By Lulu

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As all of us in Florida know, we are the luckiest bikers in the world. We have year round riding weather! We may get wet, we may be hot, and at times, even need to don our leathers; but we can always ride without snow tires! So our riding brethren from all those cold parts of the USA love to invade Volusia and Flagler Counties for Bike Week and Biketoberfest. But what many, even who reside here, may not know is we have more to offer than the beach and biker bars! We have polled Volusia and Flagler County resident bikers and asked them to tell us the best biker friendly bars, restaurants and the roads they love to ride. Many you will be familiar with and some may cause you to go off your beaten path while visiting.

We have more Biker Friendly Bars than probably any other area in Florida, the favored list is as follow. (Note that the ones highlighted in yellow have ads with Thunder Roads and I would really like to see you visit them!)

In Daytona: On Main St. the list is Main Street Station, Boot Hill Saloon, Dirty Harry’s and Froggy’s. We are proud to have a very classy new gentleman’s club Grandview Live on Grandview. Some of the favorites on 1 are Saints & Sinners, Iron Horse, and during Bike Week and Biketoberfest Broken’ Spoke. Chris’ Lounge on US 1 is part of Bike Week history. Off of Flomich is an old bar Rowsey’s and off of Beach St. is an even older beer and wine bar Walden’s. On A1A in Flagler Beach is Beach Front Grille where I tend bar and gaze at the Atlantic on Mondays and then Finn’s by the pier. Going west on 100 right at the pier in Flagler will take you to the Dog Pound Saloon which one of my best friends is the owner of. If you are here the last Sunday of Bike Week it is Dog Pound’s Survivor Party which includes a free BBQ! West of US 1 on CR 2006 is Bull Creek Fish Camp with a waterfront view. Finnegan’s Black Cloud Saloon is going north on US 1 in Bunnell.

My must do list for Bike Week includes 3 things! Willie’s Chopper Time on the last Thursday of Bike Week, the bikini contest at Main Street Station and a visit to the Cabbage Patch for coleslaw wrestling

Going south on US 1 you will run into the First Turn with a great outside deck and food and we have a new ad client just south of First Turn…The Boat Bar with a very nautical look and in New Smyrna Beach, Chase’s on the beach with a pool and ocean view and Pub 44.

Out in the western area of Volusia we have the infamous Cabbage Patch renowned for their Coleslaw Wrestling in Samsula. And in Deland OB’s and Rudy’s Crossroads both great watering holes and OB’s had great burgers.

Great places to eat that are not chains are listed as: First Turn (Port Orange) for steak & seafood, Beach Front Grille (Flagler Beach), OB’s for burgers, Woodie’s BBQ is known for its great BBQ! Brick Yard (Daytona), Lulu’s off Granada beachside, Babe’s Blue Room (Ormond Beach) and Iron Horse (Ormond Beach) for burgers and DB Pickles (Ormond Beach) for home cooked foods and excellent desserts. The best spots for sushi are Bamboo Garden and Ronin’s. And even though Blackwater Inn isn’t in Volusia County it is just east on 40 and has a great outside porch in the trees and I love the shrimp!

The roads we were told to travel are A1A going north of Granada for the unobstructed beach view. The Loop starting on Beach. Many enjoy riding through the Ocala National Forest.

No visit to Volusia County is complete for a biker without dropping in on Destination Daytona. Just browsing makes it a great place to spend a few hours. Places to make stops that may not be your typical biker destination, but things we think are worth your time are The Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet, take a ride ON the beach in Daytona (don’t forget to wash the salt off), the Speedway in Daytona, Tomoka State Park with the old Fairchild Oaks and the statue of Chief Tlmokie, Bulow Ruins, visit the manatees in Blue Springs, the city of Deland has a historic downtown area and you can cook your own breakfast at DeLeon Springs. Our county also has golf, horsebackriding, sky diving, boat rentals, camping and fishing expeditions.

Many of the bars in our areas have bike nights and free BBQ to thank their biking patrons for choosing them as their riding destination. We offer wonderful homegrown musical talents so find a “Cool Joint” after a long day of riding and relax or dance the night away. And thank you for visiting Volusia and Flagler!

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

Here I am getting excited about the upcoming 75th Daytona Bike Week. Who wouldn’t be excited with approximately 500,000 bikers coming to their neighborhood for a rally that includes motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals? The rally started back in 1937 but took a break between 1942 to 1947 because of World War II. I must admit I haven’t been to all of them but I did make many.

I started thinking, “Oh My God”, I made it, and according to today’s standards I shouldn’t have. Things have changed dramatically since I was a kid. I realize life has an expiration date, but I guess mine is longer than the one on my milk carton.

