Phoenix and Metric-HD

The Patriotic Guard Riders of Florida have teamed up with the Gary Sinise Foundation to bring the SNOWBALL EXPRESS to Florida. The Snowball Express is a charity for the children of our fallen military heroes giving hope and new memories. This year the Snowball Express is coming to Disney in December bringing nearly 800 Gold Star children and their families. As you can see this project is going to take a lot of time, effort and money. To get this train rolling Space Coast Harley-Davidson along with the United States Motorcycle Corps Charities and the Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) hosted a Snowball Express Loop Run and After Party. We had a great day and raised a little money for the Snowball Express. This is just one of many fundraisers that they need to offset the cost of this GREAT endeavor. Keep an eye out for more upcoming events.

They need approximately 1500 volunteers to help with this great project. They need medical teams, volunteer teams, corporate teams, high achool teams/clubs, JROTC, Scouts, churches, community groups, you name it. If you would like to volunteer or someone you know is interested in volunteering please register at: signup.snowballexpress.org. To register as a group please have representative contact the Snowball Express Volunteer coordinator, Michelle Carline at 940-783-2191 or m.carline@snowballexpress.org. Please share with everyone you know. Hope to see you at Snowball Express in December.

If you belong to any Veterans organization such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS or any other organization this is a project that needs your attention. To quote the Vietnam Veterans of America motto: “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another” GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

By Lulu

Friends come and go in life. Some you lose due to distance, some from difference of opinions and sometimes it is from a tragedy. Tall Pete was well loved by his friends and family. Those who know him well say he was the first to help anyone in need, often even though he was in chronic pain. We happened upon a run in his memory and got caught in the web of love they were weaving in his memory!

The ride started at First Turn, headed to The Boat Bar which is where we met them, then off to Winner’s Bar, followed by Bay 3 Bar with the final stop at American Legion. What really was impressive was how much this man is missed by those riding for him today, you could feel their sadness and the happiness of being together for Pete!

By Deborah Speicher

Every Memorial Day, Florida National Cemetery (Bushnell) holds a ceremony to honor those buried there and their families. The Florida motorcycle communities were out in full force to support this event and several military riding organizations participated.

The numbers of motorcycles were down this year due to Tropical Storm Alberto. However, with approximately 120+ bikes, the largest group riding into the cemetery was the Defenders MC (Tampa Bay Chapter). The Defenders MC is a group comprised of active and retired military, law enforcement, emergency services and public safety professionals.

The Defenders’ ride was coordinated by Colonel Ron “Paladin” Rook, USMC (Ret.), who has done so for the past several years. Local HOG and other riding groups were invited to join the Defenders for this ride. Thanks to a police escort and the excellent road captains from the Defenders MC, this 30+ mile ride went off without a hitch.

The ceremony had many poignant speakers, patriotic music and a “missing man” flyover by Ye Mystic Air Krewe. While the actual meaning and traditions of Memorial Day may have been forgotten by some people, those attending the ceremony came out to remember, honor and salute those who had defended our country. Once again, the group “Flags for Fallen Veterans” and a couple of thousand volunteers made sure that several thousand flags were placed on the grave sites.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Master of Ceremonies, Steve Jerve. Steve has been MC’ing for several years running. Kudos to Steve, the Florida National Cemetery Joint Veterans Committee and all those who made this inspirational event happen!

By Lulu

Tucked out in Welaka is a very cool spot with fun people on both sides of the bar! When Waylon and Tonya decided to start a monthly bike night they invited us out and we were pleasantly surprised by how many peeps we knew from Palm Coast and even Daytona that rode out for the evening! This is a bar owned by a couple who really love to get on the bike and ride!

We have seen Waylon walk away with first place at a Yuengling sponsored tattoo contest at the Boot Hill Saloon during Bike Week, run into them in Palatka at 3-D Saloon where Amy and Donnie packed the place with the band Framing the Red and spotted them at OB’s for a Wednesday night bike night. Usually it is hard to get bar owners to step away from their own establishment for an evening!

Well Long’s hosted a bike night with live music that included a chick playing drums which were a variety of buckets, put on a delicious spread of appetizers and featured $1.50 domestics! We coerced the crowd into a group shot and they could not have been nicer as it was a bit hot on the July evening…leaving the AC for the parking lot was asking a lot!

The trip out to Welaka is a beautiful country ride whether you are riding in from Ocala, Deland, Daytona or St. Augustine. Their bike night will be on the 2nd Thursdays beginning at 6pm. Take your bike out of the garage, dust off the cobwebs and ride out to Welaka for an enjoyable evening. Their ad is on the page next to this article featuring different nights when they have live music!

