by Jeani G.

Gator Harley Davidson in Leesburg proudly celebrated their 30-year anniversary in style on Saturday, July 8. Family owned and operated since 1993, with 3 generations of experience, the Maliks take great pride in servicing their customers and establishing long-term relationships … plus they really know how to throw a party! The owner John, wife Julie, son Johnny, sister Janice and niece Rachel were all present with their families on this special day!

It rained a bit off and on, but that didn’t damper the spirits of the crowd one bit. Hypersona rocked the stage, while Jan kept the events and excitement moving along. With so much to do, it was hard to soak it all in … bikini bike wash by the lovely Dirty South Saloon girls, shopping various jewelry and biker apparel vendors, good eats served up by Royal Hibachi and Backdraft Grill (Central Florida Firefighters Charity), bake sale by Ladies of Harley and face painting for the kids. Thirsty bikers could wet their whistle at the Gator Hut Bar run by the Nam Knights Green Swamp Chapter or at the Firefighters Charity Alliance bar.

Gator Harley offered 30% off licensed products and aftermarket parts and accessories, while leather smith Marg, who has been with Gator HD for 22 years was on hand to sew on patches or tackle any of your leather repair needs.

The Women’s Bikini Contest and Men’s Hot Bod Contest were hosted by Amanda Rose, owner of Dirty South Saloon – the enthusiastic crowd had fun cheering on the contestants and choosing the winners with a prize purse of $500 each! Six beautiful and sexy bikini babes made it a difficult decision, while a last-minute entry won the men’s contest and donated part of his winnings to the Nam Knights and the Firefighters Charity Alliance.

The excitement never seemed to end. There was a 50/50 drawing and a drawing for a guitar autographed by Jesse James Dupree of Jackyl. The Bike Show with awards in 12 different classes was hosted by Full Throttle Magazine, while Fran Haasch Law Group sponsored the trophies and Gator Harley sponsored a $500 Best in Show cash award!

In a very touching moment, the Nam Knights Green Swamp Chapter presented John with a beautiful 30-year anniversary congratulatory plaque! If you missed this year’s event, stop by the dealership any time for great service with a smile. Thank you, Malik family, for the past 30 years, and here’s wishing you many more successful years to come!

By Lulu

If you haven’t visited the Space Coast dealership in Palm Bay, you really must. Tim Bishop puts on weekly events that feature amazing music and often scantily clothed biker babes. Tim says, “We got Somethin’ Goin’ On Every Weekend”. Their ads in the beginning of this issue have all the September happenings featured, but coming Sunday, October 1st is Rocktober Jam, a full day of rocking the biking community!! Space Coast H-D is also offering free camping on their great lawn during Biketoberfest by registering with the marketing department. November 19th is a free Texas Hippie Coalition event. Don’t miss Rolling Thunder’s Ride-In Toy Drive December 2nd, bring a $10 Toy for the huge party. And a good one coming up is Jim Morrison’s Birthday Celebration on December 9th. Tim works hard to keep things rocking the Space Coast, join in on the fun. They are located at 1440 Sportsman Ln. NE see you there!

For 29 years now motorcycle riders have taken a Sunday in October to benefit children who due to illnesses can’t attend a camp without medical care. Camp Boggy Creek provides a safe environment for kids to be kids! The Rossmeyer’s have been prominent supporters of the camp by hosting the yearly Ride for Children to Camp Boggy Creek. Teddy Morse’s Daytona Harley-Davidson has taken this as one of their causes and will not let the children down. Please see the press release below and make plans to join one of the largest rides in our area…for an amazing cause. Not only do the kids get a week of being kids at camp…the parents get a week to relax and enjoy a bit of time knowing their children are being cared for. The word recreation has a meaning that these kids and their families need more than most…RECREATE the ENERGY for life. Help keep this camp funded on October 8th. A thank you to the sponsors Outback Steakhouse that provide the meal at the camp, Hamlin & Asso., Miller Lite, and Jean Marie & Collin York…and to each of you that have ridden the past 29 years.

Destination Daytona to Camp Boggy Creek

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8TH

Registration begins at 7am, event ends at 1:30pm

Get your motorcycles ready to RIDE in support of children with serious illnesses and their families. Escorted by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, motorcyclists will enjoy an hour-long ride from Destination Daytona to Camp Boggy Creek. After the Ride participants and guests will continue the fun at the post ride party, which includes a catered lunch by Outback Steakhouse, live entertainment, silent & live auctions and more!

