By Lulu

If you weren’t in Pensacola Beach and you own a Harley, you missed a great event! HOG membership is all about riding! Each day there was at least one ride, some days two! We attended three of the events scheduled for the 2017 Rally before heading to Texas for the Lone Star Rally. We met great riders from all over the country with one thing in common…they love to get on their bikes and ride.

Music was the highlight of the evening events. Early registration was held at Casino Beach Bar & Grill where you could dance with your feet in the sugar white sands of Pensacola Beach. The band out of Tallahassee was Tobacco Rd. known for great country music. It was Halloween so some of the members came decked out in extreme costumes…did I mention HOG members love a party! Early the next morning we joined them for a ride to Pensacola NAS to watch the Blue Angels dazzle us with theirshow. Hundreds of us rode in groups of 20 led by Road Captains that led us on our merry way.

That afternoon lunch was served at Harley Davidson of Pensacola. And our final night in town we spent listening to great bands and singing along with the dueling pianos at Seville Quarter in downtown Pensacola. I really enjoyed this event and hope to join them again when the rally returns to our state. Next year it is scheduled to be in X so join a HOG family at your local dealership and meet your future riding buddies!

By Lulu

This was my first time to experience Cotee River Bike Fest which has a rich history of entertaining bikers in their unique community park on the Cotee River in New Port Richey. Two stages provided nonstop music. The stage in Sims Park is the center for events, vendors, the bikini and bike contests. Another stage is off a side street with lots of unique restaurants and bars. We loved the Little Corona Cigar Bar and the owner is a Harley guy and fire chief! The two days of bike shows put on my Minh of Venom Cycles had lots of great rides to check out and the winners went home with beautiful trophies. Revolution Roller Derby girls were pushing hard as they twirled around the pavement. And if that wasn’t brutal enough they had ACW Wrestling too.

The bikini contest was the crowd favorite by the sheer number of phones and cameras pointed at the scantily clothed beauties. But MUSIC was constant and extremely good! Most were tribute bands including KISS. One of the area’s favorite, the Bearded Brothers rocked the park. And FireHouse rocked the park! This is a wonderful laid-back event. Each rally we attend has a uniqueness and this one reminded me of a rock fest from back in the 70s, blankets on the ground, shade covered seats, a lazy river running by and beautiful oak trees. The hardworking West Pasco Chamber of Commerce kept things organized and the park sparkling clean!

This is a community event and many of the vendors and supporters of this bike event were locals. A lot of work goes into pulling an event like this off and when the community and Chamber get behind a motorcycle event we as riders should support their efforts and ride in to partake in their party. A poker run was organized by the Gulf Coast Fire and Iron MC for the Children’s Burn Camp and they hit their highest number of riders ever…considering rain was projected that was awesome to hear. If you were in the bike show or attended the event go to our Facebook page and check out all the photos!!

By Lulu

Nestled in Perry, Florida at 210 South Byron Butler Parkway is a quaint watering hole with simply awesome food! Cypress Mill Package & Sports Grill pours a good drink, serves ice cold beer and WILL NOT let you leave hungry! While we were there motorcyclist from south Florida and even Texas were decked out in leathers warming their bellies with great food.

Owners Dusty and wife Suzie welcomes motorcyclists with open arms! And they should as she rides her own 1200 Nightster and he states he has been “riding all my life”. Dusty had his ’97 Springer out in the parking lot and joined us on our trek to Panama City Beach for Thunder Beach Fall Rally. They are adding motorcycle parking in the future and they love to be a stop for poker runs. And for our readers who are vets…Dusty was an Army Pilot and when we came in to eat the place was decked with American flags on the table and a “Missing Man Table” was set.

The establishment has two sides one a restaurant with a full liquor bar featuring steak night on Wednesdays with hand cut ribeyes. Their menu says, “Welcome Friends” and they mean it. On Thursday, they feature fish dinners. Our favorites are their Reubens and burgers, and we have stop in every time we are heading to the Panhandle…it is our “must stop” place! We time our trips for lunch or dinner…and a cocktail! They also have an appetizer that is scrumptious and too much food for one, fried macaroni balls!

The other side is a bar with smoking. They have live entertainment on Friday nights and 12 big screen TVs for college football on Saturdays. Pool tables get worked out here. They also have an outdoor patio. They are also a package store.

Their hours are 11a-midnight Monday-Saturday. Cypress Mill is closed on Sundays. Please stop in and visit Dusty and Suzie they are super nice and “if you leave hungry it is your own fault”!