When I was growing up we didn’t have child car seats or airbags. The thing that protected you from going through the windshield was your mother’s outstretched arm across your chest when she locked up the brakes… When one of your classmates died, you dealt with it. The school didn’t send in “grief counselors”. ADHD wasn’t heard of and kids were not given Mind Altering Drugs. Nobody cared about your “self-esteem”. If you failed you learned to deal with the consequences. Not everybody made the team, and the teams kept score. There was a winner and a loser. This had a way of making you stronger. I ate eggs fried in bacon grease. The biscuits, pie crusts, and fried foods were made using lard. Spam came out of a can, not in your e-mail. Come to think of it, we didn’t have the Internet, computers, cell phones, X-box’s, play stations, tablets or television with limitless channels. We had real friends and real books not a thing called Facebook .We had “Social Networking” it was called “Go outside and play”. We even got into fights with other kids, even our friends. We’d end up with bruises, scrapes, cuts, and sometimes even broken bones. I rode horses, went hunting when I was 10 with a real gun, and drove a pickup long before I was old enough to get a license. I was spanked by my parents and the teachers at school when I needed it. Of course, I would never tell my folks that I got my butt spanked at school because I knew they’d whip my ass again. That did teach me something. It was called “Respect”. I always carried a pocket knife, rifles and shotguns on my pickup gun rack and a .357 in the glove box. I never remember hearing about killings in our schools. The “Pledge of Allegiance” started my school day. I didn’t even lock the doors of my house. I never worried about going out after dark. There were bad things and good things but we didn’t need the government to tell us what was right or wrong. The 10 Commandments told us. I was not Politically Correct, because I wasn’t afraid to say what I felt and thought. Everyone had the right to be offended or offend. I’m not sick, I’m twisted. Sick has a cure. On second thought, maybe it was all the lead-based paint that I chewed off the windowsills that led me to be able to write this column. When we have a meeting of the minds, mine has a tendency not to show up.

Remember Florida, March 15 is the Presidential Preference Primary election. Polls show that many of Americans are dissatisfied with the way our politicians are running our government. But who picked them? Take the time to research the candidates and “VOTE”.

Read more on my website nobodiesopinion.com

See you on the shiny side up tomorrow

By Lulu

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Cold and windy, a lightning storm would have been the only thing to make the weather worse for the annual Builder Expo at Quaker Steak & Lube. Tents were flapping and most vendors finally just put them away and settled for full sun. But as always Tony had a room full of cutting edge bikes all vying for the champion ring and trophies. Live music by the likes of the Greg Billing Band entertained the crowds when the burlesque girls were done. Lots of vendors and of course great food and drinks were being served! Always nice to see old friends which to our surprise included Bill Grotto from Twisted Tea who puts more miles on the highway than anyone I know.

By Lulu

Our Thunder Roads Twisted Tea Bike Night in January was on a cold night, but the insides of Rudy’s Crossroads were on fire! Carly, our Twisted Tea girl of the night, was looking smokin’ hot and serving up ice cold Tea. But the real heat of the night was when Rudy set the bar on fire! We raised $83 for the Second Harvest Food Bank in our raffle and a bit of groceries which made a night of music, food and fun…a night of something good for those less fortunate. The free wings and macaroni and cheese served that night was AWESOME! So when you are looking for somewhere fun to ride to make sure you put Rudy’s in Deland on your map!

By Lulu

If you haven’t made it down to Six Bends H-D in Ft. Myers you really should. The new dealership is awesome. We happened to be on premise for their car show. The parking lot was crammed full of bikes, cars and people. Music filled the air and the smell of grilled hot dogs made us want to stay when we really needed to hit the road to continue dispersing the new issues of Thunder Roads throughout the state. The staff, in particular, Alexis, couldn’t have been nicer. A beautiful showroom, a great staff and a dealership filled with Harleys makes this a stop for any bike traveling I75.

By Deborah Speicher

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On Sunday November 22, we celebrated two anniversaries. The 19th anniversary of Full Throttle Magazine and the 12th Anniversary of Quaker Steak & Lube. The party was hosted at the Lube and started with free lunch (pulled pork/chips and beer).

There was also a lot going on to keep everyone entertained – music by The Black Honkeys, bike show, slow race, weenie bite and a bikini contest. During the day, $100 H-D gift cards were given away and a big screen TV was the last thing to go to one lucky winner (courtesy of attorney Fran Haasch); and all you had to do was be there!

Congratulations Full Throttle Magazine and Quaker Steak & Lube!

