FLC2C was an excellent event and the turnout just keeps getting better and better every year! But now I must head for home. I plan to go up the east coast to visit St. Augustine, first, then get onto I-10 in Jacksonville, maybe even make it home in one day. My original plans were to meet up with the MTF River Ride folks somewhere enroute, but my ride to Tampa on the FZ was about as much time as I cared to spend on the Corbin seat. The ride home would be a test of uncomfortable endurance.
I left the Cocoa hotel early, just at daybreak, and got onto I-95 north to ride a now-familiar stretch of that interstate up toward St. Augustine. The fresh orange stands were tempting me severely, but I had no room on the bike for much of anything, not even a few oranges and grapefruit. So I continued north toward St. Augustine and Castillo de San Marcos NM for my National Park Stamp.
I had not been to this national park since I was in high school, so it was no surprise to me that I hardly remembered it. But I really enjoyed walking through the interior, examining the moats and the view over the harbor. Easy to imagine why this spot. I needed to get on the road, so headed back toward the interstate through sparse traffic and continued north to I-10.
Had I been on the BMW, I would have easily made it home. It was only 9:30 when I got back on the road in St. Augustine. I stopped for lunch in Marianna, and did not stop again until Pensacola for gas. I made good time, and traffic wasn't too bad. Weather was perfect! However, when I reached Gulfport MS, I decided to stop for the night. I had spent the last 30 minutes pretty much partially standing on the pegs, trying to relieve my backside.
So I had a nice leisurely evening working on my photos from the FLC2C event and eating Krispy Kreme donuts (the "hot" sign was lit at the Krispy Kreme store next door to the hotel...what can I say?) and was able to get an early start the next day.
The last day would be an easy half-day, and I didn't press too hard to get home, stopping more frequently than I needed to, just to get off the bike. Because it was a short day, it also meant I'd get into Houston early afternoon, well ahead of the traffic, which is always a good thing.
Next trip: Founders Feast
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Days 3 and 4 - Ride to FLC2C Event
Today was going to be a fun, full day and I woke up early, excited to get on the road. I spent last night at a nice Holiday Inn Express in Chiefland, FL and had some great BBQ for dinner. I rode south on US 19 for a few miles, then crossed east to pick up the Suncoast Parkway (darn! Why didn't I remember to get that Sun Pass??). I took this toll road straight south to I-275 in Tampa, where I headed west across Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg. I thought the Suncoast Parkway was pretty in most places, and it sure did speed me along toward Tampa.
I had two things I wanted to get in St. Petersburg, both for the AMA Grand Tours I'm participating in. This will be the last 6 weeks before the AMA contests are over for the year. I've done diddlysquat on the AMA Italy in America Grand Tour, but have amassed a considerable amount of booty for the AMA World's Largest Grand Tour. So I headed south on 275 toward the downtown area of St. Petersburg, and got off onto 375 headed east.
This was a really pretty area, and I wandered around on the streets a little bit, just checking things out. Ultimately I headed to my first stop, The Coliseum, a really neat older building apparently still in use for what it was intended for. I pulled into the drive and let the one-way aisles take me around the back of the building and to the other side into a really pretty, shaded parking lot. The whole complex had a really neat, old-style Florida look and feel about it. I enjoyed just sitting there in the shade on my bike soaking it all in. Finally, I posed my photo, got on the bike, and wandered through the parking lot to an exit.
I found myself on a one-way street headed in the wrong direction. But with the freeway (375) running along side I had to continue until I found an underpass. Things were even prettier on the other side of the freeway and, after a few wrong turns, I eventually worked my way over to the next AMA photo opportunity at Mirror Lake Park. This was such a gorgeous "old-Florida" area! And my destination was the Mirror Lake World's Largest Shuffleboard and Duplicate Bridge Club. Just to be sure it truly was the world's largest, I rode once around the circumference of the club, amazed at all the shuffleboard courts...countless numbers, all lined up side by side for an entire block. I pulled into the parking lot and worked my way over to the sign that declares their claim as world's largest.
