By Lulu

Another successful Bike Week has come and gone at the World-Famous Cabbage Patch Bar in Samsula. Their famous ladies’ coleslaw wrestling matches on Wednesday with the finals on Saturday were packed as usual! The brave contestants slung each other around in the slippery oiled cabbage and wore me out just watching them! Along with the antics in the coleslaw pit, Radical Randy puts on several bike shows during the week with awesome bikes to gaze upon. Live music fills three stages and plenty of shopping in the vendor spots kept peeps pulling out their wallets. The bar is open daily, year-round with a classic car & truck show 11a-3p the 3rd Sunday of each month and vendor spots are free for the swap meet which is part of the day’s event. Free BBQ and live music complete the day. So don’t wait for Biketoberfest to visit the patch, the staff are always happy to sling you a cold or stiff one across the bar! More photos of the week are on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook. And a special thank you to Jackman Photos for the group shot of the slaw winners!

By Lulu

This is by far one of the biggest shows of the 2023 Bike Week. Willie, emcee Roadside Marty, Heather from Cycle Source and the huge staff of volunteers pulled off a successful show once again. This year the weather was nice! For anyone living under a rock that may not know, this event benefits the Veteran’s Support Fund with the sale of alcohol, including tips! Lots of bikes I haven’t seen before filled the grounds. Live music in the back by Big Rick and the Troublemakers kept those hiding in the shade entertained. Special thanks to Rue & Ziffra, Twisted Tea, Gorilla Pro, Spectro, US 1 Hogridin.com, Hardcore Cycles, Cochise Chops, Cycle Source, Blings Cycles, S & S, Hot Leathers, Grandview Live, Iron Horse Saloon, Broken Spoke, Church of Chops, SR Perrott, Renegade Magazine, & for their support in putting this major event on! There isn’t a better event anywhere!! A great day to see old friends, make new ones and see creations so unique you will always leave thinking I can’t believe how talented these bike builders are! If you need some new skin art visit Tropical Tattoo, one of the oldest tattoo shops in the US and staffed by real artists! More photos from the day including all winners’ photos on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook!

Winners of 2023

Perewitz Paint Award    Kenny MacDonald
Best Knucklehead           Jeff Grabau
Rev Al Award                   Blake Benson
Tino’s Choice                   Joe Shahady
Best Shovel                      Tommy Joslin
Best Vintage                     Mike DiPreta
Best Evo                            John Siweckyj
Best Custom                    Tyler Watts
Tropical Tattoo Choice     Brock Bridges
Best Sportster                  Daniel Heman
Roadside’s Choice           Zach Gostelli
Best Paint                         Gusher Cycles
Best Chopper                   Derek Spitsnogle
Best Bobber                     Rich Ruck
Tarball Choice                  Endless Phil
Bling’s Choice                  Eric Allard
Willie’s Hardcore            Daniel Heman
Best Antique                    Billy Franklin
Cycle Source Choice       Garry Cutis
Best Metric/Gorilla Pro  Jeff Hartley
Willie’s Choice                 Mr. California
Ed Kerr’s Choice              Warren Lane
Crowd Favorite                Myles Harris
Best Rat Bike                    PT Jungerman
Best Panhead                  Panhead Bob
Best Flathead                   George Casale

By Lulu

I have had the pleasure of getting to know some really good men that call themselves the Green Swamp Chapter of the Nam Knights of America, MC. We all have busy lives, and most, as we age, retire…play golf, sit on a couch with a remote, travel and visit family when we feel like it. These guys spend their free time working towards a cause! I see them staffing the bar at Gator H-D in Leesburg to raise funds, riding on charity events, particularly for veterans and putting on Christmas in the Swamp, a huge toy drive for needy children. God bless these men and their wives.

This Bike Week this band of brothers donated a trike to Specialist E4 Shawn Burke who had lost a leg in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His love for riding had not dulled. He and his father rode to the 100th Anniversary in Milwaukee back in 2003 and “The Swamp” wanted Shawn back on the highway! They flew him down to Florida and presented him with the trike with a huge event and you can tell by the smile on his face he was truly honored. All these men are heroes to be honored for their service. Just giving up time away from your family to be deployed to faraway places is a sacrifice. Sacrificing limbs, lives and the trauma of war is a huge price for our freedom!