Event volunteer opportunities will also be available, check back to sign up to volunteer for this event! Visit http://rideforchildren.com to learn more!

By Lulu

First, I must apologize that this didn’t run sooner. I simply thought it had run, that may be happening because I am getting older and blonder. Each spring right before Bike Week the Sunshine Chapter of the AMCA hosts the Spring National Meet. 2023 they chose a new venue, and I loved it. They are now at the Daytona Stadium on LPGA. The place gives them all the room they could ever need. This is a GIANT vintage swap meet, antique bike show with AMCA judging, vendors, a chopper show on Friday, and there is also a banquet Friday night. In 2024 the event will be 2/28- March 2 (Thursday-Saturday). If you are looking for collectibles, parts or just an interesting day to spend outside check them out this spring! For info dunkship@myself.com.

By Lulu

When we pulled around the corner to drive onto the property for Mark’s Too Broke for Sturgis Party, I could not believe how packed the property was. We arrived thinking it started at 1pm, but Mark said the place had been packed since 10am. Of course, the band Gun Shy kept the crowd entertained all afternoon. Rain came in, as it always does in August in Florida, so we all crammed into the bar or under the porch to stay dry and drink!! A great time was had by all…all day long. He usually throws a big event in January for his anniversary so keep your eyes out for the date and ride out anytime to wet your whistle at Pirate’s Pub in Paisley.

Long time friend and Steve Coe’s pit crew member, Jimmy Green passed away after a two-month fight with cancer on August 7th, 2023. Born in Virginia 72 years ago he has been living in Coeville and they lovingly refer to him as Coeville’s “yard dog”. He leaves behind two children, his son Jimmy, and his daughter Shelby. Jimmy was a sheet metal union man working on large projects such as malls and hospitals. He loved Motorcycles, Stunt Car racing and pretty women! May Jimmy continue riding the highways in the sky!

BIKE NIGHTS/DAYS LIST

SPONSORED BY TWISTED TEA

Phone numbers are provided to verify event.

TUESDAYS

Daytona’s Original First Turn-Port Orange, 5236 S. Ridgewood Ave., 7-9p, $3 domestics, blues jam 6p, live music, 386-788-5434

(THIRD TUESDAYS)

Miracle City H-D-Titusville, 2405 S. Hopkins Ave., games, prizes, 321-269-5226

WEDNESDAYS

Dog House-Port Orange, 3400 S. Nova Rd., live music 6-9, buy a draft mug $10 and get .25 draft 6-9p every bike night, $1 Roller Dogs 6-8p, 386-872-7291

Boot Hill Saloon-Daytona Beach, 310 Main St., live music, 386-258-9506

OB’S-Deland, 1750 N. Woodland Blvd., live music, 6-10pm, $5/6 food specials, 386-943-9600

The Other Place-Ormond Beach, 1040 S. Nova Rd., 5-7p, $2 longnecks, food truck, Shovelheads and all bikes welcome, 386-256-3004

Bay 3 Bar-New Smyrna Beach, 2810 N. Dixie Freeway, 386-957-3745

(FIRST WEDNESDAY ONLY)

Dirty South Saloon-Leesburg, 1850 US Hwy 441, 6p-midnight, food truck, drink specials, DJ, bike games, prizes, 352-801-7982

(FIRST & THIRD WEDNESDAYS ONLY)

VFW Post 8207-Longwood, 1520 N. Ronald Reagan Blvd., live entertainment, door prizes, good food, cheap drinks, 407-339-6016

Dick’s Wings-JACKSONVILLE, 6055 Youngerman Cir., live music 6-10pm

THURSDAYS

American Legion Post 81-Melbourne, 2909 South Harbor City Blvd., 321-723-2939, 6-10pm, bike night at the bunker, food & music

Big Bass Grill-Lake Panasoffee, 965 CR 429, $10.99 New York Strip Dinner, DJ/karaoke, 6-10p, 352-793-8150

Howlin Wolf-Melrose, 1701 SR 100, live music, drink specials, 386-983-2810

1405 Saloon-Bunnell, 1405 E. Moody Blvd., 6-10p live music, 386-313-8303

Sorry Charlie’s Corner-Samsula, 3705 Hwy. 44, live music, draft specials, 6p, 386-428-4858

(SECOND THURSDAY ONLY)

Gator Harley-Davidson Bike Night-Leesburg, Great Chicago Fire Brewery & Tap Room, 311 W. Magnolia St., 352-474-2739, 5-9pm, live entertainment, cold beer craft & domestics, good food

