By Jeani G.

The 2nd annual Saddle Up for St. Jude Poker Run and Music Fest took place on Saturday, April 6th at the World-Famous Iron Horse Saloon in Ormond Beach. God blessed us with beautiful weather and the fundraising committee: Sherry, Gator Ken & Jeani, and Scott & Jen; with the partnership of our main sponsor Rue & Ziffra and Iron Horse owners Sally and Melissa, organized a spectacular event! Over five hundred riders, along with special guest NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, enjoyed breakfast at the Iron Horse before riding off into the sunshine. Stops included the Dog House, Cabbage Patch, a wild card at Sorry Charlie’s, Boot Hill Saloon on Main Street, then back to the Iron Horse for lots more fun!

The overwhelming generosity of riders, sponsors, local community donations, auctions, raffles, and the efforts of over thirty-five volunteers enabled an overjoyed committee along with Lisa of Rue & Ziffra to make a loving donation in the amount of $78,105 on April 29th to Dawn of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital … simply incredible! As you may know, since opening more than 62 years ago, St. Jude has helped push the cancer survival rate of children from 20% to 80% and families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food.

The fundraising itself began many months earlier with live guitar auctions during Biketoberfest and Bike Week (autographed by musicians Colt Ford, Eddie Montgomery, Hairball, Whey Jennings, Corey Smith, and Chris Cagle), raffle ticket sales for a metal alligator sculpture hand-crafted by Howard, Skylar’s lemonade stand sales, securing sponsorships, and collecting baskets and auction items donated by local businesses and restaurants. Everyone in the community was so eager to join in and the outpouring of love was simply outstanding!

The day’s festivities included non-stop music by exciting and talented local bands: LA Robinson, Panic Station, and Gun Shy. Beth and Jeff emceed the party and kept things rolling with live auctions of fabulous items such as a Twisted Tea beach bike, SWAT experience with Volusia County Sheriff’s Dept, 13-foot gator head by John Walker Taxidermy, Lee Greenwood guitar plus Soldier Valley bourbon and American Poly Furniture surfboard table with stools. Attendees also enjoyed a cornhole tournament, 50/50 raffle, gun raffles, dice game, t-shirt sales and bidding on silent auction baskets. Chris Rhoads with WHOG did a live radio feed. Food vendors included Tacos Land, hot dog cart, Skylar’s fresh lemonade, Wild Nut House, and Iron Horse’s kitchen. In a very touching moment, Suzette the mother of a St. Jude survivor, shared her family’s journey beginning with her son’s diagnosis, fighting strong through the years, and winning the battle!

A huge THANK YOU to all of the riders, volunteers, auction participants and event attendees who shared their day with us and also to all of the Sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible: Rue & Ziffra, Hot Action Sportswear, Iron Horse Saloon, Southern Country Customs, Barton & Barton Feed & Supply, Veterans Support Fund, Red White & Blue Heating and A/C, Boot Hill Saloon, OB’s Restaurant & Lounge, Jeep Beach, Twisted Tea, A-OK Guns, United Rentals, Hard Rock Hotel, Beery Roofing, Custom Dynamics, Hook’s Charity, MGN Contracting and J&J Corner Storage, as well as countless monetary donations.

Gator Ken summed up the day’s event in five simple words “It’s all about the children!”
Thanks again for everyone’s support and to view more photos of the day’s event and guitar auctions, please go to Thunder Roads Florida Facebook and look for albums of St. Jude Run as well as Bike Week and Biketoberfest.

By Lulu

Coleslaw wrestling, vendors selling their wares, bike shows, and sound offs are mainstays at Cabbage Patch Bar in Samsula for Bike Week. Great bands including Joe Santana & The Kingfish and Derek Trull & Easy Street to name a few of our favorites entertain the masses all 10 days! The bartenders are always friendly as they sling drinks as fast as they can! The crowds for the Coleslaw chicks were many peeps deep! The champion, Cookie, retained her belt! Cabbage Patch is a great stop for poker runs or charity benefits. Check their events in the ad in Thunder Roads Florida for live music, et al.

By Lulu

Teddy Morse’s huge property was PACKED with bikes vendors and shoppers! Saints & Sinners stage was rocking the crowds. Budweiser’s Clydesdale Parade was a crowd favorite. The Pavilion had bike shows including Full Throttle’s, Hardcore Cycles, Flying Pistons Builders’ Breakfast, Bike Show Mafia’s Trike Show & All Class Bike Show, Harley-Davidson & Renegade’s Babes Ride-in Bike Show, Godfather of Bass Sound Off and Kory Souza’s No Class Bike Show. Stunt riders were featured in Urias Family Globe of Death and on the property the Drifter’s Collection Stunt Show. A free bikini bike wash had bikers lined up! And the big band this year was Jesse James Dupree! The Miss Teddy Morse’s Daytona H-D Bikini Contest once again had beautiful bodies on stage. Inside the dealership lots of shoppers were milling around and new and used bikes were being sold. DEFINITELY Teddy Morse’s Daytona H-D rocked Bike Week 2024!!!