Having been five times to D.C. for Rolling Thunder (Ride to the Wall), I have watched Vietnam Vets work hard to not allow these young vets to be treated the way they were when they returned from war. They hold each other up with pride and spend their retirement helping out others. If you get a chance to buy a drink from them at Gator or to visit The Swamp for one of their events, please do. These guys are really good men I am proud to know!

A special thank you to Reverend Al Paquette for covering this event for me since Bike Week in Daytona kept me from joining their event. And a special note Nam Knights MC welcomes all veterans from all branches of the military!

By Lulu

Iron Horse is world famous for many reasons: t-shirts, Craiger’s Beef Tips, the Wall of Death, David Alan Coe, and other great music acts. David Alan Coe hasn’t been able to perform the past few rallies due to health issues, and people do miss that, but this year’s line-up was top notch. Whey Jennings, Cowboy Kid Rock, Sawyer Brown, Eddie Montgomery, JB and the Cheap Whiskey Band, Joe Nichols were some of the many bands that filled the air with their music. All the headliners signed guitars to be auctioned for St. Jude and brought in nearly $10,000 for the kids. Yuengling sponsored the tattoo contest with Willie and Roadside Marty running the show. Gorilla Pro, a new participant of Bike Week, sponsored a burnout contest that caused tires to pop, engines to blow and a young man with a prosthetic leg to go home with extra cash, a new tire, and a big smile on his face! In June, the St. Jude’s ride coverage will be in the magazine. Find more photos of the burnout, guitar auctions and the tattoo contest on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook.

By Lulu

The spring and fall Panama City Beach becomes a motorcycle mecca. This year the fall rally had beautiful weather even though hurricanes had plagued most of Florida. We always stay at Holiday Inn Resort and the view is absolutely amazing! Frank Brown park was bustling with people shopping the vendors, drinking Twisted Tea and listening to great music. The headliners at the fall rally Included Shinedown which I had never even heard of, but boy what a show! 3 Doors Down, Dierks Bentley and Colt Ford completed the weekend of headliners. Hammerhead Fred’s hosted the Ms. Panama City Bikini Contest, and those bikini clad ladies packed the place every night. This year’s dates for spring are May 3-7, and Pantera May 6th, Lynyrd Skynyrd will rock the stage May 5th, Rob Zombie May 4th, & Buckcherry May 3rd. The VIP tickets are well worth the money so if you don’t have yours better get ‘em!

By Lulu

Sorry Charlie’s Corner on Highway 44 in Samsula knocked it out of the park with their first anniversary bash! This bar’s popularity has been growing by leaps and bounds with people in all vehicles, and particularly those on motorcycles. Lisa Henson helped organize the event and with the help of Willie’s Tropical Tattoo crew, sponsors which included Rue & Ziffra, The Ice Queen Truck, Cochise Chops Magazine, Busch Light, Twisted Tea, and A OK Guns they were packed and prepared. They got the word out that a party was happening on their huge property complete with country music star Whey Jennings, a Daisy Duke contest, Uncle Jess look-alike contest, and the General Lee. Sam Lowe and Christie Beu also performed and the National Anthem was sung by Michelle Marie. The Veterans Support Fund was the recipient of proceeds that day and Lisa presented them with a wad of cash, the total raised was $4059!! Great job everyone! A-OK Guns did at least 4 gun raffles to help fill that kitty.

If you haven’t been out to Sorry Charlie’s Corner it is a great spot for an ice cold brew and they do a bike night on Thursdays 6pm. Check them out and tell them Thunder Roads Florida sent you!

By Lulu

One of the biggest events of the year in the greater Daytona area is the Midwest Motorcycle Anniversary Party and Bike Show. Vendors, bikes, and hundreds of people are on site to enjoy the day at Beaver Bar in Ormond Beach. Too many trophies are given out to put all the photos in the magazine but all the photos of the winners are available on our Thunder Roads Florida Facebook site in Albums. The crowd was elbow to elbow and once again Heavy and Christine threw an amazing event. The band Greentree Brothers kept the large crowd entertained and rocking in the rocking chairs scattered on the Beaver grounds. Congratulations to the bike show winners and to Heavy for 29 years of success!