(LAST THURSDAY ONLY)

American Legion Post 117-Palm Bay, 189 Veteran’s Dr., food, raffles, DJ music, 6-9p, 321-729-8089

FRIDAYS

Saints & Sinners-Ormond Beach, 1635 N US Hwy 1, live music, 386-671-7108

SATURDAYS

The Inn Between-Deland, 2486 Old New York Ave., blues music outdoor stage, $3 longnecks, $4 wells, 3-7pm, 386-469-9271

Pirate’s Pub-Paisley, 25031 CR 42, bucket specials, 352-669-3872

Daytona’s Original First Turn-Port Orange, 5236 S. Ridgewood Ave., 8a-noon, $5 breakfast, 386-788-5434

(FIRST SATURDAY ONLY)

American Legion Post 359-Port St. John, 7260 S US 1, 321-268-1632, 1-5pm, $6 food, t-shirts, raffles, 50/50, live music, huge outside deck

O’Calahan’s-Ocala, 3155 E. Silver Springs Blvd., live music 6-10, 352-351-5458

(SECOND SATURDAYS ONLY)

American Legion Post 1, Titusville, 1281 N US Hwy 1, 1-5pm, good music, good times, food, 321-269-9959

(FOURTH SATURDAYS ONLY)

American Legion Post 242-Bithlo, 17142 E. Colonial Dr., 2-6p, live music, food available, 50/50, raffles, games, 407-568-3416

SUNDAYS

Renegade’s on the River-Crescent City, 1171 CR 309, 386-524-4052, 1-5pm, karaoke

American Legion Post 81-Melbourne, 2909 South Harbor City Blvd., 321-723-2939, noon-6pm, bike day at the bunker, food & music

Saints & Sinners-Ormond Beach, 1635 N US Hwy 1, 386-671-7100, 1-5p, except 2^nd Sunday then 11am-3pm, Open Jam with Sam

Howlin Wolf-Melrose, 1701 SR 100, live music, drink specials, 2-6p, 386-983-2810

Alibi Bar & Grill-Geneva, 3391 E. State Hwy., live music 1-5p, 407-519-4099

Daytona’s Original First Turn-Port Orange, 5236 S. Ridgewood Ave., 8a-noon, $5 breakfast, 386-788-5434

(THIRD SUNDAY ONLY)

The Hideaway Bar & Grill-Pomona Park, 25 Old Highway 17, breakfast available at 8am, swap meet, 386-649-4088

By Lulu

First Turn, known for great outdoor seating, live music, and a friendly staff, turned it up with a 4-day music festival featuring 19+ bands. The VIP area included comfy blow-up sofas and chaise loungers!! A few fans brought in their own AC units!! The event was sponsored by El Bandido Tequila and Budweiser. We were able to catch 3 great music acts: Foreigners Journey, Groove Slayers and Completely Unchained. Other nights included bands like Soul Circus Cowboys, Shot in the Dark, Twitty & Lynn and many more. Big things on the horizon coming for Daytona’s Original First Turn and Daytona Steak House. A new bar on the property “Some Place Else” is coming soon and the steak house will be opening for lunch, hours will be 11a-10p.

By T. J.

In June I was honored to ride on the “Palms to The Pines Run,” aka “50 to 100”. It was a ride from The Boot Hill Saloon in Daytona Beach (Palm Trees) to Laconia New Hampshire Bike Rally (PineTrees), to commemorate 2 remarkable milestones. This trip was originally planned a few years back when Karin, the owner, and Alan had the Boot Hill open for Bike Week in Laconia, which has since been sold, but Covid derailed the plan until this year. The timing couldn’t have been better because 2023 just happened to be the 50th anniversary of “The Boot” and the 100th anniversary of the oldest bike week in the world, Laconia. 50 years in business is an amazing achievement and a 100-year bike rally demonstrates the commitment of generations of community leaders to bikers from across the world. In my mind I was riding as a tribute to both! This ride was to be an event!

Until someone can prove to me differently, the Boot Hill Saloon is the most famous, and well-known biker bar on the planet. When I moved to Daytona Beach in Feb of 1981 that is what I was told, and thru the 80’s and 90’s I witnessed a constant line of hundreds of people waiting around the block all day and night during Bike Week to buy T-Shirts. I had never seen anything like it and still haven’t seen that happen anywhere else. Laconia is always cool to me because I am a New England kid, and it gives me the chance to ride down to Mass and visit my people.