By Lulu

There is always a party happening at OBs in Deland. March was no exception with Deland Bike Rally, Bike Week, the Burning Bike After Party, OB’s birthday party complete with a bikini contest, Yuengling’s Tattoo Contest with Willie from Tropical Tattoo running the show and their Wednesday night bike nights! Oh, and a bike show! Add to that great music is a mainstay with bands such as Deadlanders and the Matt O’Ree band to name a few. Coming up in June is the Americana Bike Show on June 23rd, complete with Miss Americana Contest! So, saddle up and see you there!

We have had a great spring! Now we are headed for the Dog Days of Summer and lucky enough to be spending a bit of it in cooler temperatures. In June we will be on a cruise to Alaska, followed by a week in Cape Cod with friends, in August, Gator Ken and Jeani have a house rented in Clyde, N.C so we will be visiting Bobarosa, a cool biker bar on a river that we found last year and enjoying some of the prettiest riding anywhere. Sounds like our life is a vacation…but we have spent countless hours putting the magazine together and attending motorcycle rallies all spring, and at age 70 I am worn out!!! I need retreads!!

This summer we still have lots on the events calendar. In June, OB’s Americana Bike Show with $1000 cash for Best in Show and $1000 for Miss Americana bikini contest happens on Sunday, 23rd. Boot Hill Saloon will be rocking Independence Day! And Pirate’s Pub has their Too Broke For Sturgis Party the 1st Saturday of August. I heard through the grapevine that Patti Miracle is the new co-owner of the old Steel Around Tavern in Astor. After a complete remodel, it will return to the original name, Forest Tavern, on Rt 40 just east of Drifter’s on the River.

We are also waiting impatiently for the huge tiki bar at Drifter’s to get the city’s permission to open!! That is one awesome tiki! Stay hydrated this summer with more water than alcohol, kiss your loved ones often and don’t forget your sunscreen.

By Lulu

Each spring, right as Bike Week kicks off, the Antique Motorcycle Club of America Sunshine Chapter celebrates biking history with a 3-day event. The bike show is AMCA sanctioned, and beautifully restored antique bikes are there to compete. A giant swap meet filled the huge venue at Municipal Stadium on LPGA Blvd. Friday night there was a banquet with Corky Coker. While walking through the swap meet, I snapped a shot of Daren Bennett working at a booth. On a sad note, he passed away during Bike Week a few days after I shot his smiling face!! Next year the event is moving to Volusia County Fairgrounds and the dates are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday February 27, 28 and March 1, 2025.

By Lulu

If you haven’t experienced Broken Spoke Saloon yet you are missing out. I call it the Disney of biker bars. The beautiful, majestic oaks that give the gift of shade to the masses, also house the twinkling lights at night making it a magical place. Every day bike shows, car shows, a bikini contest, or bands, keep the property hopping. 1st Saturday it was the Rat Rod Bash, 1st Sunday Warren Lane’s Antique Gathering, Tuesday Cycle Source Custom Bike Show, Wednesday Perewitz Custom Paint Show, Friday Dennis Kirk’s Garage Build Bike Show, 2nd Saturday the 1st Miss Broken Spoke Bikini Contest (featured in the May issue, photos can be viewed at Thunder Roads Florida Facebook), and the 2nd Sunday a Vintage Car & Bike Show. Day and night bands including the famous Hairball, ROCK the huge property. Other bands included Bobby Friss, Loose Lips, Kiss America, Stone Senate, and Buckshot. A favorite of all who visit the Spoke is Southern Country Customs with their amazing builds, Rusty & Steve Wallace are often onsite to answer questions and even sign an autograph or two! Of course, beautiful bartenders are happy to sling a cold one or pour up your favorite spirits. Add to all that Bike Week and Biketoberfest the bands signed guitars that went up for auction to raise much needed funds for the Veterans Support Fund and for the Saddle Up for St. Jude’s event in April. Have to love a bar that works hard to show the people a good time and finds time and energy to help good causes!!

By Lulu

The spectacle to see each Bike Week is at Volusia County Fairgrounds. You can sign the monstrosity built with wood in the shape of a motorcycle and biker early in the week, but on the last Friday of Bike Week the entire thing goes up in flames, lit by bearers of torch flames. First though to get the heat started they have a slew of girls in skimpy bikinis vie for the cash prize and title of Miss Burning Bike! The top three girls Sandi, Nickie and Jazzmyn walked away with the trophies! And Sandi the crown! Had to be hard for the judges to choose! A definite must do and the crowds are insane so get there early!! There is a fee to enter, but I think it is well worth the ticket!

By Lulu

The old Dog Pound Saloon had a change of hands quite a while ago. Under the new ownership of Tom & Lisa, 1405 Saloon is an old school party during Bike Week! They put on one hell of a show with a wet-tee contest that had men bidding on the chance to wet a bevy of girls that were not afraid of showing them a good time! Live music on the outdoor stage, full liquor and a great staff makes this a cool joint for a bit of biker fun! Anytime you are in the Bunnell/Flagler area check this bar out at 1405 Moody Blvd.