By Lulu

This yearly music & motorcycle festival is becoming one of our favorites of the year. Every motorcycle event has its own feel and this one is kind of a motorcycle Woodstock. Hosted at the Sarasota Fairgrounds there is a small fee to attend, but the money raised goes to the Suncoast Children’s Charities so all who attend can enjoy the music, vendors and fun knowing they have helped a good cause! There is also a VIP experience with a huge auction that helps feed the kitty. The bands this year were all great. One I heard for the first time and really enjoyed was Twinkle. Headliners included 38 Special, Colt Ford and Bobby Friss. Highway to Hell, Maiden Cane, Nobody’s Fool, and Nuthin’ Fancy filled the rest of the weekend with great music. This was the 25th Anniversary of Thunder by the Bay and by far the largest crowds I have seen. Included was a bike show with Kory Souza, sound off by Jim Lynch’s Bike Show Mafia, Choppertown by Born to Ride, stunt shows, burn out contest, wrestling and bike games. PLENTY to keep you entertained the whole weekend. There is also a ride on Sunday, but we have not been able to stay on Sunday to attend this yet!
I am sure that Suncoast Charities Executive Director and Event Organizer Lucy Nicandri would like to thank all who attended and those who helped to man this event. A special thank you to presenting sponsors S & S and Adrenaline H-D, and to all the following who help make this important event possible: Ford, FCCI Insurance, Greg Linehan Law, Hap’s Cycles, Badger Bob’s Services, Gold Coast Eagle Budweiser, Sonny’s BBQ, Born to Ride, USA Fence, United Rentals, Everglades Equipment, & Homs Partners. This event is every February and if you are a camping kind of guy or girl, they have on-site camping available and bring lawn chairs!

So, Bike Week came and an amazing 10 days it was! But truly amazing is this story of some bikers with hearts of gold…
Drifter’s on the River in Astor is owned by friends of mine and they were packed, when a large group of bikers rode in. They knew the food was good, and that there would be a wait by the full parking lot but decided to stay and eat anyway. They happened to be served, after a 45-minute wait, before a table who had been seated before them. The man at that table was livid. The waitress apologized profusely and, in the end, told the man with a large table she would personally pay his bill! Whether the wait was slightly longer because of the food choices, or amount of peeps at each table, or maybe she even forgot to put his order in…I do not know, but her graciousness was witnessed by the bikers and his rudeness was too. His table ate, drank and took leftovers to go all on the waitress and then didn’t leave a tip.

The biker table started throwing in money to pay for the rude table’s meal and even some for a tip, as well as tipping her for her service, hard work and kindness for their own meal! Here is the best part of the story. As they exited the building, the rude man was still in the parking lot holding his leftovers! His car had been towed for parking in the Bridge Master’s parking spot!! One of the petite blondes with the bikers went up to him and let him know Karma is a bitch, and that they paid for his table’s meals. He just stood there with his BIG mouth wide open!!
Just gotta LOVE good people who deliver justice in a kind way while leaving a positive impression of bikers!! And a waitress who probably would have lost money that day trying to make his wait acceptable while tolerating his rudeness for being a better person than most!

Enjoy this beautiful spring weather, do a kind deed, and don’t forget your sunscreen!

By Holly Will Bond

The 23rd Annual Riding Into History™ (RIH) planning committee created a new class for their Premier Vintage Motorcycle Concours d’Elegance event on April 15th, 2023 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida. With this new class, Under 35 is Alive!©, RIH is working to attract younger participants to get involved with our event and hopefully get bitten by the bug of collecting, restoring and showing vintage motorcycles.

If you have attended any type of motorcycle event or gathering of late, one thing you notice is none of us are getting any younger. This is especially true of the collectors of fine antique and vintage machines that RIH is known to be host to. Not to mention the volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year to make the event a success for our entrants and our charity partner, K9s for Warriors. For years we have racked our brains to come up with ways to involve younger people, in the hopes they too, will catch the bug and usher in the next generation of passionate collectors, judges and volunteers.

For a motorcycle to be considered for judging at RIH, it has to be 35 years of age or older. The name of the new class, Under 35 is Alive!©, speaks to both the age of the machine as well as the age of the entrant. This class will allow bikes that are not yet 35 years old, and the class is limited to participants who are 14 to 34 years old. Hence, the name Under 35 is Alive!© was born. As an added twist, the motorcycle being entered must be as old as the entrant. For example, a 20 year old person would have to enter a 20 year old, or older bike. More information and the online registration form can be found at https://ridingintohistory.org/under-35-is-alive/.

In addition to this new class to attract younger entrants, RIH began the first youth judging program for any motorcycle concours in the US in 2014. More information and the online registration form for our youth judging program can be found at https://ridingintohistory.org/youth-judging/.

The featured marque for this year’s show is GET YOUR HEART RACING-COMPETITION MOTORCYCLES.

