By Lulu

The Thunder Roads/Twisted Tea party at the Dog Pound Saloon had the hounds and bitches all out howling for a great cause. We raised about 60 pounds of food and $51 in cash for the food pantry in Flagler. Lots of Twisted Tea was sampled and even though Glenn almost made us deaf with his bull horn we had a great night. On Thursday nights at the Dog Pound Saloon they have $3 U Name It U Drink It excluding premiums from noon to midnight, so ride on in!!! Our next Twisted Tea party will be at The Boat Bar in Port Orange at 5395 South Ridgewood Ave. on April XX from 6-9p so bring some food for the Volusia County Second Harvest Food Pantry for a chance to win $50 in cash!!!

By Lulu

All 10 days of Bike Week First Turn Steakhouse’s Tiki Bar was packed! The crowds ride in for great food and fine music! S R Perrott hosted a Yuengling promo night at First Turn with live music by Tim Dugger from Nashville. The Yuengling girls dressed in suede fringed vests handed out giveaways and posed for photos for the crowd. Beautiful weather the whole 10 day event made for a pleasant dining, dancing and riding the entire Bike Week and Port Orange is only a short ride south of Daytona. Don’t forget to stop in for their great steaks and seafood anytime!! They have Tuesday night bike night with some free vittles and live music…and speaking of music…First Turn has live music 6 days a week!

By Lulu

Everyone has a reason for choosing which venue to attend during major bike events. Iron Horse Saloon has something for everyone. The beef tips are most bikers’ first reason to ride in at least once during the event. GREAT T-shirt designs each year are “a must have” reason to stop, not only because of the creative artwork, but also because they hold up so well! And the music lineup is always some of the best anywhere! This year was no exception with Leon Russell, Cold Hard Cash, the Kentucky Headhunters, Confederate Highway, Warrant, David Allan Coe and Jared Blake entertaining the masses, all for free!

By Lulu

A new party spot is something I am always in search of and this year the new spot was hanging with the nice people at The Boat Bar in Port Orange. What I didn’t expect was the GREAT free BBQ they throw during the major events!! Delicious! The live music was awesome too! Tony puts up tents so you can sit outside, enjoy the food and the live band and just relax with friends. A great pick for getting away from the crowds of Main Street and US 1 in Ormond. Keep an eye on their ads in Thunder Roads for the events they throw and ride in to The Boat Bar in Port Orange!

By Roxanne Hodges

Well I have to say I changed up my regular routine this year and decided to hang out in beautiful Deland for Bike Week. I spent most of my ten days at OB’s Restaurant and Lounge. Owners OB and Tina welcomed everyone as if they were part of their family. Two local bands played each day, one inside the bar and the other outside for those that wanted to enjoy the weather. They also had a large menu during this time which was a nice surprise for me. The food was awesome and if you’re ever in Deland please stop in and say hello to OB and Tina. OB’s also welcomes poker runs of all sorts for different charities and they have started a weekly Bike Night. So take a ride over and check them out and you’ll be glad you did.

By Dave Twitchell

Deland, an inconspicuous town in the shadow of Daytona, hosted its 12th Annual Bike Rally on March 5th.  The County seat of Volusia County sits dead center between Disney’s Orlando and the debauchery of Daytona’s Main Street.  If you’ve never been, it’s a bit more relaxed while still offering visiting vendors, food, music and plenty of Vintage Motorcycles drawn from around the Nation.

There was no shortage of Animals present, spanning exotic Dogs to well-behaved Piglets.  The local Cafe’s provided water for the Critters as the Spring heat in Central Florida climbed towards 80 degrees.  It makes for a good entrance into Riding season when you can attend a diverse event with all types of Riders without the extreme noise.

Thousands of bikes were densely spread over closed blocks of streets but it didn’t go on until the Sun came up; Deland shuts down for a short eight hours.  It’s an inviting diversion with the feel of a Florida town that has held onto its heritage of the early 1900’s and the legacy of Henry Flagler’s vision for the State.  Something for everyone there; so if the madness of other rallies gets old, find a back road curving towards Deland.

By Lulu

Somehow the peep’s we were running with during the 75th Bike Week managed to pull their scoots more than a time or two into the parking lot of Chris’ Lounge. Known for strong drinks and rowdy fun…a hangover was almost a certainty! But our friends from the north love the bartenders and owners of Chris’ so we pulled up a bar stool after our work was done for the day and knocked a few back!

