More twistees ... and even more fun ... were the roads found around Sleepy Hollow in Floral City! I've heard so many good things about this place it was a big disappointment to find it closed due to unpaid property taxes!
As I was riding to St. Pete for an inipi ceremony yesterday, I finally took the opportunity to stop at a Twistee Treat in Dade City. Everytime I see one of these old fashioned ice cream stands I've wanted to stop to satisfy the child in me! I was told that "They started making these again in 2006" so about 14 are independently owned and some are franchise. Behaving myself, I ordered lunch instead of dessert, splurging by ordering fries with my burger. It was more than I could eat for only $5.35! More twistees ... and even more fun ... were the roads found around Sleepy Hollow in Floral City! I've heard so many good things about this place it was a big disappointment to find it closed due to unpaid property taxes!
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There is something to be said for riding solo. Though I begin with a destination in mind (today's for instance, was Colt Creek Florida State Park) getting there is a matter of what catches my eye along the way! I miss the mountain roads of home ... the steeper, more twisty, route less traveled ... the better! Spotting a road called "Happy Hill" not too far from today's objective ... How could I resist? It was just the beginning! St. Joe Road had real hills and curves Riding with a group rarely allows for such meanderings. It is cumbersome for several riders to make a u-turn because a road "looked interesting". Aside from that, there are varying degrees of skill, other people's time frames, attitudes, and general courtesy to be taken into consideration. Speaking of roads less travelled ... the route I followed over to Rich Loam Sink was what one friend of mine refers to as a "horse trail". I love my Sportster! She does need heavier fork oil though, or maybe Ricor discs. We managed to bottom her forks out (and bend her new fender) on a couple holes that I didn't see until it was too late to maneuver her around them. My daughter is about the only one who enjoys the challenge of such roads as much as I do, given we are riding cruisers and not dirt bikes! The old Dunlawton Plantation, just south of Daytona, has gone through several incarnations. It is now the realm of the Magnolia Garden Club. There are features such as the "Human Sundial" donated by a group of realtors. Another area was constructed by a Girl Scout Troop. There are archaeological features and the remnants of "BongoLand" ... a prehistoric theme park built before such things were popular! Though I had left Daytona with plenty of time to spare before dark, it was well after 10 pm by time I reached home, over 170 miles later. By my standards, 100 miles is a normal ride; 200 miles is a relaxed day. Many think I'm just nuts!
The past couple of weeks have been unnaturally cold here in Florida, especially this far down the state! Rosie has spent most of her time huddled under her canopy since making our way home after the tempest on January 11th!
This weekend was forcasted to be beautiful! I woke early listening to rain, rolled over and finally got up a couple hours later. It was wet and warming up. The radio had been broadcasting advertisements about two Pow Wows, one just up the road and one in Brooksville. It was a good excuse to finally visit the flea market here, and very close to home if the weather turned miserable. The flea market was as impressive as the Pow Wow was not. Driving past the entrance on Highway 19 gives no indication at how big it really is! I looked in at the Pow Wow for a few minutes from the fenceline, then spent a couple hours wandering through the maze, checking out what the vendors had to offer! The sun decided to show itself, warming things us nicely! Still too early to head home, yet late enough to stay close. The Werner Boyce Salt Springs State Park covers quite a fair amount of territory. The main entrance is an easy walk from the campground where I live, taking just a nibble at one edge of the park. Rosie and I had visited the Scenic Drive entrance last week. Skye and I had taken a quick walk through one of the trails on Veteran's Day. Today, with my camera, I took more time, taking each of the open trails. The trail to the eagle viewing area was mostly closed, to keep from disturbing nesting birds. There is quite a nice picnic area by the kayak launch, and the Cauldron Springs trail offers nice views of the water as well. The parks we visit have their own section by state under the section title "The Road to Oz". My photos are posted there. Each of the Salt Springs entrances has its own slide show. Sit back and enjoy! We had a nice ride to Ormond Beach with Dianna, checking out our new Ion Air 2 Action Cam! After a nice lunch with Women in the Wind's 100th Chapter ... the Ormond Beach Angels at the White Eagle Inn, we headed down to John's Rock-N-Ride in Daytona Beach.