By Lulu

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Summer in January? Well if you ride south from Daytona Beach to Fort Lauderdale is seems like you experience a change of season…The Sunday afternoon was for the most part balmy, and attendance at the 8th Annual Summer Bike Fest hosted by my good friends Mike and Dee Dee was only down a bit due to a huge January storm that spawned killer tornados on the event’s weekend and destroyed his stage’s roof. The partying crowd seemed to be happy to be in the parking lot and bar of The Round Up drinking Bud products, Jager and Twisted Tea!!!

The lot was full of vendors and bike builders/shops including Rick Case Honda, Broward Motorsports, Kryptic Concepts, A-1 Cycles and Cash for Motorcycles. Billy Bob’s was serving great BBQ. The food including the roasted corn was amazing.

Terry Kirby, retired 10 year NFL veteran who played with the Miami Dolphins, 49ers, Browns and Raiders including a final game Super Bowl appearance, was a celebrity judge. He was judging from his bike built by Ken’s Cycle Center.

Frozen T contest that was hosted by Freddie from A-1 Promotions and the bikini contest added to the festivities and entertained the crowd along with live music and tons of giveaways. The bikini contest winner was Reyna, second place Carlie and the 3rd place prize went to Kody. The crowd favorite seemed to be the 5 time cover girl from Playboy, Andrea Jarova, was happy to pose with her puppy for the eager photographers.

By Lulu

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The International Motorcycle Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center in January is full of vendors, and new models of motorcycles and gear. There is a huge train track and this year there was even haircuts! The guys from Cartel Baggers seemed to dominate the bike show hosted by JP Cycles. Vendors from BMW, Ducati, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Indian, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, Yamaha, Can Am/Spyder, KTM, Victory and Star filled the showroom. I also want to give a shout out to my friend Jillian who was down from St. Augustine doing pin striping at Hellcat’s booth and to Tony from Full Throttle…that is what I love about visiting distant events…seeing friends on the circuit. The dates for the February International Bike

Shows are 2/5-7 in Minneapolis, MN, 2/12-14 in Chicago, IL and 2/20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

Aristotle teaches that while we must love our friends, we must love truth more. We need to understand what has happened to America and we need to reverse the damage and restore our crumbled Constitutional Republic. Radical Islam is gaining energy daily. European cities are under siege by Muslim immigrants who refuse to integrate and are often lawless. Our own government, including the leaders of both parties, is welcoming thousands of poorly vetted refugees, even with new Islamic attacks happening on American soil with more frequency.

However, we are being saved by King Obama, who says the only thing we have to worry about is global warming. Those who denounce this action are considered racist or extremist. We are a nation already on life support with the lowest labor force participation rate since 1977, 47 million Americans, one-sixth of the country; now receive food stamps, and a national debt of more than $18.9 trillion or $154.161 per tax payer. The red ink will likely be crowding the $20 trillion mark right around the time Mr. Obama leaves the White House.

The foundation of America is rooted in the Constitution and if we stop living by its principles America will become extinct. We have an unconstitutional administration that is making a mockery of our representative government. The Iran deal and Obamacare are disasters as well as most of the policies of this administration. We need to rally our citizens, and I emphasize “Citizens” who are dedicated to the principles that our country was founded on. We need to educate our adolescents in liberty, freedom and individual rights.

They need to learn that the only “Safe Zone” is solitary confinement in a maximum security prison. In America you can be a gutless, useless, freeloading parasite that pisses on the Constitution and still get a check from the government every month. That’s true even if you’re not the President. If you are only getting minimum wage, you probably are only putting out minimum effort. Remember, the only tranquilizer you need to sleep is called “work”.

Warning: PETA is coming for Rover the puppy, Fluffy the pussycat, Goldie the goldfish and probably any other animal you have as a pet. I was brought up on a farm and learned early to separate farm animals from pets. I always felt chickens were best fried after they stop laying eggs. When I go by a pasture and I see cows I think milk, steers I think steaks, sheep I think chops, pigs I think bacon, etc. They made Ringling Brothers retire the elephants from the circus. I’m going to miss watching the beautiful pachyderms parade down the streets of Orlando and triumphantly enter the ring, then perform a synchronized dance routine. They’re also trying to shut down Sea World.

I live just south of Marineland and Northeast of Sea World Orlando and have witnessed all the good they do. The animal-rights group that touts responsible pet adoption and veganism euthanized 88% of all pets PETA rescued. Next they’ll probably say that plants have feelings, so we shouldn’t eat them either. I used to think PETA stood for People Enjoying Tasty Animals. I think now that they need to change their initials to PITA. Pain In The Ass.

