By Jodie McDougall Historic and quaint downtown Melbourne was the perfect setting to revisit antique iron when the "Bikes of Days Gone By" was held for its third year. Despite the fact that the show was held the same weekend as Leesburg Bike Fest lots of tattooed men and perspiring women braved the hot sun to mingle, reminisce, swap stories, enjoy good times and camaraderie during the afternoon event. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu One of the first rides we did for Thunder Roads Magazine was with the Blue Knights from Flagler County. Their rides are always well organized and this was no exception. The ride started at Heroe’s Memorial Park in Palm Coast, took us down A1A on the most beautiful day. Our ribbon of hundreds of bikes was then led through the Loop and eventually landed us at Dirty Harry’s on Main Street for free BBQ and great live music by Bad Mannerz. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu All kinds of adjectives can describe friends: BEST, close, old, new, good, dear, special, girl, boy, only… And friends often like us, love us, comfort us, help us, need us, laugh at or with us, forgive us and even occasionally hurt and hate us! But one thing for certain Read the rest of this entry »

By Lil Jon

Adamec Harley Davidson in Jacksonville had a low country boil with an escorted motorcycle ride. They called it Bike & Boil on February 26th at their Baymeadow’s location. The ride left at 10:00am and went on a 50 mile ride through Jacksonville led by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu

There are great events every weekend for terrific causes and because of our magazine I get to meet the people the stories are about! Often their causes or needs are devastating and tragic. But Cap’t Steve in Amelia Island moved me to tears more than once this trip, but they were not tears of sadness. Cap’t Steve has been taking disabled people on fishing trips of a life time for the past 12 years and here is how the story began. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu [singlepic id=890 w=320 h=240 float=left]I have made yearly trips to Lake County to cover Leesburg Bike Festival, and with the Helter Skelter of trying to make it to the bikini contests, bike shows, concerts, wing eating contests, etc., etc., the only real riding I have ever managed was to make a trip each visit to Lake Harris Hideaway for good food, relaxation out on the tree covered waterfront deck and music. What I was surprised by while doing our research for this article is Read the rest of this entry »

Well, we survived Bike Week and again we had to hear about the noise from the same whiners who have been trying to rid the great city of Daytona Beach of all the events that keep the city from becoming an overrated swimming hole. If the complaints and the restrictions continue, instead of referring to the town as the "City of the World's Most Famous Beach" it will be the "City of Vacant Buildings". If it's the family atmosphere they want they should Read the rest of this entry »

By Deborah Speicher

Someone once told me that if you want to get something done, ask someone who is busy. I found that to be true and Colonel Ronald P. Rook (USMC Ret) embodies that saying. Ron was born in Milton, FL, graduated from Milton High School in 1964, and entered the Marine Corps in August 1964. He served in the infantry from 1964 to 1967, including a tour in Viet Nam with Alpha Company, 1st Bn, 5th Marines in 1966/67. During his career, he progressed through the ranks of Staff Sergeant, Chief Warrant Officer 3, and Limited Duty Officer (LDO) (Captain) — before being selected for redesignation to unrestricted officer status in 1981. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, as those of you who read Thunder Roads Florida may have noticed by now, we have launched a new website and in doing so we started a members group we named Thunder Riders. I am so excited about our site for many reasons which include more pictures than we can fit in the magazine, the ability for you to submit your events directly on the website so that even after we have gone to print you can still get exposure and if you see yourself in the magazine you can call your Aunt Betty in Nebraska and tell her to go online and see you there! Read the rest of this entry »

As all of us in Florida know, we are the luckiest bikers in the world. We have year round riding weather! We may get wet, we may be hot and, at times, even need to don our leathers; but we can always ride without snow tires! So our riding brethren from all those cold parts of the USA love to invade Volusia County for Bike Week and Biketoberfest. But what many, even who reside here, may not know is we have more to offer in Volusia than the beach and biker bars! Read the rest of this entry »

Here it is "Bike Week 2011". This year we will experience 4 unusual dates...1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11. NOW, go figure this out. Take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year and it will equal 111. Bike week born 1937 and will be 74 this year. 37+74=111. Cool !! If you’re not from Florida let me give you some vital info. Read the rest of this entry »

In what others refer to as the “subculture of bikers”, there is a diverse mix of groups. There are the MC’s with their bad boy image, and even though I am certain that some of their notoriety is well deserved; I know many members on a first name basis who saddle up for rides for charity and rides to help downed bikers. Read the rest of this entry »

By LuLu

In the Daytona area, Arthur “Artie” Nolet is a well known biker who has made Datyona his home for the past three years after spending many years traveling to Bike Week from Rhode Island and Michigan. A 64 year old born in Fall River, Massachusetts his father was in the Navy and moved the family to Key West. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lulu

Few people in life stick by you no matter what. Lil’ Jon as most of you know him by has been one of those people in my life. I met him through Bull years ago when he dated Bull’s sister for a bit. After Bull’s death, Jon had been a dear friend and supporter of me and Thunder Roads Florida. Recently, Jon was injured in a motorcycle accident, the second in less than two years. Read the rest of this entry »

Thunder Roads Florida founder, "Bull" does an incredible burnout during Bike Week. He is noted for doing the best burnouts during Bike Week events and would do several during the 10 day event. Read the rest of this entry »