By Lulu

The Friday of Biketoberfest we always ride down Main Street and visit the Boardwalk for the Bike Show right by the pier. Not only is there always plenty of unique bikes to photograph, there is that beautiful Atlantic Ocean and always some unusual sights such as the tiger striped chick or motorcycles with 3 back tires! Bill Chaffin provided us with the names of the winners for Best of Show: Steve Galvin; St. Petersburg, FL; 2012 Wicked Steel "Pipe Bomb", for Judge's Trophy: Steve Galvin; St, Petersburg, FL; 2011 Wicked Steel "Speedstar" and for People's Choice, First Place: Frank Martin; Neptune, NJ; '04 Chopper "Dead Man Riding" . Read the rest of this entry »

By Miserable George Man, I’ll tell ya, the 2012 Biketoberfest edition of Willie’s show was as good as any I’ve ever seen...maybe better! Eleven years, and getting better every year! Yeah, it was HOT, but the huge crowd braved the late summer warm spell, and came out to check out some of the rarest and hottest hand-made choppers in the state of Florida! As an added incentive, the builders were competing for some of the most unusual hand-fabricated trophies I’ve ever seen...most fashioned from discarded motorcycle parts, along with plaques, bowling pins, and a Mason jar goblet, containing some questionable liquid, that when sipped, caused a funny look to appear on the drinkers’ face! Hmmmm! I wonder.....! Contributors of these trophies included world famous bike builder, Dave Perewitz, and well known Easyriders photog and writer...Rogue. Also in attendance was world class motorcycle event photographer, Michael Lichter from Paisano Publications. Hey, this event was COVERED!! Doing his usual bang-up job as emcee, Roadside Marty kept the crowd in stitches, as well as, keeping the show moving along at a fast pace. And, as always, Willie always recruits a bunch of hotties to act as trophy girls. The several beer stations around the grounds were manned by some real eye candy as well. Oh yeah, just $2.00 for a beer...not bad, while many other places hawked it for $4.00 or more! Live bands all day long were the icing on the cake, as well as, some good food vendors! Yep, yer gonna go pretty far to beat this show, that is, if it CAN be beat! It’s my favorite event of Biketoberfest or Bike Week. Give it a shot...easy to find, right on US#1 in Holly Hill. Lots of free parking all around the place. Hey, ride safe... Read the rest of this entry »

By LuLu

Usually our Bull’s Eye is about someone who is an avid motorcyclist that lives and breathes bikes. Occasionally that love of bikes spills into their professional life also, that can’t be truer than in the life of Frankie D. Frankie lived the biker lifestyle in a grand style rockin’ us with his vocals, guitar and charisma. Several bars in the greater Daytona area had parties to remember Frankie D and his music. Here are some pictures submitted by Bobby Lollis from one of the events at Boot Hill. Our prayers and sympathy go out to the band, Repeat Offenders and to his family and friends. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu One of my favorite events each year doesn’t occur on 2 wheels…it takes 4. In the fall Micah and I join a lot of great people and play “18” for the White Eagle’s yearly golf tournament for charity. This year the money was given to three charities: Second Harvest Food Bank, Children’s Home Society, Feed Flagler and to the Tracy Dillon Mammogram Fund. Between the entry fees, “desperately needed” Mulligan’s, T-sign sales and raffles they had $4000 to share. Thank you to the White Eagle golfers for a great day on the greens and to the sponsors who help make this a huge success. Read the rest of this entry »

Biker Friendly Places

Look for Thunder Roads Magazine Florida in our Biker Friendly Locations and please support our advertisers!!

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By Lulu First, even though the article for our Grub Run will run in the February issue, I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make it a HUGE success. Rue, Ziffra and Caldwell law firm have taken this to places I never dreamed possible. We raised over 3000 lbs of food and $2800 for the Children’s Home Society and Second Harvest Food Bank. SPECIAL thank you to the wonderful men and women from Rolling Thunder Chapter 8 for always being there for me. They are just great people!!! Also to the HOG from Destination Daytona this was their first year to step in and lend their collective helping hand! The article next month will go in more detail about the event, but we certainly were able to make bellies fuller during the holiday. It is only due to each and every pound of food you wonderful people on 2-3 wheels collected. I love you for your generous hearts! This will be a yearly event and I would ask you all to bring more riders next year. Second, our Bike Night Listing has a new look and sponsor. Twisted Tea has joined us to co-host events at our ad clients that sell Twisted Tea. So we will visit 2 bars a month which will be listed in the Twisted Tea ad next to our Bike Night List page. We will attend with our cameras to catch you in the act of being “TWISTED”. We will have giveaways and if you bring in non-perishable food we will enter you in a raffle for a prize to be given that night. Please try to ride in for these events…we love to have a hearty, party! For a more complete list of Bike Nights or to get your Bike Night listed visit our website ThunderRoadsFlorida.com. Do something nice for a stranger, kiss someone you love and please even in cold weather don’t forget your sunscreen. Read the rest of this entry »