This year to relieve some tension, I have decided to put a little humor on my website instead of all politics. Funny life stories before political correctness. Check it out nobodiesopinion.com.

I was told to drink responsibly. I didn’t know they made vodka named responsibly.
See you on the shiny side of tomorrow.

By Lulu

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It was a pleasure to attend my first Gibtown Bike Fest in Riverview. Set on a large waterfront property owned by an organization of carnival participants, they offer ample free car and bike parking, plenty of indoor and outdoor full liquor bars with $4 ice cold 16 oz beers, a large circus tent for the stage, a large indoor building for vendors and outdoor vendors and it was great to see our friends from Painted Harley Fairings out of Jacksonville and Custom Lighting Efx, Inc. from Daytona Beach, and some of the best burgers and carnival fare.

For a $10 admission fee you can go back in time at the I.I.S.A. museum across the street and revisit the history that has become the modern day carnival. Lots of interesting exhibits and antique rides are on display. The organizers included great bands on 5 stages including Big Engine, Molly Hatchet, Highway to Hell, and the Greg Billings Band. The Daisy Dukes contest and bikini contests were big hits. To round out the activities they had Harley-Davidson test rides, helicopter rides for $20, the Wall of Death, bike show, corn hole games, and a motorcycle stunt show.

The weather got nasty on Saturday night which I am sure hurt their attendance, but I certainly enjoyed the event and loved being able to spend the night and visit Ybor City area for the vibrant nightlife. Put this on your event calendar for next year…we think you will enjoy the fair like atmosphere that sets this bike event apart.

By Lulu

Our monthly Twisted Tea bike event takes us to a different watering hole each month. As part of the event we collect non perishable food items for the county’s food banks.

Each item you bring gives you a chance to win $50 cash. In December my bosses at Beach Front Grille were excited to host the event and even though the clouds were spitting on us a bit we had a large rowdy crowd, happily imbibing on samples of Twisted Tea and tasting the scrumptious food. If you haven’t checked out Beach Front on A1A in Flagler Beach, the food is great; the owners are great and the view fabulous.

This month’s event will be at Saints & Sinners for their Thursday night Bike Night on February 25th 6-9pm there will be snacks, $2 Twisted Tea and entertainment so put it on your calendar and come fill the food bank!!

By Lulu

I have only repeated a Bull’s Eye one other time and that was when Bruce Rossmeyer passed away, but a very dear friend of mine and of bikers in Florida died this month and I wanted to rerun the article I wrote about him years ago. Thank you for reading about someone I admired and loved dearly and will be missed by family, friends and fans!!!

There are people in life who simply live each moment, for the moment and make that moment as full as it can possibly be. Dan Haggerty, a.k.a. Grizzly Adams, is one such soul. Born in Hollywood, CA, raised in a Franciscan monastery from the age of 7-16, he was destined to spread his wings once he left to explore the world. Throughout his entire life, he has been in the midst of interesting and extraordinary people. His grandfather was the president of the AFL-CIO. His father was an Olympic skier and a union rep for the film industry. In his youth he fell in love with exotic animals and nature.

He befriended Mabel Stark, a 75 year old animal handler with Barnum and Bailey Circus. She gave him his first lion cub, which started him down the road of being an animal trainer in the film industry. He still has a game park, Wild Life Images, in Grant Pass, Oregon. At 14, he chopped his bicycle and the custom bikes he has built look very similar to that early creation. By the age of 16, he was working under Von Dutch, where he learned painting and pin striping. He has owned his own leather business, Cornocopia. He made the hat Clint Eastwood wore in Two Mules for Sister Sarah.

While at work in his leather shop with his pet wolf at his side, he was approached to have the wolf star in a movie in the south of France. So, as a true adventure seeker would; he closed up shop and flew off to France. Loving the country and life style he stayed for two years and while there attended the Cordon Bleu Culinary School. He was an animal trainer for the TV series, Tarzan, filmed in Brazil. A scene in a movie, in which he wrestled a Siberian Tiger, led to his landing the part of Grizzly Adams in the movie and eventually, the TV series with his co-star Ben. He has built custom bikes for Bill Smith of Rich Man, Poor Man fame, and Ann Margret. Dan, Sugar Bear and Tex Hall built the famous red, white and blue bikes in Easy Rider.