By Lulu

The world famous Broken Spoke has reemerged as one of the favorite stops for Bike Week and Biketoberfest in the greater Daytona area. The new owners have invested time and money creating a biker fantasy spot. Huge oaks provide a canopy of shade, twinkling white lights provide a beautiful ambiance at night, multiple large bars keep your wait time for quick service to a minimum, campfires if the weather is too cold, and live music by fabulous bands are just a few of the attributes that make this a perfect spot day or night. Lots of seating, car shows, bike shows, free bike parking and valet parking are just a few additional reasons to make this a great place to put your kickstand down and spend a few hours during major events.

By Jim Moran

Everyone had a rockin’ good time at Biff Burgers’ 19th Anniversary Biker Bash on March 26th in St. Pete. A lot of fantastic bikers and bikes were having a great time, including me. Live music from Stormbringer and Greg Billings, the free Pig Roast, Bike Show and contests were smokin’.

The bike of the year was awarded and had a gambling/gaming theme, it was AWESOME. Financial Advisor Michelle Osborne attended and was a sweetheart. The party went on well into the night. Congratulations to Biff Burger and here’s to another 19+ years.

By Pete West Coaster

I wasn’t able to get out and deliver mags this month as I had to have some follow-up injections in my neck after surgery. Thanks to Beth a.k.a. Lulu and TJ for delivering this month I’d like to share a solution from the blazin’ hot and strong sun that we experience here in Florida. From the sun I developed ‘pinguecula’ which is a wart like growth on your eyeball. The treatment is surgery no fun; and if left untreated it can cause blindness. It’s a recurring condition and I’ve had 3 surgeries to remove it. So I bought a pair of “pants holders”. They are elastic straps with clips on both ends and you attach ’em to your pants cuffs and under your boots to keep your pants from ridin’ up.  Well I took one and attached it to my standard ball cap and ran it under my chin. Now while ridin’ my cap doesn’t blow off and it provides shade to my eyes, face and forehead. Also, I can see much better without the sun directly in my eyes. Probably save me from getting “crow’s feet” too as I’m not squintin’ so much. Hope this helps everyone to enjoy their ridin’.

By Raven Van Pelt

[autoviewer id=”462″ width=”600″ height=”600″ ]

What a great start to Bike Fest, at Adamec Harley-Davidson of Jacksonville located at 8909  Baymeadows Road. The Bike Fest Kick Off Show was presented by the Callahan Cruisers of North Florida. There was classic cars, vintage motorcycles, modern and Best of Show Awards along with many vendors and live music by Jacksonville’s very own Second Shot Band. A great day was had by all who attended the two days of stunt shows Saturday and the car & bike show on Sunday. Adamec thanks their sponsors Tasty Dog, Monster Energy, Sticky Fingers, Hellcat Pinstriping, Alleyway Kustoms, Miller Lite and Second Shot.

By LuLu

[autoviewer id=”461″ width=”600″ height=”600″ ]

The “Brotherhood of Bikers” is bantered around by all of us. The generosity of bikers is well known, even bartenders claim that bikers tip better than NASCAR enthusiasts. But on a poker run for a well known lady biker who was smashed into by a hit and run driver, the masses came out on two and three wheels to lift her spirit and lighten the financial devastation of hospitalization and being unable to work! Bikers always amaze me and I cannot get over the difference they can make in someone’s life. Poker runs started as a way to help downed bikers and now they occur each and every weekend for just about any cause you can imagine…but this kind of tragic accident is what the poker runs are truly about! I am including two letters written to the magazine in Letters to the Editor in this edition regarding Jamie’s run.

I also want to thank Twisted Tea, SR Perrott, Budweiser, Sharon Kitts and all the volunteers for making this run a huge success. All types of items were donated for the raffles. The money for the 50/50 was donated back. The stops included Iron Horse, Circus II, Lost Lagoon Wings and Grille and Hidden Treasure. The party ended at Boot Hill Saloon who went over and above for Jamie’s event. Fine music was provided by The Accuzed. But in the end I really want to thank each and every one of you who took your day, your money and gave of yourself to make this young lady feel the “brotherhood”!