By T-Rex

I wake up around 7am, make coffee, head into my shop and remember I need a primary gasket for a 1989, 883 Sporty. Wait till 9 and head over to “Steve’s Cycles” because I know Steve has a wall of gaskets and he’s got mine.  I met Steve back in ’09 when I was birding back and forth every couple of months. He was on Rt. 520 then. Now he is off Rt. 1, but he’s been in Brevard for 16 years. Steve started it all off in Rockledge, had a fire in one shop.

Now he is located at 839 N. Cocoa Blvd., Cocoa. Originally from Illinois he grew up working at his family’s saw mill and in his free time was riding and wrenching motorcycles. Steve’s shop can cover most of your needs between the wall of gaskets and brakes. 90% of the time he has what you need in stock or can get it overnight. He’s got a selection of new and used parts. Steve does motorcycle sales and consignment sales, service and repairs on most models.

Yes, they fix metric, BMW and even Triumphs plus H-D’s. He’s also a franchise scooter dealer and V-8 choppers, with all this going on mechanic, Paul Adams, barely has time for lunch. Paul’s been in the business for 6 years now and is very knowledgeable about most bikes with Steve’s experience in the field they can figure anything out. So, I asked Steve what’s your bike of choice, he gives me that look…and I know he owns a new H-D, his reply is his Victory cross country tourer. Well now ya know Steve’s Cycles is still alive and well, so stop in and get your bike serviced. It’s riding time!

By Raven Van Pelt

VW and Friends Oktoberfest Car & Bike Show hosted by Callahan Cruisers of North FLA was held at Adamec Harley-Davidson of Baymeadows in Jacksonville to celebrate Oktoberfest/ Bike Week. Live music and food were on hand, along with vendors, and plenty of bikes and cars on site to view.  Congratulations to all the winners on October 15th! For more info on Callahan Cruisers contact @Callahancruiser they meet every second Saturday at Dick’s Wings in Callahan and 3rd Saturday at Sonic off Normandy.

By Ron Cox

Veteran’s Day saw Six Bends Harley-Davidson host its Inaugural Salute to the Brave to honor all Veterans and first responders at Top Rocker Field. The event began with the assembled Veterans and guests singing the National Anthem (with no one taking a knee), followed by a rousing chorus of God Bless America. At this point volunteers from Avow pinned each and every Veteran with a special pin of two crossed flags, the Stars & Stripes and Harley’s Bar & Shield.

Veterans from all over Lee County, both HOG members and not, plus a large contingent from Naples Harley-Davidson’s HOG Chapter gathered at the entrance of Top Rocker Field for a group photo. Patches could be seen being worn representing all five branches of the military. When each branch was mentioned a loud roar went up with each trying to be the loudest.

The southern rock band Unforgiven gave the crowd a sampling of its tunes, ranging from The Silver Bullet Band to Eric Clapton. Many youngsters were seen dancing to the music.

The hungry didn’t have to go far as food vendors lined the perimeter of the field offering everything from enchiladas to ice cream and strawberry iced tea smoothies. Soft drink and adult beverages were also on hand. Local radio and TV stations set up shop and community organizations like Avow hospice and Collier County Honor Flights had displays.

Rounding out the day was the Olympic style obstacle course with the best time being the winner.

All in all, it was a wonderful tribute to all our Veterans.

By Phoenix and Metric HD

FREEDOM FLIGHT soars to new heights!!!! Each year the Rotary Clubs from Highlands and Hardee counties join forces to raise funds to send our Veterans to Washington DC for a two-day trip. They get an opportunity to visit historical monuments of those who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. This year the Rotary Clubs teamed up with the American Legion Riders from Post 69 in Avon Park to make the poker run a great success!!!

The run traveled around both counties with stops at the American Legion Post 69 in Avon Park, AMVET Post 21 in Sebring. Taking the scenic route out of Highlands County we traveled over to Herb’s Limestone, up the back roads to Charlotte’s Webb in Wauchula and ending at Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs. The whole community, headed up by a great group of Rotarians, provide a delicious prime rib dinner with all the fixin’s.

Great music was provided by a super band called “CRUSH HARDEE”. The Rotary Clubs host this event each year in October so if you did not have the chance to participate this year, mark your calendars for next year’s ride. What a GREAT way to honor or Veterans. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!!

By Raven Van Pelt

On Saturday, October 7, the Northside Independent Motorcycle Riders of Duval, (AKA the NIMRODs), hosted their 2017 Fall Biker Rodeo at the Conklin Ranch in North Jacksonville. The NIMRODs are not a club or organization; they are a group of North Jacksonville old school like-minded bikers that love to ride on their own terms and are some of the most generous folks you will ever meet. Each time they host a rodeo, it is in support of someone in need; whether it is a family experiencing hard times, or someone who was diagnosed with a worse-case scenario. This past event was in support of an 11 yearold child name Nicholas “The Brave” Parscale, who has stage 4 inoperable Glioblastoma, a rare and devastating brain cancer.

