By Lulu

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The staff of Stormy Hill really put on a nice tribute ride complete with lunch, live music and some patriotism! The ride started at Gator Harley-Davidson with pancakes served by CMA. There was a Blessing of the Bikes. Then the Lake County Sheriff’s Department led the procession to Stormy Hill where the flapping American flags greeted them. The Boy Scouts put on a flag raising ceremony and inside was a table set in memory of MIAs. It always makes me stop in my tracks to think of those who never made it home to their families. The music was awesome and a special thank you to Stormy Hill and Gator Harley-Davidson for 10 years of honoring our veterans. Proceeds from the day’s event went to DAV. Thanks to all who rode and contributed to this important event.

By Donnie Reese

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The 19th Street Charities hosted a poker run on November 19th at the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) Branch 290. The event was promoted by the Son’s of the Beaches (SOB’s). There were over 100 bikes in attendance even though the morning started out a little on the cool side. After having a nice breakfast, the riders headed out for their 4-stop journey. The riders then returned to the FRA where Highway Jones provided live music and Richard O’Reilly dished out a fine BBQ dinner. There were several raffles and a silent auction as well.

The 5th Annual 19th Street Charities Toys for Tots escort ride was held on Dec. 3 The ride was escorted by the Florida State Police, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and the Jacksonville Beach Police. A total of 191 bikes participated in the ride that escorted members of the USMC Bravo Company 4 to the Jacksonville Beach Pavilion to pick up toys donated by the 501c non-profit organization. The Marines had to make 2 trips to pick up all the donations. Riders included The Son’s of the Beaches, American Legion Riders from several chapters, Veteran Enforcers Motorcycle Association and many other big hearted bikers. This year’s donation, valued at over $22,000 will provide assistance to over 200 families with gifts for children. Last year the 19th Street Charities donation was the second largest in this area to Toys 4 Tots, the Jacksonville Jaguars were the largest.

By Lulu

Our second year to party on the greens for charity! Black Bear Golf Club in Eustis was the course that permitted scantily clothed women, Harley clad men and riding boots to parade around hitting little white balls for fun and a good cause. Even Bobby Friss came back a second year…I know he is a great musician, but I heard he is quite good at golf too, I figure he was here for Jack Daniels and hot pants! At the end of the day all had a great day. We had to leave before any awards were given to make it to Thunder Beach in Panama City for the fall rally but we want to thank Gator Harley, Black Bear Golf Club and everyone who played to help the breast cancer charities that benefitted from the day of golf!

By Nikki Linn

On Friday November 18th Grandview Live threw a Thanksgiving fundraiser for the Arni Foundation called “Be Thankful for the Puppies”.  The fundraiser was held at Grandview Live and they helped collect food for all the shelter animals, toys, treats and more.  We filled a huge pickup bed!!! All the critters at Arni were VERY happy!!!  The club also raised more than $2,200.00 from a silent auction and donations!!! Thank you to Jimbo and Joe V for all their help and all the people who came out!!!

The Arni Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit animal shelter here in Daytona Beach.  We rescue dogs and cats from area kill shelters on the day they are going to be euthanized.  We then fix all the animals, do shots, microchipping, worming, etc… and find them forever homes!!! We rely entirely on donations to operate and our only paid employees are vet-techs!!!  Check out our adoptable animals at Arni Foundation Facebook page or www.arnifoundation.org.

We are always looking for volunteers to walk dogs, play with critters or clean!!!   We also always need: canned dog and cat food, toys, treats, cleaning supplies, old towels and blankets, collars and leashes!!!! And, of course, $$$ for vet bills!

Come on in and visit. We are located at 600 Mason Ave in Daytona Beach!  Open 8-5 every day except Sunday.   386-257-3030

Thank you!!!!

By Raven Van Pelt

American Legion Riders Chapter 9 held the 2nd Annual CMO”s Kids Poker Run on Saturday November 5th.  CMO”s Kids is a 501c (3) not for profit organization that takes special needs children, physically, mentally or economically disabled, on life changing/life empowering outdoor experiences such as hunting, fishing and camping.

The ride started at American Legion Post 316, with breakfast during registration. There were several stops with American Legion Chapter 9, being the final stop. BBQ dinner was included in the registration. Great raffle prizes, phenomenal LIVE auction items and a 50/50 were held while Circus rocked the night away.

CMO’S KIDS is always looking for people who are willing to volunteer to help with our events, both helping to organize and run them, and to provide the necessary elbow grease to make sure each event goes off smoothly.  Any help is appreciated.