Today he is involved with Club Navigo Resorts as their spokesman and he says being in Florida has been an energy boost for him. He also is involved in a line of log cabins, Lang Creek Log Homes. Dan filmed 86 episodes of the Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, he has a full page of movies he has been in, including Girl Crazy with Elvis Presley, Muscle Beach with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and even Easy Rider. He was the stunt man; animal trainer and actor in Snow Tiger which he helped bring to the screen with an $185,000 budget. This film’s return for the studio was a 435 million dollar. If all of this doesn’t exhaust you, trying to get it all down on one page did me! Yet this 67 year old doesn’t seem to rest. A new Grizzly Adams film is to begin filming this spring with co-stars that include David Carradine, Robbie Knievel and possibly Drew Barrymore as his granddaughter.

He is on his bike more than just about anyone I know. When asked about his love of riding he replied, “My bike is my girlfriend, one day I love her and the next day we’re cranky, but the sound of a Harley and Ferrari are the two greatest sounds in the world.” Even a horrible MC accident in Benedict Canyon in 1994 which actually resulted in a death notice with his name on it, and left him with a bad leg, didn’t keep him off two wheels. He says he meets the most wonderful people on two wheels, recalling a time on The Love Ride out west, when the man riding next to him introduced himself and it was Malcolm Forbes.

Talented…energetic…creative…adventuresome…loving…extremely funny and smart, but the two things that leave me in total awe of Dan is his passion for people and commitment to helping charities like Angel Flight and Shand’s Burn Center. He NEVER seems to tire of requests for pictures with him and when he signs an autograph it is never a quick Dan Haggerty, it becomes a touch and a conversation. At that moment the person making the request is the most important person in the room. In a crowded room, before anyone realizes who he is, he fills the room with such energy, people want to be close to him and his energy for this amazes me. This is a biker with a story that had so many bumps in the road anyone else would have put their kickstand down, but not “Hag” as his brother refers to him. His mother, Ruthie, says “being Dan’s mother is like being on a roller coaster”. But when you live a grand life you take the good with the bad and just focus on the next cycle of life. In Dan’s words, “Nothing remains the same”. I would have to argue with Dan on that, the love and respect of Dan’s friends and fans will always remain the same…

By Phaedra Lee

It is unanimous! Daytona Beach has once again proven to be a generous community! The December 12th ride was successful with over 60 riders for the first event and we look forward to doing it again next year. I remember as a small child receiving my first bicycle and it really made me feel free. Many children will never have the opportunity to have their own bike since new bikes are $50-130 depending upon the size.

However, with the generosity of our community, we will be able to share over 35 bicycles each with a helmet to our local kids. The day started at Main Street Station at 11:30am with our jumbo, all beef hot dogs with all the fixin’s and kickstands up at 1pm to head over to see Steve at the Iron Horse.

We then stopped for a wild card at the Dog Pound Saloon before heading to Finn’s Beachside where Cy rescued one of their patrons from causing an accident heading out onto A1A. Cy Manula, who was a huge help in carrying all the bikes for us, said this was an extremely humbling experience seeing bikers come in with tears in their eyes to donate bikes.

Next stop was Frank’s Place to see Annette and enjoy her hospitality before heading back to Main Street Station for our final card and Backyard Boys BBQ. A big thanks to our sponsors including Tiesa at Rice & Rose Law Firm, Brigit’s Custom Works, Constance with Department of Family Services, the Chrome Divas, Elaine Holt, Ned Wald at Travelhost Magazine and all our special guests for spending the day with us enjoying the perfect Florida weather.

These bikes will go to Allison at the Early Learning Coalition, Christina at Tomoka Christian Church, Family Renew, Volusia County Family Services and numerous local families.

By Ron Cox

The Southwest Chapter of ABATE hosted its annual Christmas run to the Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans Home in Port Charlotte on Sunday,
December 20th. The Home is home to 120 Veterans, 112 men and 8 women.

More than 170 riders assembled at Sun Sports Cycle for the police escorted ride to the home. Several clubs from the area sent contingents including the Lost Riders, SWFL HOG, LAMA and the American Legion Riders.

Upon arrival the riders were greeted by many of the Veterans who were seated outside, anxious for their arrival. It was especially poignant when many of the riders, who are Veterans themselves, thanked the elderly Veterans for
their service. Sad to say but the bikers visit will be the only visitors some these aging Veterans will receive all year.

Veterans Home Administrator Liz Barton thanked the riders for their continued support and commented that the money raised from the run will enable each Veteran to receive a $50 Wal-Mart gift card in addition to sundries (socks, underwear, razors, toothpaste & brushes) the riders brought.

By Lulu

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2015 brought another birthday to Gator Harley-Davidson. And as always they know how to celebrate. Bobby Friss Band rocked all afternoon. A bikini contest and tattoo contest entertained the large crowd. The folks at Gator Harley treat their customers as family and that is why people return to their store all year long for events and to make purchases of everything from apparel to…of course…great bikes!