Over 100 people came out to the private event, partied, swam and enjoyed bikers participating in old school motorcycle rodeo games such as “The Slow Roll”, “The Plank Roll”, “The Keg Roll”, “The Weinee Bite” and more. The NIMRODs cooked an 80lb. plus pig, the American Legion Riders Chapter 9 donated hamburgers and hotdogs and everyone who came brought other main courses and side dishes for a feast to end all feasts with donations for Nicholas accepted. Mail Box King donated a custom brick mailbox, valued at $700, which was raffled off. The winner of the raffle, Phil Reddy, donated the mailbox back with the request that it be auctioned off to the highest bidder and the money be given to Nicholas. There was a 50/50 as well. With everyone’s support, the event raised over $1,600 that day and an anticipated $500 more once the custom mailbox sells at auction. Every penny given to Nicholas. Hopefully this will help him and his family in this sorrowful time of need. In the words of one of the original NIMROD’s called Peckerhead… “It’s what bikers do!”

If you are out and about in Jacksonville, Florida and see someone in a NIMROD T-Shirt, make sure to shake their hand and thank them for their selfless support of the Community that surrounds them.

By Tony

It’s been raining all week. We see some sun on Friday and decide where heading up to Ocala a day early for the 4th Annual Marge Olsen for Hospice Poker Run. Come Saturday morning skies are clear, and I hear a rumble at our hotel. It’s only “Pickles” on her trike coming to get us. We pack our gear and we’re off to “EDT” (English Dart Tavern) for the start and finish of the ride. By 9:30 I’m starting my Bloody Mary and the bikes are rolling in.

By 11am the place is packed, and people are slowly heading out to make the 3 stops then back for food, raffles and an auction. A little back road riding in the morning in horse country is gorgeous, water oaks hanging over the road as our canopy to keep the sun off us. Back by 3 for food and the start of Big Butch’s auction and party on. Butch also does karaoke night 3 times a week at the Tavern. After the 50/50 drawing which was donated back, the band took the stage and as usual Jaybird and the Infuzion Band rocked the house.

To the point where nobody cared about the thunderstorm outside. A big thanks to Mike Wood Up in Smoke catering for cooking the meat and his raffle donations and to everybody that brought a side dish or dessert. A big hand for Curtis Allen owner of the English Dart Tavern and everybody involved in putting on a great day. And a big thanks to “Dallas” from Burnout Alley Cycles for getting me back on the road after I got a flat tire on the “cement mixer” at our last stop. IF I DIDN’T SEE YOU THIS YEAR I BETTER SEE YOU NEXT
Ride Safe and Watch the Water Holes…

By Lulu

One of our favorite watering holes for ambiance and some of the best music in the state is Earl’s Hideaway in Sebastian. This should be a destination ride for a weekend getaway if you love blues! On Thursday nights they have a bike night under the stars and always have music that will get you up and moving. And if you are a pizza lover like T.J. you must have one of their GIANT slices!! Yummy…

And talking about BIG things. When we went down for their anniversary bash Tony and the guys from Big Engine rocked the crowd all night long!! It was great to see them and hang out with the friendly folk at Earl’s. Thank you Franni for all you do in searching high and low for great entertainment!!!

By Lulu

Imagine being a parent and unable to afford to get your child to a life-saving medical procedure because you can’t afford a plane ticket…or because there isn’t a flight in a quick enough time for a transplant procedure for either the organ or the patient…

Well there are pilots who own their own planes that will donate their time, gas and plane to make these life-saving miracles occur! And that group is known as Angel Flight. The great peeps that chose to spend their Sunday riding on two wheels making the loop from Beaver Bar to Cabbage Patch to Fox Head’s to Roadside Tavern and ending at Dirty Harry’s helped give “lift off” to some of those flights. Dirty Harry’s organized a run which, with the poker hand, $5 breakfast proceeds which Beaver Bar donated and raffles, raised $8,190.00. This was donated to Angel Flight, Southeast to help finance jet fuel which can be a burden to those that fly these free flights over and over. The free BBQ and great music by Redline made for a fantastic afternoon. And everyone rode home earning a halo and wings!!! I also want to thank the Rue & Ziffra Law Firm and Rock of Daytona for their help getting the word out about this event and for always being so involved in the biking community!

