13th but don’t wait until then to meet the crew at Little Corona and let them know Thunder Roads Florida said hello!!