That done, I returned to 375 west to 275 south and prepared to cross the Skyway Bridge to Bradenton. I approached the toll plaza, wishing once again that I'd remembered to buy that Sun Pass, and came to a stop next to the toll booth. Flipping up my visor and turning down the GPS volume, I realized the woman in the toll booth was talking to me. She was a very pleasant woman, perhaps a little older than I am. "You're not going to ride that bike across the bridge, are you?" This was said more as a declaration of amazement than a real question. "Girl, you sure are braver than I would be!" This really made my day! It is a tall bridge, but we have a couple of very tall bridges right here in Houston: The Beltway 8 Ship Channel Bridge (which I think is actually steeper if not taller) and the Fred Hartman Bridge across the Ship Channel further south. So I really hadn't given it any thought. Besides, I survived riding across the Mackinac Bridge...ON THE GRATED LANE....so this was nothing!
I made it across the bridge without incident (not even white knuckles or sweaty palms) and continued toward Bradenton where I would work my way west to the DeSoto National Memorial. It was along this stretch of roads that I noticed, for the first time, the shortage of Premium fuel. Not one single gas station had anything other than Regular gas. I stopped at two different stations, before deciding to just fill up with Regular and not worry about it, since the reserve light was now on and I didn't want to worry about it after leaving the park.
DeSoto National Memorial is a beautiful little park, set on a small peninsula overlooking Tampa Bay and the Manatee River. The parking lot is shaded by giant live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. Inside the visitor center I got my National Park stamp and browsed the bookstore (of course). I asked the usual question of the park rangers: If I could buy only one book (I'm on a motorcycle and have little space) what would you recommend? This has always worked, I've never been disappointed in my book selection. They came through with an excellent book recommendation about the Spanish explorers in America. I took the time to watch the very excellent film about DeSoto and his conquistadors before walking a bit of the trail and taking some photos of the overlook and gorgeous view of the bay.
The route across FL was "pure AL" with lots of zigs and zags and turns. I warned Al that I would be bailing out of his group so that I could get to the mid-point checkpoint to take photos. I found my opportunity when the route took us under I-4 and there was an on-ramp right there. With the checkpoint entered into my GPS, I let it take me to the very attactive town of Kissimmee...not the Disneyworld Kissimmee but the real, authentic, historic town center. The check point was one block off the main road but the problem was, there was an Hispanic festival going on in the park right next to the checkpoint, so all roads were blocked off. Fortunately, the couple manning the check point talked to the police, letting them know there would be a couple hundred motorcycles arriving throughout the day, so the woman manning the blockade on the street I approached from let me through.
After hanging around the checkpoint for an hour, with no arrivals, finally Ray and Joe arrived and we decided to get lunch, wandering over to the festival and scoring some excellent cuban food. At that point, the checkpoint was still very slow, so I departed with Ray and Joe to finish the ride and arrive at the final checkpoint, at a beautiful park on the Indian River in Cocoa FL. The second half of the route was definitely the best part of the ride. The last segment took us on a road along the Indian River, past some stately and gorgeous homes then into the little village of Cocoa.
We somehow were managing to stay well ahead of most of the FLC2C participants, so we hung out a bit at the final checkpoint then headed to the hotel. I was eager to get out of the riding clothes and into something more comfortable. Al's mom was there in the lobby and it was so good to chat with her again. She had 3 of her girlfriends coming and they were planning a gals' night out!
Later than evening, the riders gathered around the hotel pool for awards and door prizes. It was a wonderful, if long, day and it was so good to see so many MTF members at the event. Some I don't get to see but once a year, so this was a great opportunity to get caught up with everyone.
Tomorrow: Up the east coast to St. Augustine then home to Houston.