By Miserable George

The 16th Annual Cocoa Beach Biker Bash, this year, doubled as a 30 year celebration for the founding of the Brevard Chapter Warlocks MC. The party actually began at the Station 23 Clubhouse on Friday night, with a nice crowd, live music, many out-of-town brothers and sisters, and the usual bevy of beautiful babes. Saturday afternoon at 3PM, everyone headed for Capt. J’s on the beach in Cocoa Beach, where the party began in earnest! Good food, every drink you could think of, again, live music, lots of hotties, T-shirt sales, a vendor or two...everything to put you in a party mood! Several presentations were made to the Warlocks of Brevard in commemoration of their 30 years of existence. Also, there was an auction of various items to benefit the Shriner’s Children Hospitals, who, by the way, receive all the proceeds from this event. It was a bit nippy that night, but that didn’t stop several of the ladies from baring some ...er...assets! After things wound down at Capt. J’s, the gang moved to the Wakulla Suites just south of there, and partied the night away! Lots of clubs present...a wonderful showing of brotherhood...no problems! I’d like to thank the Warlocks of Brevard for their ever-present hospitality, and the staff at Capt. J’s for fast and courteous service! A good night all around! Hey...see ya next year...?? Read the rest of this entry »

By “Kneecap”

Deland, Florida goes out of their way to celebrate Veterans Day. It all started with one of the better parades I have ever witnessed. The streets were lined with patriotic Americans all waving flags or holding signs celebrating our veterans. The enthusiasm brought chills up my spine. We live in the greatest country in the world and it's inspiring to see the support the veterans received. After the parade I went to OB's restaurant and Lounge on N. Woodland Boulevard for a very special veteran’s ceremony presented by Rolling Thunder's Chapter 8. Being it was held on November 10, the Marine Corps birthday, they even brought a cake which was cut by the oldest and youngest Marine in attendance. It was also attended by previous POWs. After the ceremony that was sponsored by Rue & Ziffra law firm, we were treated to a great meal and entertainment provided by OB's owner Ronnie O' Brian. Deland really knows how to thank our veterans for their service. God bless the Military and their families who have sacrificed to keep our country safe and free. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu

Our Bike Week and Biketoberfest ritual includes waking up too early on Sunday morning to photograph the bikini contest winner for our Biketoberfest coverage. Generally we have stayed out too late the night before!!! So we are happy to end our Biketoberfest at the Dog Pound in Bunnell and just chill with good friends on the back porch with a stiff drink and great music by MisHap. And I better not forget to mention the great free food cooked by Harriet and Brian! If you haven’t been to the Dog Pound in Bunnell they have really great bartenders that are happy to serve you, great front, side and back porches and friendly locals that are glad you stopped in! So ride on over to Flagler County and get a “nip” at the Dog Pound Saloon. Read the rest of this entry »

By Raven Van Pelt

Motorcyclists from all over northeast Florida joined the ride for Bikers for Babies at Adamec Harley-Davidson, on Baymeadows Road, Jacksonville. There was food, giveaways and a 50 mile police-escorted ride through Jacksonville, and ending at TRIO, The Event Place at Tinseltown Touchton Rd., Jacksonville, all proceeds benefit the Northeast Florida March of Dimes. The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, their mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. 81,686 babies are born in the US. 10,058 babies are born premature. 6,677 babies are born with a low birth weight and 548 babies die before their first birthday. Dee Snider, best known as the lead singer of Twisted Sister, is the National Spokesperson for the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies; two of his four children were born prematurely. Special thanks go out to Ray and his wife Annie Grogan chairs, and Stephanie Lippmcott community director, for the March of Dimes. Also thanks to LAMA of Jacksonville who received plaques for their fund raising efforts and another for most riders in the First Annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies in Jacksonville. Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hpd3sLN3dI&feature=youtu.be

By Lulu Connors

If you haven’t stopped in J&P Cycles in the past few months you probably aren’t aware of their recent updating and remodeling. I got to tour the newly revamped 15,000 square feet showroom and was impressed by the “shop ability” of the recent changes. Not only have they revamped the look, more importantly they have dramatically increased their local inventory.

Troy Porter, Retail Manager for J&P Cycles, Inc. was kind enough to take time out to tell us about some exciting changes they are planning for the future which includes possibly adding a service department that will do installs of parts purchased at the store. Another important element in the store’s changes is that each department’s employees are able to listen to the customers and if there is an interest in specialized inventory the employees pass that on to Dan & Sean, the Ormond Beach store supervisors, and they strive to add it to the inventory purchases. Troy stated, “Our employees have many years of experience in the industry and knowledge of what our local customers want and need. To me that is more valuable than a computer generated spreadsheet.” As the store has evolved they have seen a need to expand the Metric line’s inventory and plans are to do just that. In addition to re-merchandising the entire clothing section, they are completely refreshing the Sick Boy line they carry.