So, late last year Alan began to recruit a handful of sponsors to help with the group’s travel expenses and also invite riders to join us. As the June 5th departure date was approaching the itinerary was set. 4 days to Laconia. Over the final few weeks, the other guys all cancelled for different reasons. Alan and I set out on day 1, after a rain delay, toward Columbia S.C. to meet up with some of Alan’s old Boot Hill buddies. We made my usual Savannah lunch stop at Hooters right next to Savannah H-D and by late afternoon we met up with a friend of Al’s friend named Adrian. He rode with us up to the members only club called Kick Stands so we could remember “Bad Bob” who passed last year. Jim, Dave, the owner Hank, and the rest of the folks were waiting with open arms and treated us like family. Thank you all, and thanks to Grace for keeping the shots flowing. 450 miles in the books on day 1. Adrian decided to ride another beautiful, scenic 350 miles with us the next day to Charlottesville Va. We spent that evening in the hotel restaurant and traded stories over pizza and beer. I knew this guy had many years, and countless miles in the saddle just by his stories. We made a new friend that day. Adrian turned back Wed morning and me and Al headed toward Poughkeepsie N.Y. Well, we had a great ride going in perfect weather, but the smoke from the Canadian fires ended our day 3 hours early in Allentown Pa. We stumbled across a great bar named Big Woody’s and spent the smokey, rainy afternoon with Azilee and Steph. They were both very nice and the service was top notch.

Now Thurs had to become longer as we had to stay south and east of the fires. New England weather hit us that day in N.Y. and thru Conn. Smoke, cold, rain, clear and sunny, 57*, then a sun shower across Rt 9 in southern N.H. The mountain riding was worth it!

We rolled into Al’s best friend Herb’s and his girl Bonnie’s place on Thursday evening. They were our hosts for the weekend. It was a nice quiet place out in the country in Lebanon, Maine and was centrally located from Rochester H-D, Weirs Beach, Bentley’s, Iron Tails Saloon, and Loudon Speedway, and we partied at them all. Herb rode with us for a couple days and we had a blast. We may see him in Florida one day. We also ran into and hung out with some of my boys from Florida and Mass. I was also glad to see Thunder Road’s friends Rusty and Steve Wallace displaying their Southern Country Customs at Bentleys. These guys put out some beautiful bikes. I’m looking forward to my round of golf with Rusty in Daytona for St Jude’s. Throughout the weekend we had rain, and more rain, and hail, and beautiful sunny warm spells in between. 1,500 miles for the week and lots of memories. Overall, it was a great trip. When you travel on a motorcycle people notice and seem to be extra nice and treat you well, as was the case this time. Special thanks to Harley Davidson of Rochester, AMSOIL, TOPCOAT F11, Midwest Motorcycle, Twisted Tea, Brian Holt, and Rider Now Magazine for supporting us. I swore I wouldn’t go back because the weather sucks. But I probably will, who knows? That’s the biker life.

By Lulu

Florida’s oldest known continually operating motorcycle club was founded in 1943. The club started when AMA asked local riders to volunteer to be flagmen at the Original Daytona 200 Motorcycle Race on the beach and road course. Those riders helped from 1937-1941. 1942 the race was suspended due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But all these years this club has been a vibrant part of motorcycling in Daytona!

We attended their 80th birthday at their nice clubhouse on International Speedway. GREAT food and music by a DJ who I am afraid I forgot to get his info. There were so many gift baskets to auction for their charity K9s for Warriors that we just had to go home with two golf packages, two hotel packages and a helmet painted by Chris Cruz. Special thank you to their sponsors American Legion Riders Post 210, Buddy Davenport State Farm, Backyard Boys BBQ, Realty Pros, Deland Eatery, Quality Quickprint, Krispy Kreme, Jerry Brittingham AC/Heat, and Daytona International Speedway. Also, a thank you to all who donated items and to the volunteers who made this a huge success. If you are looking for a club to make your home, check out the folks at Daytona 200!