By Lulu

In Sebastian on Indian River Dr. is a great spot for cooling your pipes! They are known for their huge outside Tiki garden and great music. Frannie throws a Sunday concert series, a Thursday night bike night; and for just about any holiday there is something going on. At Earl’s the crowd really participates! On Halloween, the costumes were awesome! We happened upon Big Engine and they were celebrating Hans’ birthday with cake and singing. If you get a chance to see Love Valley perform you must! We caught them on one of Earl’s bike nights and we loved this band! Another bonus at Earl’s is the pizza! A huge slice for $2.50, $3 if you add pepperoni and it is almost more than you can eat! This bar for those of you traveling the east coast of Florida is on US 1. They are one of our new clients and their ad will keep you informed of the many happenings scheduled, it is a nice ride from just about anywhere and right by the bar is Capt. Hiram’s, a cool hotel, if you want to make a night of it!

By Lulu

Our first south Florida Twisted Tea Bike Night was at Mickey’s Tiki Bar in Pompano Beach. Alan started carrying Twisted Tea just for me! If you haven’t stopped in Mickey’s while traveling through the southeast part of our sunny state, I can tell you this it is a REAL biker bar. Outside seating, good drinks, GREAT music and an owner who rides. This is what attracts bikers from all over to Alan’s cool joint! We raised $101 in cash thanks to the nice man who gave his $50 winnings back and about 20 pounds of food, the cash and food were donated to Our Father’s House right in Pompano. A special surprise at our event at Mickey’s was Bill Grotto from Twisted Tea who rode in as did our Tampa reps Bill and Deborah Speicher! Great seeing you guys.

By Lulu

What an awesome event! The weather was perfect. The traffic bearable, probably because it wasn’t too hot! But best yet our hotel was perfect…thank you so much Holiday Inn Resort. A beautiful view, great hot tub, delicious breakfast and beachfront bar…you couldn’t ask for more. Oh wait…what about a wonderful staff? Holiday Inn Resort had that too, from maids to hostesses everyone we met was on their best behavior. I know there are hotels that are part of Thunder Beach’s event but often they are filled by the time we get to make our reservations. We totally lucked out by finding this gem in Panama City Beach! Now don’t book your room before I get my room saved for the spring rally!

By Deborah Speicher

The mission of the national Harley Owners Group (“HOG”) is to ride and have fun, so when I arrived at the registration office for the Florida State HOG Rally (October 26-29), I realized that it would be just that – lots of riding and lots of fun.  In addition to a schedule of events, I also received a ride guide.  During each day of the event, there were a minimum of two rides that were guided or self-guided.  Add a poker run, demo rides and off-site parties, the riding never ended.   Perfect weather, scenic roads a group of riding buddies from my HOG Chapter (Old Town HOG) and other like-minded riders, made this a great event.

The hub for this event was Sun‘n Fun in Lakeland.  If you just rode there, there was plenty to do and see – an antique bike show/aircraft display, live music, factory demo rides, vendors, food, drill team demonstrations, and an opportunity to meet riding legend Gloria Tramontin Struck.  Gloria is 91 years young and still riding two wheels; an H-D Heritage Softtail to be more exact!   For a fee, you could also ride something other than a Harley as helicopter and biplane flights were available as well.
Saturday evening the event came to a close with the announcement of winners of prizes and raffles, awards to various HOG members who made this event possible, and then some dancing to the great music of the Déjà Vu Band.  I heard this band in Shreveport earlier this year and they play music that you can actually dance to!

I have always felt that a great part of owning a Harley is being part of HOG.  If you own a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and don’t belong to HOG, get more information, go to:  https://members.hog.com/

By Deborah Speicher

I have been having a great time these past few months attending the Ladies’ Nights at Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson in St. Petersburg (formerly Jim’s H-D). These monthly events feature everything ladies like – hair styling, manicures, makeup, chair massages, fashion shows, ladies only bike shows and so much more! I would be remiss not to mention the giveaways. We are talking about store gift cards and Rider Academy classes!

The man behind all the fun is Bert King who also owns Bert’s Black Widow Harley-Davidson in Port Charlotte. The ‘Cuda dealership states that they “operate on three principals: to give you kick ass customer experiences; to get you the sweetest ride on two wheels; and throw the best parties in Tampa Bay!”
In addition to the monthly Ladies Night, there is a lot happening at this dealership — Friday night bike night, free food and live entertainment every weekend, etc. Check it out next time you are in the area!