Our Grand Marshals for this year are AMA Hall of Famer, Brian Slark of the Barber Motorsports Museum and Motogiro D’Italia Hall of Famer, Vicki Smith of Ducati NA. Our Honorary Grand Marshal is none other than AMA Hall of Famer, Mary McGee, Pioneer Woman in Women Racing. Read more about the amazing careers of all three of these individuals at https://ridingintohistory.org.

We look forward to seeing you April 15th, and please bring the kids.

About Riding into History

Riding Into History™ is the premier all motorcycle Concours d’Elegance in the United States. Riding Into History™ is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization with its primary charity, K9s for Warriors which provides service dogs for disabled veterans. Riding Into History™ has donated over $600,000 to local charities since its founding in 1999.

By Lulu

Some hardworking guys in Bushnell have been busy keeping bikes on the road since 2019! Neil & Fred at Twisted Evolution have enjoyed 5 years in business. The guys recently purchased a building to store motorcycles for snowbirds and others that need their bikes maintained in a safe environment. This year’s BBQ was held at this new property, and it was awesome. This was their biggest event so far! Sticky Fingers BBQ put on an awesome spread again and the band Carry the Day rocked the inside of their new building. A bike show was also part of the event this year.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9a-6p. Stop in and visit if you are in the Bushnell area. They are located at 212 N. Main St. The phone number for Twisted Evolution is 352-617-5224. Good guys who really enjoy what they do!

By Phoenix and Metric

Hurricane Ian devastated SW Florida and large portions of cities across the state. Despite the devastation, one thing that will always stand is the fighting spirit of the American people especially that of our veterans. The American spirit was on full display this past weekend in Desoto County. The American Legion Post 11 in Arcadia sits on the banks of the Peace River. Just about every time we have a hurricane the post experiences a lot of damage, but this time the post was almost completely under water. It has been a long and expensive road to recovery. There is still a lot of work to be done to restore the post, but this weekend was a step in the right direction. The community came out to help with the cost of the recovery. We had a day filled with great food, fun, and entertainment. Commander Ronnie Jones and all the members of the post would like to thank everyone who came out to support this effort. Special thanks to all the veteran organizations that came out to make this event possible.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR VETERANS!!!

By Lulu

Preparing to celebrate 29 years of business at his huge antique & custom bike show at Beaver Bar in Ormond Beach, I got Heavy Kastrul, owner of Midwest, to sit down and tell me what he contributes his success to and how the whole thing got started.

Dan Johnson the founder realized in 1992 with a three year wait to get a Harley, there was a need to rent motorcycles. He contacted the local Harley dealer to purchase six bikes. The only bikes available were a surplus of police bikes, but they would need approval from corporate to sell the police bikes to individuals other than police. In the end H-D said he would need to have a “Escort” License (like for escorting funerals), so Dan formed an escort business and had a steady supply of Police bikes. In 1994 Midwest incorporated and set up shop in Minnetonka, Minnesota. As business took off, they moved on to downtown Minneapolis. The business rented Harleys, Mopeds, pocket bikes & four wheelers. Seven years later their success was so great that they opened a second location in Daytona Beach for Bike Week and Biketoberfest. As the growth continued, they started a Sturgis location and in 2003 added a Myrtle Beach locale. In 2010 Ed “Heavy” Kastrul became a 50% partner and took the business from primarily renting bikes to a full-service motorcycle dealership selling used Harleys in Daytona, Sturgis, and Minneapolis. They moved inventory across the country at specific times of the year to maximize sales. This created the need for a full-service department to maintain rentals and to prepare used bikes for sale. Of course, that made having a parts department sensible. In 2014 Heavy bought Mr. Johnson’s remaining half and became sole proprietor. By 2014 most of the custom bike builders in the US were fading out such as Big Dog, Bourget, Orange County Choppers, Ironhorse, to name a few and so Heavy started building bikes. In 2023 Midwest Motorcycles will build about 20 custom bikes, from Choppers to Bobbers, to Cholos and a lot of big wheel baggers. Since Scott Foxx joined the team at Midwest he brings to the table years of builds and a manufacturers license so no special tag is required for those builds. Scott is known for his unique style and loves the bobber and Cholos builds. Ron Rhodes specializes in the art of old bikes. He is trying to maintain Old Man Tom’s knowledge and love of the Old Shovels/Panheads with antique restorations. Old Man Tom was a mechanic with Midwest for a long time, he passed away last year, and he is missed! The Bike Show in February was dedicated to his memory. Randy Rayfield is an electrical guru and has a vast knowledge of Metrics and does their trike kit conversions. They have 4 bikes on the build lifts in process now. They strive for affordable road worthy builds! They do it all: Bobbers, Cholos, Choppers, Tri conversions, Big Wheel Baggers and even audio. Heavy claims that his success is “I am not that smart, so I realized I better have more drive than most.” And knowing how hard it is to get him to sit for a short interview I can attest to his energy. We had time for a few short notes and then a whirlwind tour of his builds in the back.