I had two things I wanted to get in St. Petersburg, both for the AMA Grand Tours I'm participating in. This will be the last 6 weeks before the AMA contests are over for the year. I've done diddlysquat on the AMA Italy in America Grand Tour, but have amassed a considerable amount of booty for the AMA World's Largest Grand Tour. So I headed south on 275 toward the downtown area of St. Petersburg, and got off onto 375 headed east.
This was a really pretty area, and I wandered around on the streets a little bit, just checking things out. Ultimately I headed to my first stop, The Coliseum, a really neat older building apparently still in use for what it was intended for. I pulled into the drive and let the one-way aisles take me around the back of the building and to the other side into a really pretty, shaded parking lot. The whole complex had a really neat, old-style Florida look and feel about it. I enjoyed just sitting there in the shade on my bike soaking it all in. Finally, I posed my photo, got on the bike, and wandered through the parking lot to an exit.
I found myself on a one-way street headed in the wrong direction. But with the freeway (375) running along side I had to continue until I found an underpass. Things were even prettier on the other side of the freeway and, after a few wrong turns, I eventually worked my way over to the next AMA photo opportunity at Mirror Lake Park. This was such a gorgeous "old-Florida" area! And my destination was the Mirror Lake World's Largest Shuffleboard and Duplicate Bridge Club. Just to be sure it truly was the world's largest, I rode once around the circumference of the club, amazed at all the shuffleboard courts...countless numbers, all lined up side by side for an entire block. I pulled into the parking lot and worked my way over to the sign that declares their claim as world's largest.
That done, I returned to 375 west to 275 south and prepared to cross the Skyway Bridge to Bradenton. I approached the toll plaza, wishing once again that I'd remembered to buy that Sun Pass, and came to a stop next to the toll booth. Flipping up my visor and turning down the GPS volume, I realized the woman in the toll booth was talking to me. She was a very pleasant woman, perhaps a little older than I am. "You're not going to ride that bike across the bridge, are you?" This was said more as a declaration of amazement than a real question. "Girl, you sure are braver than I would be!" This really made my day! It is a tall bridge, but we have a couple of very tall bridges right here in Houston: The Beltway 8 Ship Channel Bridge (which I think is actually steeper if not taller) and the Fred Hartman Bridge across the Ship Channel further south. So I really hadn't given it any thought. Besides, I survived riding across the Mackinac Bridge...ON THE GRATED LANE....so this was nothing!
I made it across the bridge without incident (not even white knuckles or sweaty palms) and continued toward Bradenton where I would work my way west to the DeSoto National Memorial. It was along this stretch of roads that I noticed, for the first time, the shortage of Premium fuel. Not one single gas station had anything other than Regular gas. I stopped at two different stations, before deciding to just fill up with Regular and not worry about it, since the reserve light was now on and I didn't want to worry about it after leaving the park.
DeSoto National Memorial is a beautiful little park, set on a small peninsula overlooking Tampa Bay and the Manatee River. The parking lot is shaded by giant live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. Inside the visitor center I got my National Park stamp and browsed the bookstore (of course). I asked the usual question of the park rangers: If I could buy only one book (I'm on a motorcycle and have little space) what would you recommend? This has always worked, I've never been disappointed in my book selection. They came through with an excellent book recommendation about the Spanish explorers in America. I took the time to watch the very excellent film about DeSoto and his conquistadors before walking a bit of the trail and taking some photos of the overlook and gorgeous view of the bay.
Now I would head back up to Brandon, near Tampa, get to the hotel, change into shorts and sandals, and go find some lunch. It was an easy 30-40 minutes back to Brandon and the hotel was easy to find, on a perimeter road around a large shopping mall complex. I arrived just minutes after Richard Buber, and pulled my bike up behind his Honda Dream. It's become a tradition of his to ride the FLC2C on a restored vintage bike of some flavor. Last year it was a military BSA, the year before that, a Honda CB160. This Honda Dream was gorgeous!
I went inside and got checked in, then went back out to unpack the bike and move it to a parking spot. Changed out of riding gear, I walked over to the mall and found a really nice little deli and had a sandwich and cold drink. Other riders began showing up throughout the rest of the afternoon, as did Al, the event organizer.