I packed up some of the smaller merchandise I had left there after Biketoberfest, leaving my helmet stickers to make a little extra cash between now and Bike Week. As always, Johnny and I rattle on as we visit ... my 3 pm leaving time turned to 4 ... and was almost 5 by time Rosie and I really got on the road! It had turned into a beautiful, warm, sunny day in spite of the forecast for thunderstorms! Though I would have preferred to be back to my folks' place in Wildwood by dark, I am familiar enough with the route not to be concerned with the hour. By time I reached Eustis, the light was fading, making the occassional flash of lightning in the distance quite noticeable. There was a spattering of rain in Leesburg, just enough to make me damp. It was over quickly enough, and so warm, I didn't feel the need to stop to put on layers and chaps! There's a sign advising to move into the left lane where Route 44 takes a turn off Main Street ... too soon! Thankfully I had not moved all the way into the lane or I would have hit the curb of a median crossing if there had not been room to move back into the through lane! Dangerous! Dangerous spot! Florida DOT needs to be advised to move that sign! After crossing Route 27, Route 44 again intersects with Main Street on the other side of town. As Rosie and I are making the turn, passing the gas station entrance on the corner, I see the wind blowing the rain! Thank our lucky stars it was blowing straight up the road at us! Had it been a side wind we'd never have held a line! Though we were barely ten yards past the gas station, the rain was coming down so hard and visibility was so poor, I felt safer just following the car in front of me than trying to make a u-turn to go back and sit it out! I know there are businesses through there with places to pull over. I couldn't even see the shoulder of the road! Telling myself it was just a few short miles to Wildwood from there, I just prayed there were no really deep puddles! There was so much water running down the road it was like riding in a river as it was! After a couple miles, my fear and desire to find a place to pull off, turned into a teeth grinding determination to just get there! Thoroughly soaked, shivering and dripping wet, I opened the door to my folks' motor home and announced, "The Drowned Rat has arrived!" We clocked the distance when going to lunch the following day ... eleven miles! It is the worst rain I've ridden in since coming home from the Laconia rally back in "74. It gives me a new appreciation for the guys who made it a point to get me home when I needed to be back then! Riding back home from Wildwood, we veered off the main drag in Inverness to explore Fort Cooper State Park. Initially meaning to just ride through, I stopped to hike out to where the fort had stood. Reminder to self: Always bring walking shoes and take off riding clothes before beginning "a short walk"! John and Rita had just finished eating when we arrived, so I put off lunch for the ride home. I thought about stopping at Cracker Barrel in Eustis. As chains go, they have reasonably good dinners for a decent price in a comfortable atmosphere. Denny's or Bob Evans are ok too, but I much prefer the independent cafe-diner-restaurants! They get harder and harder to find!
On we rode, looking for a spot. The Rainbow Cafe looked promising ... but it closed at 3. Sunday! Skye and I found out on our way back from the Keys, very little is open on Sunday! By time I found a likely possibility, the light was fading from the sky. Deciding to keep on homeward before full dark fell, dinner turned out to be a couple microwaved hotdogs and sauerkraut! All in all, it was a good ride. Three hundred miles, there and back again. After running errands Saturday morning, I headed up Highway 301 to Wildwood to visit my folks for the weekend. This is our "Thanksgiving" weekend due to my work schedule. I was happy to arrive in time for dinner with Skye and Dusty before they headed out for their return to Louisiana! Along the way I passed a place called Snooze-N-Scoot RV Campground ... pictures of Zzzzs and a motorcycle on the sign! This is a place I need to check out, which I did on my way home today. John and Mitzi just took the place over last December. They both ride and make sure the campground is biker friendly. The units look like they could use a little work, but the rates are reasonable, especially for long term stays. There are trees and shade and people waved to me as I rode through. I didn't stop to check out the laundry/shower rooms and pavillion. When John learned I was new to the area and headed toward Port Richey, he suggested "a nice riding road"... Route 673 past the National Cemetary over to Route 476 on over to Highway 19 ... and it was! There was very little traffic and nice sweeping turns. I only find roads like these on my own when I have an entire day to explore and get lost! _Usually I just drive, work at the store, then come back. This time I didn't have a tight time frame and one of my house mates (Thom) was trailering his bike, so we put Rosie on the trailer too and went together. _ After hitting a bad pothole in Philly, we had a blow out on the trailer in Maryland. It was Thom unloading his bike that caught the state patrol's attention. He let us know there was nothing to be found at that hour (about 8 pm), got us off onto a side road where we could spend the night in the van, and gave us a couple numbers for road service in the morning. _Thom is a severe asthmatic and woke me about 7 the next morning asking me to call 911 because he couldn't breathe! The ambulance picked him up and I waited for road service. The only tire they had to fit the trailer was a used one ($10) which was at least enough to get me moving so I could get over to the hospital. We were there for three days! Chestertown MD is a quaint little riverside village and I walked around taking photographs in between keeping Thom company. We found a GoodYear store when we went to fill his scripts, put new tires on the trailer, and were on our way again. Working at the store, for me, is more interesting than "attending" Bike Week. I get to meet all kinds of people, from all over the world. Traffic is so heavy during the event that I don't mind staying put. Rosie managed to get her picture in the paper while sitting in front of the store. _Afterwards, we camped at Three Flags over in Wildwood for a couple weeks so we could spend time riding. We racked up about 1000 miles between exploring and visiting relatives. Sometimes we'd just go out and get "lost", ending up on what Thom refers to as "horse trails" in the state parks. I don't mind riding dirt roads, but Thom needs to take the precaution of covering his face so he doesn't breathe the dust. The ride back to New York was a bit rainy, so we took it slow. Visiting with friends in South Carolina and family in Maryland along the way provided welcome stops. It was good.
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I've been riding now for over 40 years, beginning in the dirt on a Honda SL-70 when I was 12. I always leaned more toward trials riding than racing, but also loved riding the tracks (flat track and motocross) with the guys I came up with when they'd practice (on a Honda Elsinore 125). Our motto then was "If you don't go down you're not riding hard enough!" ... not finding your limits. Archives
February 2018
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