Poker run for Jamie armstrong gardner shines The LighT on The Love of bikers

By Raven Van Pelt

[autoviewer id=”460″ width=”600″ height=”600″ ]

What a great start to Bike Fest, at Adamec Harley-Davidson of Jacksonville located at 8909 Baymeadows Road. The Bike Fest Kick Off Show was presented by the Callahan Cruisers of North Florida. There was classic cars, vintage motorcycles, modern and Best of Show Awards along with many vendors and live music by Jacksonville’s very own Second Shot Band. A great day was had by all who attended the two days of stunt shows Saturday and the car & bike show on Sunday. Adamec thanks their sponsors Tasty Dog, Monster Energy, Sticky Fingers, Hellcat Pinstriping, Alleyway Kustoms, Miller Lite and Second Shot.

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

“Oh my God I made it another month”. This month I would like to explain how I was able to achieve such a great attitude. I’ve been described as being arrogant, pretentious, condescending, and sometimes contentious. I’m not Bi-Polar, I’m just irritable, grouchy, and moody. Actually, it comes from my humble disposition, NOT! It’s not easy being the anchovy on the pizza. My childhood may have influenced my thoughtful, reflective thinking.

When I was a kid I saw “Tarzan and Jane” almost naked with a monkey for a kid. An obnoxious wooden puppet called “Pinocchio” that had clothes made of flower paper, a hat made of bread and told lies, almost as often as Obama. “Snow White” lived with seven dwarf men before running away with a Prince. “Popeye” was an uneducated, tattooed, pipe smoking sailor involved in a love triangle with Olive Oyl and Brutus. “Cinderella”, who believed in fairies, rode around in a pumpkin pulled by mice, driven by a rat, while wearing glass shoes and staying out past midnight. Not to be outdone, there was a “Princess” running around kissing frogs while looking for a Prince. “Superman”, was an illegal alien who took his clothes off in a phone booth. “Batman”, whose real name is Bruce and his male partner Robin (who he would be able to marry now) drove 200+ miles an hour on city streets. “Mr. Magoo”, drove a car even though he was so nearsighted that he was close to being blind. “Pac-Man”, who looked like a pizza with a slice missing, ran around a maze chasing deterministic enemy monsters ( Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde) listening to digitized music and taking performance-enhancing pills. Then the pot smoking mystery solving hippies, “Shaggy and Scooby”, who ate cheese pizzas with pickles because they always had the munchies. We sat in bean filled chairs watching TV that was filled with gun toting cowboys wearing white hats shooting the bad guys wearing black hats except for “Have Gun Will Travel”, when the black hat would shoot anybody. There was the Democrat “Maynard G. Krebs”, the beatnik who had an extreme aversion to “work”, “marriage”, and “police”, but “does his own thing” by collecting tinfoil and petrified frogs while watching “The Monster That Devoured Cleveland” or The Son of the Monster That Devoured Cleveland”. Maynard’s middle name was Walter. He would say that he was named for his aunt, and explained the “G” is silent.

These were just some of the things that were able to mold my warped mind.

I drink Vodka because I don’t like to keep things bottled up.

The party isn’t over until you’ve had your mug shot and made bail.

Love is not the best feeling. Finding a toilet when you have diarrhea is better.

Sometimes I miss my ex-wives but I can’t remember where I hid the bodies.

I do charity work daily by volunteering my opinion.

“Dammit I’m Mad” spelled backwards is “Dammit I’m Mad”

Read more on my website nobodiesopinion.com

P.S. I’m writing this from my hospital room where I’m being treated for oral cancer caused from smoking.

Like they said in the military, “Smoke’um if you got ’em”.

I hope to see you on the shiny side of tomorrow.

Get better soon, who will remind us of how much better life was when we were young if you don’t! I love you Kneecap and whether you agree with everything he writes or not…Kneecap has given us food for thought monthly for 8 years, made us all think…sometimes cringe…but always think! GET BETTER OR ELSE I WILL HAVE TO MISS YOU!!!

LULU (your biggest fan)!!!

By Lulu

There is a little bit of Saint and a little bit of Sinner in every biker! But the Saints came out to our Twisted Tea Bike Night at Saints & Sinners. We raised 175 dollars and 92 pounds of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank which was the most raised at a single event!! Ultra generous Leo donated his $50 cash winnings from the food drive raffle. A special thanks also to Brent who made a large cash contribution!! Our next event will be at Grandview Live (a gentleman’s club) but don’t be scared off ladies it is a sophisticated club and beautifully decorated! The date is Thursday, April 14th from 6-8pm…don’t forget your canned goods and tell the doorman you are there for Twisted Tea to get free admission! Thanks to all who come to our bike nights and support our ad clients!