We had a giant group for dinner that evening at the Olive Garden, within walking distance of the hotel. Lots of photos of dinner are at my on-line photo album:
http://barb-smith.fotopic.net/c1593438.html
The next morning, Al had set up registration in front of the hotel and immediately the line snaked back along the driveway, and riders who lived nearby and did not stay at the hotel started arriving. It was fun to watch the bikes and riders, and to walk among them chatting. The first bikes departed around 7:40 AM or thereabouts, and the last bikes, of which I was part of, departed close to 9:00 AM, maybe even later.
We had a giant group for dinner that evening at the Olive Garden, within walking distance of the hotel. Lots of photos of dinner are at my on-line photo album:
http://barb-smith.fotopic.net/c1593438.html
The next morning, Al had set up registration in front of the hotel and immediately the line snaked back along the driveway, and riders who lived nearby and did not stay at the hotel started arriving. It was fun to watch the bikes and riders, and to walk among them chatting. The first bikes departed around 7:40 AM or thereabouts, and the last bikes, of which I was part of, departed close to 9:00 AM, maybe even later.
The route across FL was "pure AL" with lots of zigs and zags and turns. I warned Al that I would be bailing out of his group so that I could get to the mid-point checkpoint to take photos. I found my opportunity when the route took us under I-4 and there was an on-ramp right there. With the checkpoint entered into my GPS, I let it take me to the very attactive town of Kissimmee...not the Disneyworld Kissimmee but the real, authentic, historic town center. The check point was one block off the main road but the problem was, there was an Hispanic festival going on in the park right next to the checkpoint, so all roads were blocked off. Fortunately, the couple manning the check point talked to the police, letting them know there would be a couple hundred motorcycles arriving throughout the day, so the woman manning the blockade on the street I approached from let me through.
After hanging around the checkpoint for an hour, with no arrivals, finally Ray and Joe arrived and we decided to get lunch, wandering over to the festival and scoring some excellent cuban food. At that point, the checkpoint was still very slow, so I departed with Ray and Joe to finish the ride and arrive at the final checkpoint, at a beautiful park on the Indian River in Cocoa FL. The second half of the route was definitely the best part of the ride. The last segment took us on a road along the Indian River, past some stately and gorgeous homes then into the little village of Cocoa.
We somehow were managing to stay well ahead of most of the FLC2C participants, so we hung out a bit at the final checkpoint then headed to the hotel. I was eager to get out of the riding clothes and into something more comfortable. Al's mom was there in the lobby and it was so good to chat with her again. She had 3 of her girlfriends coming and they were planning a gals' night out!
Later than evening, the riders gathered around the hotel pool for awards and door prizes. It was a wonderful, if long, day and it was so good to see so many MTF members at the event. Some I don't get to see but once a year, so this was a great opportunity to get caught up with everyone.
Tomorrow: Up the east coast to St. Augustine then home to Houston.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
On the Road to FLC2C - Day 2
After spending the night in Gulfport MS, I got on the road early this morning to continue my ride east to Florida and the Florida Coast2Coast event, which will start in Brandon FL. I had the MS Gulf Coast National Seashore visitor center programmed into my GPS, but when I got to the exit I realized it was too early and it probably wouldn't be open yet. Bad planning on my part. But the timing would be good to stop at the one in Gulf Breeze FL. 
They have I-110 re-construction nearly complete in the Pensacola area, and I had the road nearly to myself as I headed south toward the bridge that would take me across the bay to Gulf Breeze and the Naval Live Oak Plantation. Once there, I inquired about the status of Fort Pickens and Santa Rosa beach. The park ranger thought that Pickens might be open again to vehicular traffic sometime early next year. This is good news, as I really enjoyed going out there a few years ago. I continued along US-98 toward the Avalon bridge, where I realized the one thing I'd forgotten to do: order a Sun Pass!! I meant to do this weeks ago, knowing I'd be traveling some toll roads and toll bridges this trip. Darn it!!