By Raven

SONY DSC

The 10th Annual Boots on the Ground Poker Run and Concert was hosted again by American Legion Riders Chapter 9, Flamingo Lake RV Resort and Dick’s Wings. LOCATION: 3640 Newcomb Road, Jacksonville FL 32218. This ride supports K9s For Warriors, K9 Line, Inc., Operation Barnabas and NE Florida Women Veterans, The Florida Fallen Hero Memorial Fund and Wreaths Across America. 917 Registered Riders came out to honor our Nation’s Veterans, their families and memorialize our Fallen Heroes while supporting this great cause. Thank You as well to the Slingshot Community and the Jeep Community. Live Music by Duval County Line on Friday Night Pre-Ride Party, Saturday there were performances by the Side Project Band Pipe and Drum, Paul Wane Experience, Metal Mucil and closing out the night was Blister.  The event Raised over $99,000 in support of the 7 Veterans support organizations. There were fourteen separate bike routes with a total of forty-four different poker stops to choose from. Over forty vendors and several food vendors. Bikes kicked up at 11am when the Dreamland Squadron conducted their flyover that they do for this event every year. Thousands of military and first responder boots lined the RV Resort, each with a flag and a picture of a fallen military personnel KIA in OEF/OIF or a first responder that perished during 9/11. It is part of ALR Chapter 9’s “Boots on the Ground”-America Remembers Memorial. The bikes and the Jeeps paraded through the memorial as they left out. It truly is an emotional and humbling experience. This event is always the Saturday prior to Mother’s Day so mark your calendars for next year. You will not be disappointed.

This summer TJ and I have done an extraordinary amount of traveling. I flew up to Massachusetts to ride back on his Harley through the mountains. To get there, unfortunately, we had to ride through New York City. I was appalled by the trash in one of America’s cities. Gone is any sense of pride in our homeland if you judge it by the appearance of this area of New York. I snapped these two photos after seeing a sign Welcome to the Bronx (which is AOC’s district) on our way to the George Washington Bridge. Squalor!!! The smell for blocks was rotting flesh, as if the Sopranos had corpses behind every tree!!! I am NOT exaggerating. Off in the distance, I could see the skyline of Manhattan. So close to Broadway and Wall Street, the government of New York allows the city to sit in decay! SHAME on the governor, the mayor and AOC!! They should all be out picking up this trash!!! What kind of leaders allow people to live in or visit a place like this? The rest of our trip took us to other large cities; Louisville, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and I didn’t see anything like this. Maybe I simply didn’t hit upon highways of filth. Or maybe those city officials still realize that the look of their hometowns reflects on the job they are doing. Thank God we still have criminals in jail that we can send out to clean up the highways in Florida so they can earn their keep. Maybe a consequence of not locking up criminals is no one is available to clean up their city in New York!

By Peter Ferrentino

On May 20th, we held a Best Bartender of Volusia County contest. We invited bartenders from all over Volusia to volunteer to participate in our contest. The grand prize was $500 cash! We had a great turn-out that night, with some amazing talent. The bartenders who signed up had to create their own signature drink and pour them into samples for customers to try. Once the patrons tried each sample they then voted for their favorite bartender. 1st Place was Miss Jersey of City Limits with her signature drink, ‘The F*** Around and Find Out’. The customers not only loved the taste of the drink, but the name and the presentation. Other bartenders included Rick and Sara, from Bulldogs Pub in Deltona, they were close to winning with their creative and beautifully crafted drinks. We are very proud to have our Jersey voted the best bartender of Volusia County. It’s a proud moment for me and the staff. We will be hosting another one of these contests in the future, so all bartenders keep your eyes out!”

By Donna Burress

Having been blessed so far with not having to fight cancer, I cannot even imagine having to fight it all of my life. Debbie has been fighting cancer since she was 20 years old. Her first battle was with Hodgkin Lymphoma. She beat it and was free from cancer for about 10 years. I’m sure Debbie thought she was done battling cancer, but at the age of 34 she was once again fighting cancer. This time it was Melanoma. The warrior that she is, Debbie beat that cancer as well and was once again free and clear of cancer for about 10 years. At the age of 44 she was diagnosed with Breast cancer. Debbie did an IPT treatment and beat cancer once again and had been free of cancer for the 3rd time. This time Debbie has been diagnosed with reoccurring Breast Cancer and is wanting the IPT Treatments since they were successful before.

John & I hosted the run that started at the Sanford Moose Lodge, then went to the Shovelhead in Longwood, Rockin’ Rhonda in Sanford, Shay’s Airport Hanger in Sanford and ended back at the Sanford Moose Lodge. Lots of raffle prizes and silent auctions helped fill the kitty for Deb. Mike and Sharon of the Sanford Moose presented Debbie with a check for the money they raised in advance for her fight. The Sanford Moose were a wonderful host that supplied both breakfast and dinner. Jette County Dragsters kept the party going well into the night. We didn’t hit our goal for Deb’s IPT treatment, but she is looking into other alternatives to fight it. Thank you to all who helped us with this run and to each of you who rode for Deb!