By Lulu

Known for their world-famous T-shirts, beef tips, great music acts and the Wall of Death, there is something for everyone at the Iron Horse Saloon. This year the music during Bike Week included Colt Ford, Diamond Rio, Corey Smith, Chris Cagle, Whey Jenning, Bobby Friss, Loose Lips, Church of Cash, Jess Zimmerman, Cowboy & Buckshot.

We are pleased to say that Colt Ford is recovering after surviving a major heart attack on April 3rd in Albert, Arizona after a performance at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row. I am sure God heard the prayers of the staff at Iron Horse and all his fans!

The Iron Horse headliners signed guitars during Bike Week and Biketoberfest and the proceeds of those auctions benefitted St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Veterans Support Fund! This bar is very involved in the community and is always first to support those in need.

By Lulu

Big Engine was rocking the crowd at The Dog House in Port Orange. Bill Grotto and the Twisted Tea girls were on hand to give out koozies and bandanas for those drinking the famous Twisted Teas! Missing this year was Tank, after all it is the Dog House, but loud music makes him a bit nervous and he is a famous TV star, so he calls the shots! Thank you, Twisted Tea, for being such a big part of the rally seasons and for supporting Thunder Roads Florida magazine!!! Go to their ad in this issue and sign up for the next Twisted Tea bike giveaway with the QR code. The bike will be given away July 11th, 2024!! You could be the next lucky winner!!

By Lulu

This year instead of holding a benefit at the clubhouse on International Speedway Blvd, the Daytona 200 MC put on a dice run. Starting at the Clubhouse we had a chance to look at the amazing baskets up for raffle, purchase a dice sheet and throw your first 3 red, white & blue die. Next stop was OBs, and I had a really good score going, but things went downhill from there. Left my sheet at OBs and had to wait at the next stop, a Circle K on Rt 40, for my hand to arrive and the next 3 throws were awful. I missed the1405 Saloon stop because I waited too long at Circle K and spent too long at OBs with Gator Ken and a Bloody Mary! Final stop was Beaver Bar for free BBQ and the basket raffles. Finally, things went the way I wanted. I walked away with 2 golf baskets and a week in the mountains!! Of course, my wallet weighed quite a bit less, but the benefit saves 2 lives! The pup gets a warrior to love and care for them, and the warrior has their “best friend”! If you are looking for an organization to get involved in, the folks at Daytona 200 are the oldest MC on record, and are looking for new members. They celebrated their 80th anniversary in 2023! They are all nice peeps, and their clubhouse is really nice too.

By Lulu

During Bike Week 2024 The Broken Spoke Saloon hosted their first Miss Broken Spoke Contest and seven smoking hot girls not only took the stage, but they also posed on bikes for the crowd to have their photos taken by anyone who wanted to get up close and personal. The girls were not only great looking they were all genuinely nice. The winner was Paige with Elecia and Sandi as runners up. The winning hottie took home a cool $1000!! Twisted Tea was the sponsor of this year’s event and Bill, and the Twisted Tea girls were there too. Jay Allen emceed the contest, and he was tongue tied at least once watching the girls strut their stuff. I heard they will be doing this again next spring so saddle up and join the fun.

By Lulu

Each Bike Week we take a crew of amazing people for a ride out in the country, some are old friends and some we have never met before. This year bad weather was projected, and I almost called it off, yet it turned out to be absolutely a perfect day. We started at The Hideout in Holly Hill where Tara provided great food for our bellies fortifying us for the day. Off we rode to our first stop, 3 Bananas in Crescent City for cocktails and some couldn’t pass up on great food with a pretty view of the lake. Next, we made our way to The Hideaway Bar & Grill in Pomona Park. Lisa goes all out and makes the trip to her bar memorable! She had a sex swing in the giant oak, saddles for photo ops, balloons inside for more photos but this year the guys loved beating the crap out of a Jap bike!!! Next stop was the Gnarly Gar, a great waterfront dive bar that was the old Hermit’s Cove. The new owners have really cleaned this place up but maintained enough of the “dive bar” atmosphere to make this one of our favorite spots to ride to. Always call first as it is a trip, and they are not open 7 days a week. They have added Wednesdays to their open days, so now they are open Wednesday through Sunday. Final stop for the whole group was Renegade’s on the River, a huge RV resort/ restaurant/and beautiful tiki bar situated on the St. John’s River. We completed the ride in time for those who chose to ride back to The Other Place in Ormond Beach for their weekly Shovelhead Night. See the article in this issue for that coverage. Many more photos of the day can be found on Thunder Roads Florida. Join us during Biketoberfest for the fall ride!

By Lulu

Twice a year the crew at Howlin Wolf in Melrose put on an old school bike event that is worth the ride! Bike show, bike games, burn outs and sexy biker contest gives everyone something to entertain those who long for the way things once were. Twisted Fate provided rocking music all afternoon. Kevin from Gainesville Harley was a sponsor for the trophies and was onsite for this year’s contest. Ice cold beer and strong mixed drinks kept us all happy! And thank goodness this year I didn’t get a kidney stone and have to be taken to the ER!!! All had an enjoyable day! A full album of the day’s events can be seen on Thunder Roads Florida Facebook. Ride out for their fall event!!!