Once back on I-10, it was a long, straight ride to just east of Tallahassee, where I'd get onto US 19 to head south toward the Tampa area. This is the same route I take to go to Cedar Key each year, and I'm looking forward to this year's Cedar Key weekend in December. My stop for the second night would be the Holiday Inn Express in Chiefland, FL.
I really needed to get a run in and, to my delight, I found a small neighborhood on MS Streets & Trips, so changed into running clothes and headed out of the hotel. A small road ran parallel to the highway and I cut through a side street to pick it up. What's this? I see the pavement end and turn into nice packed sand surface. Wow! The entire little neighborhood was built on these same packed sand roads and it was perfect running surface, especially since I'm still recovering from last year's foot injury. I had tucked my room key and a $20 bill together in the little envelope the hotel key came in, so when I finished my run, I stopped at a BBQ place that was on my route and ordered BBQ to go, took it back to my room, and had a great feast!
Tomorrow: some NPT stamping and AMA Grand Tour point collecting before arriving at the FLC2C hotel in Brandon.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
On the Road to Florida Coast2Coast Ride-Day 1
The little red FZ and I are on the road again, this time headed to Brandon FL for the start of the FLC2C ride (http://www.flc2c.com/). Wanting to let the morning rush hour traffic clear out a little, I didn't leave the house until 9:00 AM this morning. It was a bit nippy around the edges, temperature-wise, as I pulled out of my driveway. This will make the riding day very pleasant.
It has been a while since I've ridden on I-10 heading east. In particular, I was curious to see what the stretch of interstate looked like crossing the Trinity River basin since Hurricane Ike. Sure enough, along I-10 through the Mont Belvieu area, there was considerable grassy, reedy debris pushed up against the median barrier for many miles. This would indicate that the tidal basin washed up over the interstate along here. There were crews and bulldosers working the southside shoulder to remove debris that had been pushed up against the eastbound lane's shoulder barrier. This hurricane really made a mess of things! Tons and tons of debris!
My original plan included getting some AMA Italy Grand Tour points, but I decided to cut those out of my route...I just can't get enthusiastic about this particular Tour. The AMA World's Biggest Grand Tour, on the other hand, has captured my fancy and I'm continuing to add things to the collection. But before I collect my first one of the day, I took a detour in Lafayette to collect a national park stamp at the Acadian Culture Center.
The 18 or 19 miles across the Achafalaya Basin are always a high point for me, riding across western Louisiana! Too soon I was back on solid ground and headed toward the bridge across the Mississippi River. I stopped at my usual favorite Shell station just before the bridge, to fill up and grab some lunch. This gas station/truck stop has some of the best fried chicken anywhere!
A stop at Frostop Root Beer stand for a photo of the root beer mug and my bike was next on the itinerary. If I hadn't just eaten lunch, I would have taken a few minutes to go inside, maybe get a root beer, but I was very full, having eaten two pieces of fried chicken and topped it off with a package of Snowballs. Comfort food!!
Then it was on toward Covington where I got a shot of Ronald Reagan...a statue, that is. World's largest statue of the 40th president of the United States. Poor guy! He stands with a cheery countenance, waving to an empty and sad little park, tucked back in a small little neighborhood.
From there I headed straight south across the Pontchartrain causeway into downtown New Orleans. I wanted to get a photo of the world's largest non-retracting domed stadium...the Superdome! It has been at least 13-14 years since I've been across the lake on this long bridge, the longest bridge in the U.S. to go completely over water. And I'd never ridden it by motorcycle.
When I reached land on the south side, it was an easy 2 miles to get onto I-10 to head into the downtown business area of N.O. I'd been in the Superdome area many times, so had an idea of where to get the photo. The exit ramp put me exactly where I wanted to be and, after getting the shot, I rode around the dome to Poydras street and cruised along for a few blocks to see how it had recovered from Katrina. It was vibrant and busy with afternoon rush hour traffic, which was very good to see. I worked my way back over to Loyola St and then up onto the freeway to I-10 again to continue east. Judging from the very heavy traffic on I-10, I would say that N.O. is back!
