By Lulu

This year Jan and the crew at Gator put up $1000 for first, $500 for second and $300 for third to crown Miss Gator Harley-Davidson 2024! Seven gorgeous girls were selected for the event. I was the emcee, and a panel of judges had the hard task of picking the winners based on stage presence, attire, with two appearances including biker wear and bikini, crowd approval, body and face. A special thank you to the sponsors that brought us this event Atlantic Site Development, Bruce Kirkley Remodeling, Inc., Midnight Movers, Wallace Health Care, Dropkick Customs, All Touch Inc., and Spray Mobile Tanning. Stage sponsor and one of the main supporters of all the great events at Gator is Fran Haasch Law. The girls spent an hour before the contest posing for the crowds on bikes provided by Dropkick Customs, Gator Harley and Angel, a contestant’s personal chopper she built. In the end Shelbie, Elecia and Nickie were the top 3 with Nickie a 37-year-old medic from the Air Force winning the crown!

By Lulu

John, Johnny, Jan and the entire crew at Gator Harley in Leesburg never fail to put on a great time. This year the rally brought plenty of vendors to the property, a tattoo expo upstairs in the dealership and 7 beautiful girls competing for the grand prize of $1000 and the title of Miss Gator Harley-Davidson. The bands this year included Barfly, Hypersona, Driven, Zack Denby Band, Kelly Jarrard McGowan, Bobby Blackmon, Sweetwater Groove, and Jeff Vitolo and the Quarter Mile Rebels. Look for their anniversary party in the fall and the fall rally dates in Thunder Roads Florida!!

By Lulu

Leesburg Bikefest did not disappoint!! It was back full steam finally!! The bands were great, crowds were huge and the vendors plentiful. Best part the weather was nice! Not too hot as it has been at times. This year 15 bands on two stages entertained the huge crowds. This year’s headliners were Lo Cash, Sugar Ray, and Austin Snell. We caught Sugar Ray who looked and sounded just the same. Full Throttle put on a bike show and Jody Perewitz was on site. Bike games and the Central Florida Motorcycle Drill Team were part of the weekend. John owner of Chicago Fire & Brewery and The Warehouse had live music too. We will feature a story in August on a Cool Joint in Leesburg, Dirty South Saloon that featured pudding wrestling and a late-night bikini contest. What I love about Leesburg is the riding! A ride out to Eaton’s Beach or south to Lake Harris Hideaway and Sugarloaf Mountain Rd. in Clermont is a must do! We also make sure to catch a meal at Big Bass Grill on Lake Panasoffkee and The Fish Camp in Tavares. Another area to ride while in town is Mount Dora and catch the waterfront area in Tavares to check out our advertisers The Dog House, Hemingway’s Cigar Bar and Legacy Cigar Bar. You almost need more than the three-day weekend to explore Lake County and the surrounding areas. Thank you to the sponsors that bring this event to central Florida: Discover Lake County, Gator H-D, Florida Man Radio, WJRR, ESPN Orlando, US 102.3 FM, and of course Budweiser!

By Lulu

One of the best parts of having Thunder Roads Florida is the new adventures. There are always the yearly events we attend which we love seeing the family of rally peeps that work the circuit, but occasionally a brand-new event crops up and we have the opportunity to investigate a new area, meet new people and experience a new event. So, it was in April when we covered the 2nd Vintage Iron Rally that Ed Hunt has organized. We had visited Scooter Haven in the past with a friend Cap. We knew cabins with and without AC are available, RV spots and tent camping was available. We opted to get a tent space although we have a bed in our van, so no tent was needed. There are showers and toilets, food trucks and full liquor available. The bands this year were Big Engine, Devious 4 and Jeff Vitolo & the Quarter Mile Rebels all of which kept the grounds rocking! Bike games including the Weenie Bite and stage games such as vibrator races got the crowd involved. Friday the bike show was Chopper & Bobbers, but Saturday was the Vintage Iron Show with very well cared for old bikes. All the photos from the weekend and photos of the show winners are on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook. If you have an old scoot or just like to spend a few days at a cool old school weekend, check this one out next spring! We LOVED it.

By Lulu

Lake Eustis puts on interesting things at the park including music festivals, Veteran’s events including hundreds of paratroopers landing in the lake, but this year we were able to catch the Spring Showdown. Southern Outlaw Drag Boat Association put up a $12,500 purse to entice competitors to put on the heat. Hundreds of people lined the lake in Ferran Park to watch the races. Vendors and children’s events were also part of the day’s activities. Sponsors for the event included, Eustis Florida, Duke Energy, Rod Van Dykes State Farm, AWP Site Development LLC, Liles Land Management LLC, Crazy Gator, Turf Tech, Shelley’s Environmental, Grow with the Flow Irrigation & Landscaping LLC, Crossroads 44 Music & Sports Bar, Time Machine, Foxtail Coffee Company, Mortgage Financial Group Inc, Yooper Lube & Wash, All American Construction Services, Central Home Roofing and Solar, and American Services. Eustis is a beautiful lake front city that uses the pretty Ferran Park and amphitheater to bring entertainment to all.

By Jeff Gordon

Saturday, April 20th weather was perfect for riding up to St. Augustine with friends, The destination was the new location, the Classic Car Museum, for the 24th Annual Riding into History. This year’s feature was motorcycles of Japan. Oh, what a show. Featuring motorcycles that most of us grew up learning to ride. From the Honda 250 to the Trail 70 and a full line of CBs. One of my personal favorites was a Suzuki RM500 that if you weren’t careful would have run you right up a tree with a ¼ twist of the throttle! All of which looked like they just rolled off the showroom floor, even though all were well over 40 years old.

The show also featured motorcycles for everyone’s taste. The first bike as you walked through the gates was a beautiful Cleveland. Also included were plenty of Harleys, BMWs, Nimbus, Guzzis and others.

Put this on your calendar for next year. Don’t forget it is always a beautiful ride up A1A to get to St. Augustine that we sometimes take for granted living here with the unobstructed view of the Atlantic Ocean most of the way there.

Editor’s Note: Since Jeff authored this article, we received a press release with the following sad news which is, they have decided 2024 Riding into History was the final one. Along with putting on one of the finest antique motorcycle shows, the staff and volunteers raised funds for charities. The following is an excerpt from the press release about the 2024 event being their last.

It was a long, fun ride! It (Riding into History) brought together so many diverse people from different socio-economic backgrounds and motorcycle marque/club affinities. We brought together hundreds of volunteers from numerous motorcycle clubs/chapters from all across Florida to work together to put this show on every year.  Together we donated an estimated $738,000 for Charity! We started with the Susan G Koman Foundation back in 2000, then supported Buddy Check-12, Wounded Warriors, and K9s for Warriors.

A JOB WELL DONE BY ALL WHO SUPPORTED THIS EVENT THROUGH THE YEARS. Thank you to all and to the owners of the beautifully maintained motorcycles for being part of “HISTORY”! Lulu