By Lulu

Mid Florida in Marion County on Silver Springs Blvd. in Ocala the tartan plaid skirts were flying around as The Bearded Brothers Band brought the bike night season to a close at the Tilted Kilt. The place was so packed it was hard to get around to take pictures. The season starts up again in the spring I believe in April so look for their ads so you can take a ride to horse country for great food, hot girls, great music and friends old and new who love to ride!

By Dave Twichell

Hurricane Matthew laid its deadly force on Florida cancelling the 8th Annual Unity Outreach Think Pink Ride for Breast Cancer in October. Cancer of any kind doesn’t stop for extreme weather and neither do we, so the ride for Hope, Support, and Research was rescheduled for November 19th. One doesn’t have to look far to find someone afflicted by Breast Cancer – a quarter-million Women every year and sixty-thousand Men will battle the deadly beast. An estimated 40,000 people will die from this fight in 2016.

With extensive support from St. John’s County Sheriff’s Department over a hundred bikers were escorted from the Flagler Imaging Center. Perfect weather was a blessing for the seventy-mile route. Residents lined the roadside to cheer on the parade of supporters and survivors. Plenty of downed Cypress trees and damage piles served up the pre-Thanksgiving reminder of how much vengeance rained down from Matthew just weeks earlier.

As with nearly all benefit rides, the crowd was diverse in both Machines and their Riders. After such an ugly month for America, bikers are one group of citizens that can put aside our differences for a common cause any given day. We rode together on heavy steel with loud-ass pipes alongside comfy Cruisers kickin’ jams through City & Swamp. A harmony of sorts was thrown together to raise awareness and lofty dreams of ultimately eliminating this cancerous threat.

By Lulu

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Phaedra Lee and the crew at Main Street Station do a few things extremely well. They have made quite a name for themselves as being a “must do” bike night with $1 beer. They are also known as one of the best spots for hearing great bands. And over the last couple years they have put on the most attended bikini contest anywhere in town! This year was no exception. Even with the smaller attendance of Biketoberfest the place was packed liked sardines. Nicole Gatrell walked away with the title but all the girls took home some cash. Be certain to join in during Bike Week and if your girlfriend is smokin’ hot tell her to sign up…you never know she may just win!

By Lulu

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History is what Biketoberfest is now. This yearly event has been going on for 20 years. AND part of the history is …the Cabbage Patch Bar. Sadly, the week after Biketoberfest, owner Ronnie Luznar died in an automobile accident. I took a quick picture of Ronnie with TJ and bounced off to catch some shots of Joe Santana never dreaming it would be my final shot of him. The Cabbage Patch is a family tradition. His aunt passed the bar on to Ronnie and Ronnie’s boys Roger and Ronnie will continue the family business.

As usual this year the bike shows, music inside and out, vendors, scantily clothed bartenders and the coleslaw show gave us plenty to look at. The wrestling got delayed due to a rainstorm so I must thank Jackman Photos for the photos of the wrestling and the winner as we had to make it to the next venue on a time frame.

Our sympathies to the Luznar family and to the friends of Cabbage Patch Bar, as we know Ronnie will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

By Lulu

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No one knew what to expect for Biketoberfest post Hurricane Matthew, but the one event I knew would go on without a hitch was Willie’s Chopper Time. This is a well-honed machine. Twice a year Willie and the crew register bikes, cram the lot full of bikes, then get them judged and awards given. Roadside Marty yells at them through the microphone trying to herd the cats! The bands this year were Jasmine Cain and Rick and the Trouble Makers rocking the back yard. Of course, like everywhere the crowds were down, but it made those in attendance able to get around a bit better. I could get in and take pictures a lot easier. Willie would like to thank all the entries, all who attended and his sponsors for making this one of the best events of Bike Week and Biketoberfest each year. The sponsors were: The Horse, Back Street Choppers Magazine, Twisted Tea, Biker’s Choice, Self Made Customs, Rue & Ziffra, PA, Bare Bones Leather, Chop Docs, Cycle Source Magazine, Led Sled, Biker’s Pocket Guide, Bling’s Cycles, Boomer’s Bike Shop, Lucky Loser, DK Customs, Lowbrow Customs, Anvil Customs, Black Water Guns, TC Bros Choppers, Biltwell, Custom Chrome, Hijinx Apparel, Raven Hollow Leather, Factory Metal Works, Billet Proof, BD’s Customs, Mo’s Customs & Suspension Technologies.

To view more photos of winners go to our Facebook page at Thunder Roads Florida!