It has been a while since I've ridden on I-10 heading east. In particular, I was curious to see what the stretch of interstate looked like crossing the Trinity River basin since Hurricane Ike. Sure enough, along I-10 through the Mont Belvieu area, there was considerable grassy, reedy debris pushed up against the median barrier for many miles. This would indicate that the tidal basin washed up over the interstate along here. There were crews and bulldosers working the southside shoulder to remove debris that had been pushed up against the eastbound lane's shoulder barrier. This hurricane really made a mess of things! Tons and tons of debris!
My original plan included getting some AMA Italy Grand Tour points, but I decided to cut those out of my route...I just can't get enthusiastic about this particular Tour. The AMA World's Biggest Grand Tour, on the other hand, has captured my fancy and I'm continuing to add things to the collection. But before I collect my first one of the day, I took a detour in Lafayette to collect a national park stamp at the Acadian Culture Center.
The 18 or 19 miles across the Achafalaya Basin are always a high point for me, riding across western Louisiana! Too soon I was back on solid ground and headed toward the bridge across the Mississippi River. I stopped at my usual favorite Shell station just before the bridge, to fill up and grab some lunch. This gas station/truck stop has some of the best fried chicken anywhere!
A stop at Frostop Root Beer stand for a photo of the root beer mug and my bike was next on the itinerary. If I hadn't just eaten lunch, I would have taken a few minutes to go inside, maybe get a root beer, but I was very full, having eaten two pieces of fried chicken and topped it off with a package of Snowballs. Comfort food!!
Then it was on toward Covington where I got a shot of Ronald Reagan...a statue, that is. World's largest statue of the 40th president of the United States. Poor guy! He stands with a cheery countenance, waving to an empty and sad little park, tucked back in a small little neighborhood.
From there I headed straight south across the Pontchartrain causeway into downtown New Orleans. I wanted to get a photo of the world's largest non-retracting domed stadium...the Superdome! It has been at least 13-14 years since I've been across the lake on this long bridge, the longest bridge in the U.S. to go completely over water. And I'd never ridden it by motorcycle.
When I reached land on the south side, it was an easy 2 miles to get onto I-10 to head into the downtown business area of N.O. I'd been in the Superdome area many times, so had an idea of where to get the photo. The exit ramp put me exactly where I wanted to be and, after getting the shot, I rode around the dome to Poydras street and cruised along for a few blocks to see how it had recovered from Katrina. It was vibrant and busy with afternoon rush hour traffic, which was very good to see. I worked my way back over to Loyola St and then up onto the freeway to I-10 again to continue east. Judging from the very heavy traffic on I-10, I would say that N.O. is back!
As I rode east of N.O. and into New Orleans East, however, it was obvious that this side of town has not recovered after more than two years. Many abandoned, boarded-up, and vandalized apartment complexes sit along the sides of the freeway looking derelict and forlorn. There appears to be no work being done to reclaim this side of town.
Once I got out of New Orleans East, traffic began to thin out somewhat as we crossed Lake Pontchartrain and headed toward Slidell where I got off and got gas one last time before my stop for the night, 50 miles down the road.
This has been a very uneventful ride today. Even traffic on I-10 seemed a little lighter than usual, except for the rush hour traffic through N.O. Gas stations had plentiful gas and I paid as little as $3.39 for premium in two states (LA and TX) that have some of the highest gas taxes in the country. I was often the only customer, or one of only a couple of vehicles at a pump which is not typical for a weekday along the I-10 corridor. Because the gas stations were nearly empty, I had none of my usual conversations with strangers while at the pumps or inside. It made the day seem very quiet.
Tomorrow: getting a couple of national park stamps along the way, then Chiefland, FL for the night.
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