Thanks for a great evening guys and for joining the Thunder Roads Florida family!

By Lulu

Rain or shine the first Saturday evenings through November Tilted Kilt in Ocala with sponsors Ocala Car Audio, RideNow Powersports and War Horse Harley-Davidson host bikers from all over central Florida and beyond. The Saturday in July we were treated to great music by Raging Woody, refreshing cocktails served by tartan plaid mini-skirted beauties and great food! In August you are in for a special treat as two bands will take the stage, 4 Play and Blues Brothers. Get there early the place fills up quick!

By Lulu

Everyone from the greater Daytona area knows Main Street Station for great music and huge bike nights. But something I wish everyone knew about Phaedra Lee and the crew at Main Street Station is they do so much for the community all year. Whether she is working for revitalization of Main Street, collecting bikes for needy kids at

Christmas or any number of other charities all year long Main Street GIVES back to the community in a huge way. We attended a ride for veterans during the 5th Annual Rock Freedom Fest which, due to bad weather, was delayed. Anytime an event gets cancelled you can count on a disappointing turnout…but the event was well attended, and everyone had a great day of riding, friendship and prizes.

Seems like everyone went home with something they didn’t come with, in my case it was a hangover!!! The stops included Cabbage Patch, Winner’s Bar, Dog House and Rudy’s. The organization putting this ride together was Messengers for Homeless Vets…what a nice group of riders working for a great cause!

By Lulu

The owners and staff of Grandview Live in Daytona Beach certainly know how to throw a party! And remember that if you are looking for a party spot for your bachelor and birthday parties! But in July, the party they were having was their own birthday bash. Free alcohol was flowing. Plenty of scantily clothed girls were entertaining the crowd and running their buns off waiting on the huge crowd. I ran into all kinds of old friends and bar owners from all over Volusia and Flagler Counties. If you have a chance to visit Grandview Live off Seabreeze you will discover an impressive night club that you would expect to find in a big city with its beautiful décor and atmosphere. Congratulations Grandview on three GRAND years and wishing you many more!

By Lulu

You know I always rave about the kindness and generosity of motorcyclists. Today we went on a run to help kids. 70+ bikers left out of Beaver Bar in Ormond, took a short ride to Troy’s Pub, next to The Dog House in Port Orange, then Boot Hill Saloon and final stop was Iron Horse Saloon. It was well over 90 degrees and some great riders put their butts on their saddles and bar hopped on a rainy smoldering hot afternoon just to help Elaine Holt help kids. A special thanks to the bars who participated, the band Diesel, all the volunteers who gathered prizes, sold raffles, manned card stops and to those who generously rode, bought the tickets and auction items…and basically gave up their day! And a special thank you to Troy from Troy’s Pub for his extra generosity at the event and to our own TJ for walking away with the live auction NASCAR stuff! You can see the photos from the day on Facebook Thunder Roads Florida!

Another group of awesome individuals who as a group probably do more to help children than ANYBODY. I know these peeps have a reputation to be able to out party most bikers…many of them are bikers…but the Shriners were in Daytona Beach full force in July. While the ride we were on for Elaine was stopped at the Boot Hill Saloon. A party of about six Shriners from Arizona overheard Val Gal from Old School Biker Magazine talking about the charity. And the guys who weren’t even from around here handed over about $45 bucks! Really a great group of people I guess you must be to ever make it into the Shriners!!!

So, went our Sunday. As hot and muggy as we were, we spent the day helping Elaine help children. Spent time with old friends. Rubbed elbows with some Shriners and spent some time on the Harley can’t imagine a better afternoon really!

Go on a poker run for a good cause, thank a Shriner for all their good work and don’t forget your sunscreen!

By Lulu

Cabbage Patch Bar is a part of Bike Week History! I am sure it was with a heavy heart that Ronnie’s sons, Ronnie and Roger, had to decide whether to continue the history after their father’s unexpected death last year shortly after Biketoberfest 2016. They put their big boy pants on and have slipped right into their father’s “shoes”! I say that half laughing as I often had long conversations with their dad sometimes without shoes on at all!!

Time marches on and the Rock of Daytona, Daytona Estate Jewelry’s Derek Ames, Giuseppe’s Pizza, Tom and Cindy Wright, Social Misfit Customs, Barker Construction, Little C’s Custom and the Cabbage Patch marked the memory of Ronnie with the first memorial ride and formed a scholarship in Ronnie Senior’s name. Some of you bar people may not know that Ronnie was a teacher and loved knowledge… so I am certain he would be smiling down on those on two wheels who were contributing to this scholarship! The bar stops included Dirty Harry’s, Walden’s, Rudy’s and the Dog House in Port Orange.