By Lulu

Occasionally paths intersect in life and people who have meant a great deal to you reemerge. And so, it was when Ronnie from Shifty’s Hideaway contacted me about an event he was planning at a bar in Keystone Heights. Ronnie has been a friend of mine ever since I have been the owner of Thunder Roads Florida. In fact, he is one of the main reasons I kept the magazine going after Bull’s (the original owner of Thunder Roads Florida and my boyfriend at the time) death. You see Bull and Ronnie were friends and from time to time riding buddies. Ronnie is a workaholic so it wasn’t often enough that he would get out on two wheels. Bull died suddenly and tragically and both Ronnie and I were devastated. There was a huge memorial run for Bull that Ronnie’s bar in Flagler Beach hosted the end stop. At the memorial Ronnie and the crowd encouraged me to keep his legacy going when the corporate office offered me the reins of Thunder Roads Florida. And through the years Ronnie has been one of my ad clients as well as my friend. We have worked together on fundraisers for friends, poker runs for diabetes and just promoting his different bars. He has always stepped up for others and some of those folks were at this party, making it a lot of fun!!

Nearly 10 years later Ronnie said he lost another friend tragically and he told me when he got the call that Shifty had died in a crash on New Year’s Eve he had the same terrible sense of loss again. He decided to keep Shifty’s Hideaway going in memory of his dear friend. According to Ronnie, P. J. “Shifty” was one of a kind, a good hearted, hardworking guy who was excited to have the bar he was buying from Ronnie. According to Ronnie, Shifty would do anything for anybody. Ronnie wanted to do a music festival in August, but the date coincided with Starke Bike Fest so I suggested he move it to October and he booked Big Engine October 7th. My Hope Chest was looking for a place to do a benefit and so with it being breast cancer awareness month in October it was a perfect fit. For those of you unfamiliar with My Hope Chest it is a charity that helps women who don’t have the funds with the cost of reconstructive surgery after mastectomies. This is the first annual Run for the Hills Run and we hope that the event continues. We had a great time, met lots of new friends and loved seeing some friends I haven’t seen in years! We hope next year that the date doesn’t conflict with other events in the area and I can assure everyone we had no idea anything was scheduled for the 7th at the time we scheduled Big Engine!

Ride safe and ride on…as Ronnie and I both know firsthand…life is short and we are the only ones who can make life a ride worth taking!!! Thank you, my friend, for including Thunder Roads Florida in your event and hope those who were there enjoy the photos, more photos are on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook page.

By Deborah Speicher

The number “22” has a whole new meaning for many of us who attended this event on September 16 at Gator Harley-Davidson. That is the number of veterans and first responders who commit suicide on a DAILY basis due to PTSD. Treatment comes in many unconventional methods and this fundraiser was to benefit “S.A.D.L.E.S.” which uses the Code Horse program. Code Horse is exactly that – interaction with horses. Horses have a unique way of bonding with humans, and the relationship between man/woman and horse has a calming, soothing effect.

Six bands took the stage during this day-long event but my favorite was Michael Rettig who rocked the National Anthem with his guitar solo. Reverend Al Paquette was also on hand to start us with an invocation. Food trucks, vendors and raffles also filled the parking lot. When all was said and done, $12,119 was raised for this very worthy cause.

Let’s bring this number down to zero and support these necessary programs!

By Lulu

Miss Intent was on hand to celebrate with the Rossmeyer’s 20 years of being part of the fabric of New Smyrna. With the two locations in Volusia County, the family continues their father’s tradition of bringing shiny new Harley’s to happy boys and girls!! I am sure Bruce is smiling down on Shelley, Will and Mandy…and all the hardworking staff that keep the ball rolling. Along with great tunes by Missy, free hot dogs were on the grill and Twisted Tea samples and giveaways were doled out. Congratulations on 20 years and here’s to many, many more.

By Ron Cox

Imagine you’re tooling down the Interstate (in this case I-75) on October 7th and you come upon a large group of motorcyclists. But you notice something unusual. The big, burly bikers are all wearing decorated brassieres, both men and women!!!! If you happened to see this then you saw riders on their way to the 9th Annual Momma T’s Fly Your Bra Ride hosted by the Paradise Chapter’s Ladies of Harley (LOH) at Naples Harley-Davidson.

Fly Your Bra was created by Momma T to raise money and awareness to the issue of breast cancer. Initially funds generated were given to the American Cancer Society for research. For the last few years though, a needy individual who is battling the disease and lives in Collier County became the recipient. The year, Ms. Katie Guerrero was the recipient. Unfortunately, Katie couldn’t attend as she is recuperating from serious surgery.

Registration was followed by some low calorie (?) donuts and coffee. At the appointed time, the Collier County Sheriff’s Department escort detail took off to make sure the riders had a safe journey. The route included a cruise through downtown Naples, showing the town folk that motorcyclists care about important social issues. Upon return the riders were given box lunches and BBQ’d hot dogs and burgers. There was an in-store poker run with stops in Motorclothes, Parts and the café. The Teakwood Drive band supplied the musical entertainment.