Their business offers Sales, Rental & Service of Harley’s & Scooters, they repair and build your ride, offer financing on bikes and have a 24-hour Motorcycle Rescue & Towing too. Call 386-257-6265
So, if you need a build or custom work on your ride, Midwest is located at 444 N. Beach St. or check out their website midwestmotorcycles.com.

By Lulu

It is always a curious thing to me how certain businesses find motorcyclists as the demographic for their products. So, when I heard GorillaPro® with H.B. Fuller had been a major presence at Sturgis and Lone Star Rallies I had to find out why! I must admit, right off the bat, that I am not familiar with the nuts and bolts of motorcycles! I simply love the ride and the lifestyle. But I have experienced pieces from a bike in front of us flying past as they lost a light cover or even a mirror from the vibrations of the bike and the highway.

As I was introduced to Scott Pergande the Vice President of Product Management and Marketing with H. B. Fuller, and a mechanical engineer who graduated from LSU, I was intimidated to ask the questions of how GorillaPro® fit into the world of motorcycles, but he was smart, patient, and informative. Scott had worked with Mobil Oil, and Henkel Loctite before joining H.B. Fuller. H. B. Fuller has been producing adhesives and sealants since 1887 including a Wet Paste Adhesive used for gluing shoes, hanging wallpaper, mending books, attaching labels and manufacturing boxes. They now produce all types of high-tech adhesives and sealants for the automotive, commercial roofing, electronics, structural bonding, aerospace and even paper straws. The company is based out of St. Paul, MN. Anything you can imagine likely has their product holding it together. Gorilla Glue, which we all have in a drawer in the house or garage, has been in business for 2 decades producing; Gorilla Tape, Gorilla Super Glue, and Gorilla Construction Adhesives. H.B. Fuller and Gorilla Glue joined their expertise to combine technology, innovation, and BRUTE strength to develop GorillaPro®. GorillaPro® products are professional grade adhesives, sealants, and lubricants. Using color coding and unique packages, they made these perfect sizes for our work toolboxes and bike saddle bags. Their tag line What’s in Your Toolbox? ™ let’s you know their products are just that, chemical TOOLS! Color coding for red permanent threadocking, blue for removable threadlocking and green for retaining compounds, makes these easy to grab and know their use in a hurry. They started marketing to the motorcycle community in 2022 as they saw the need in dealerships, bike shops and those who work on their own to have dependable reliable strength, heat resistance and high-performance adhesives and sealants for safety and maintenance of our bikes. See the photo of their Motorcycle Application Guide to see all the uses of their products on a bike. They even have a 5-minute epoxy adhesive that will repair the sole of the Harley boots that you love! GorillaPro carries instant adhesives, epoxies & urethanes, anti-seize lubricants, gasket sealants, retaining compounds and threadlockers. All important in the professional automobile and motorcycle industry. You cannot buy their line in your local hardware store. You can order directly through www.gorillapro.com, industrial distributors and motorcycle businesses are beginning to retail their products.

Richard Rawlings from Gas Monkey Garage created the GorillaPro Ultimate Service Truck with H.B. Fuller that is KING KONG size that you must check out during Bike Week. Richard used their products to create the beast and taped a documentary of the build on YouTube (GorillaPro® – YouTube). Over a million people have watched the episodes. The GorillaPro “Pros” will be at Bike Week 2023 in Daytona at Broken Spoke Saloon and Iron Horse Saloon on US 1. Stop in and visit with the staff and welcome them into the biking family! They are also sponsoring the “Strongest Man & Strongest Woman Biker” contest at Broken Spoke on Wednesday. If you have the brute strength of a Gorilla, sign up! The trophies are super cool! And there will be a GorillaPro Burnout contest on Thursday at the Iron Horse, hope the contestants have used their heat resistant threadlockers and lubricants!! See you there!