We returned to great music by Anthony Wild and a terrific meal put on by Giuseppe’s! Put this on your radar for events to ride on next year, and don’t forget that they are open year-round with a free BBQ featuring live music on the 3rd Sunday of the month with a car/truck show and vendors.

By Lulu

Each spring at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, motorcycle history buffs love to stroll around the lake to gawk at one of the grandest displays of motorcycle history. This year they celebrated competition motorcycles of all makes and models! With the sponsors including Adamec Harley-Davidson, BMW Jacksonville, BMW Motorcycle Club of NW FL, C Hill Concepts, DCP, Folio Media House, Hagerty, LPI Designs, Mercedes-Benz, Moto Euro Garage, Sargent Cycle Products, Sunshine Chapter AMCA, Terk Oncology, VyStar and Wheels through Time, not only does Riding into History put on a great event they also contribute to K9’s for Warriors! A special thank you to those who give their support and hard work BMW of NE FL, VJMC, HMS, JB Chrome Divas, Moto Euro Garage and CMA. We always look forward to this event and love running into old friends who love old bikes!

By Lulu

There are motorcycle rallies all over the United States, and in every corner of Florida too. Thunder Beach in Panama City Beach is one of my all-time favorites! To begin with the view from our hotel (Holiday Inn Resort) is just amazing! Secondly the restaurants and bars in town are truly happy to have the bike crowd in town! There are bikini contests every day!! I know that isn’t politically correct in 2018 according to Miss America Pageant, but even I enjoy seeing beautiful women in tiny bikinis!! There are a couple of major bike shows and since Panama City Beach is in the panhandle a lot of the bikes aren’t seen in the Daytona and Leesburg shows.

his spring the weather was perfect, not too hot and I didn’t get rained on at all!! Tons of vendors make for days of shopping and some of my favorite people are here each year, so I get to pop in and say hello to Sick Boy Motorcycles, Twisted Tea, Custom Lighting EFX, Rally Leathers and Ultimate Seats…they are usually too busy to do more than wave at me but in the rally world that is a good thing! One more thing that keeps me coming back twice a year is although it is a long ride from Daytona to Panama City Beach the ride through the countryside to get to the panhandle is beautiful. We stop in Perry for a cold one at Cypress Mill Package and Sports Grill. We wet our whistle and off we go, next thing we know we are unpacked and heading to the hot tub to ease our bones.

The next day we make a stop at the Bayer booth for a couple Aleve and we are fine!! Harley Davidson of Panama City Beach gives away a bike twice a year at this rally, and this time Radical Randy called the winners name from the stage, ready as usual to call the lucky winner live on the phone to tell them they just won a new bike. But this time, out of 25,000 entries, the winner was in the crowd and came up on stage to claim is prize. It was awesome! Lastly, the music in Frank Brown park is some of the best. I have been raving about a young teenage guitarist who was playing with Little Ozzie! So, put this trip on your wish list for fall of 2018 or Spring of 2019. We will certainly be there!

By Jeani G.

Misfit Angels is an amazing group of friends and family members who have come together to offset the financial burden of several people in our local community who are fighting the battle against cancer. This year’s benefit on April 21st combined two awesome poker runs: the West Volusia run started at Shotz with stops at Foxhead, Critters and Dolly’s Old Time Tavern; while the Seminole run started at Shovelhead and included stops at Rhonda’s Neighborhood Bar, Shay’s Airport Lounge and Blackie’s … both rides ended at OB’s Restaurant and Lounge in DeLand.

A $10 donation covered your poker hand, dinner plate and concert. OB’s provided a delicious pork barbeque sandwich with homemade coleslaw, baked beans and a variety of other sides. The festivities included 50/50 drawings, fun carnival games such as Wheel of Fortune and Queen of Hearts, a silent auction for a huge variety of baskets that were all handmade with love, and a live auction for a myriad of cool items including a custom-built Harley Davidson bar. There was also a bike show where the winners were awarded very unique trophies fabricated from motorcycle parts.

And then there was the all-day concert that kept us all rockin’ … with a fantastic mix of music provided by 6 different bands: Plum Crazy, Barfly, Groove Principle, Rolling Heavy, Highway Starz and Fugnutz. There was a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy from disco and funk, to classic rock, to heavy metal and hard rock, to Southern rock and blues.

So many wonderful people donated their time, creativity and talents to make this event a huge success and to help this year’s 5 cancer warriors. It was truly a wonderful day filled with food, fun and unlimited memories!