Along with the showroom, they have onsite a 5,000 square foot warehouse that houses inventory they keep on hand for their customers and a second warehouse offsite to handle the quickly moving items so they don’t have to wait for shipments to satisfy their customer’s needs. They also have onsite a call center, so when you need to call in with questions or to locate items, you are likely to get your answers locally!

Another new perk is they have started a 10% discount for in store purchases made with a military ID or VA card to thank the service of our military. I personally have observed a new involvement with our local community of bikers, and an example is their involvement with Iron Horse’s Tuesday night Bike Night that is developing starting in January 2013.

Troy, who has been with J&P for over eight years, put the recent rumor to bed that the Ormond location might be leaving. Troy’s exact words were “I anticipate growth! We have just increased our inventory significantly and are going to be here for our customers’ needs. In the future we hope to even expand by adding another retail store in another state.” He also hinted, “The changes are not done and something big is still to come”.

John and Jill Parham took a business that started as a traveling swap meet and evolved it into the most well known motorcycle parts and accessories multi-channel business. J&P’s retail stores in Ormond and Anamosa continue to evolve to meet customer needs. The Ormond location employs 99 and 200 are employed in Iowa. Even though John and Jill have retired they are happy to see their dream continue.

As a consumer I can say I am glad to have them in the Ormond Beach area. Their staff is knowledgeable, helpful and nice. I purchased my leather saddlebags, rain gear, a windshield, a suitcase, Sick Boy tops and Christmas presents all in the Destination Daytona location. So put this on your list to get those gifts for under your tree!

By Amy Poole

If you thought you had the best ink in St. Augustine then I’m sure you entered the 6 week tattoo contest at Mardi Gras! I will say there WAS some serious lookin’ ink at the finals on Oct 11th during The Sailor Jerry Tattoo Bash. The tattoo contest had multiple categories with many prizes. The Sailor Jerry’s crew was present giving out samples of their tasty spiced rum and also their Air Stream was on site and open for tours.

Mardi Gras is a large sports bar, and the bigger the place the more people you need to fill it up, but they don’t seem to have that issue there…ever! It is a popular spot for the locals and tourists since it is in the historic area. Pat, owner of Mardi Gras, changes things up a bit with the seasons….with football there is a bikini car wash instead of bike wash, Monday night football with happy hour all night and Thursday night is ladies night, for $5 you can purchase a cup and drink up….check their ad in Thunder Roads for more details. Thanks, Pat and staff, for making it a party all the time…. Mardi Gras style!!!

By Ron Cox

Upwards of 2,000 HOG’s and their guests converged on the Mission Inn in Howey-in-the-Hills to participate in the annual Florida State HOG Rally Oct.31st to Nov.3rd. In addition to the Mission Inn venue, Lake County’s two Harley-Davidson dealerships, Stormy Hill in Clermont and Gator in Leesburg also hosted significant events.

On Wednesday, in addition to Registration there was a Poker Run, self-guided rides and the topper a Street Party sponsored by the Clermont Downtown Partnership.

Thursday featured more self-guided rides, continued Registration, another Poker Run, guided tours, another Street Party thrown at the Tavares Entertainment District on the Waterfront and the HOG’s first crack at the vendors set up at Gator Harley.

Friday kicked into high gear with even more rides, tours and registration. In the afternoon there was a Tech Talk session with a Master Mechanic and HOG Regional Manager Valerie Ledterman led an open discussion of the Motor Company’s plans for the 110th Anniversary celebration in Milwaukee. Later there were Drill Team demos and the Leesburg Street Party “Thunder in the Square” presented by the Leesburg Partnership. If that wasn’t enough the first round of bike games occurred and there was live karaoke music back at the Mission Inn.

Saturday offered even more of the above and the police escorted Parade of Chapter flags which started at Stormy Hill and ended at Gator Harley. The closing ceremonies featured awards to many of the volunteers and the announcement of next year’s Rally location which will be the Ft. Walton Beach/Destin area. One of the highlights was the awarding of the Longest Distance prize which went to two men who traveled more than 3,000 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada and Liberal, Kansas. Valerie Ledterman made heartfelt plea to the audience to help the people in the Northeast who suffered unimaginable losses from Hurricane Sandy. The site for the New Jersey State HOG Rally vanished. The crowd ponied up $1,028 and Ledterman matched the sum from her own pocket, forwarding the $2,056 to the American Red Cross.

Capping the night was the concert presented by Three Dog Night. The legendary rock band played their top hits on the Main Stage at the Mission Inn.