Be sure to come out to OB’s for their Wednesday Bike Nites – starting at 6 pm, featuring live music and food and drink specials … great service, great people and lots of fun! Say “hello” to OB, Tina, Kristie and Ashley who always serve up heapin’ helpings of hospitality! Hope to see you there – ride on, help a neighbor and share the love!

By Metric & Phoenix

Stormy Hill Harley Davidson celebrates their “Sweet 16” anniversary party in high fashion. Stormy Hill gave away free food, beer and $5,000.00 worth of prizes including $1,600.00 in CASH!!!! Several local businesses donated door prizes and gift certificates. The 50/50 winner walked away with $162.00. Stormy Hill gave away a big screen TV, a three-night cruise, an eight-day trip to Mexico but the “sweet” prize winner was Mike Wicker who walked away with the $1600.00 in CASH!!

In addition to all the activity going on outside with all the vendors to include “DEMO” rides, the Steve Green Band was rocking the house with their Hard Rock music. Inside the staff had some “sweet deals” on new wheels and apparel. Marg aka “The Leather lady” with Good to Go Leathers was “sweet’ enough to squeeze me in to do a little emergency surgery on my cut “Thank you”.

Stormy Hill Harley-Davidson knows how to throw a “sweet” party. Phoenix and I will definitely come back each year to help Stormy Hill celebrate their anniversary. I can’t wait to see what they will be giving away at their twentieth anniversary party.

By Lulu

If you haven’t taken a ride on US 1 to Port Orange in the last year then you wouldn’t know about the new Winners Bar. Owners Jeff and Nina Hayes took over and they have really turned this into a wonderful neighborhood watering hole. The staff is super friendly, the beer is ice cold, and Jeff and Nina have injected a unique energy for creating new events and fun things to keep it fresh! Their Dirty Bingo night is one of the local’s favorite! Cornhole tournaments, pool tournaments, darts and karaoke all are some of the fun that Winner’s Bar offers. From time to time they have live music as was the case at their first anniversary party where Stone Free rocked the packed house to complete a great day. Nina shared her passion for animal rescue by raising a bunch of cash for Pawsibilities in Port Orange with auctions and raffles. They even had a couple of puppies on hand for adoption and some kind souls took home a new family member. Nina and Jeff are real genuine folks so ride in and spend some time on one of the stools. No doubt you will leave as a friend!

By Lulu

So summer is here and there should be dancing in the streets! The economy is better for most. Rocket man and Trump are shaking hands and trying to find a way to make peace…not war. Hopefully, the rainy days of Florida will let us go back to being called the Sunshine State!

TJ got us out riding on a Sunday in June. We haven’t had one dry day since early May. So we keep our Twisted Tea ponchos ready to throw on, so with black clouds all around us I figured we would be donning them before the day was over. We started at Saints & Sinners where we met up with Jennifer and Jim from out in Putnam County. We were riding with them to Renegade’s on the River for a few drinks and a bit of relaxation on two wheels. They took us to Welaka Lodge next and there we met two new peeps Crash and Horny Dave. Horny Dave has been reading my Pony Tales since the beginning and claims to have every issue! Dave reminded me of articles from back in the Bull Connors days!

Which leads me to this paragraph. Bull died in July 2007 leaving behind friends and a family who miss him to this day! Bull had only started Thunder Roads Florida six months before his suicide. In a moment of pure grief the corporate office offered me the reins of Thunder Roads Florida. Not wanting to let go of Bull or the motorcycle world he rode me into I agreed. What a struggle it was emotionally, financially and trying to do it alone. I did have help and encouragement along the way. Lil Jon, Amy & Shane, Sherry, Kevin & Howie from the White Eagle, Bill from Twisted Tea, KNEECAP, Micky & Rich, Ron, Raven, Deborah, Metric, Phoenix, Mike Miller, Toni, Steve and, of course, Glenn from the Dog Pound all kept me afloat the first few years. But if it wasn’t for the kindness of readers like Horny Dave who would come up and say nice things about the magazine…making it seem as if I belonged in this two-wheel world I probably would have given up. Along came TJ my partner and editor now for the past three years…what a difference! We now print twice as many magazines and distribute to over 500 locations from Pensacola to Miami! And due to his business sense, which I don’t possess, I no longer worry about how to pay the bills!

The day proceeded with us dodging the rain all day. We stopped next at a cool bar in Welaka, Long’s Log Cabin, where Jennifer tends bar. It was getting late and we had one last stop 45 miles away…OB’s to meet Ken and Jeanie. Well you just have to love motorcyclists who at the last sip of their drink spontaneously jump on their bikes and ride along for the final leg of our day long journey.

And that is what I love about you motorcycle nuts!!! Dust off your bike, go for a long ride and don’t forget your sunscreen!