Florida Walkabout - April 2008

This ride was a little different in concept. Most rides are planned with some detail. Where you are going, where you are going to camp and so on. While our group are not planners of detail, there is always an itinerary of sorts. This trip was going to be completely different. It was just going to be about the ride and nothing else. The only part that would be planned was to ride south into Florida for two and half days and north back home for two days, with no destination or turning point in mind. However far south we got, or didn't, would not be an issue. We had learned that this was a difficult concept for others to understand. Responses to the curious of "We are just headed south" drew responses of "No really, where are you going?" We decided on Key West as a good answer. This response drew lots of advice on how to get there and what to do once we arrived. One kindly soul said he didn't believe us as we were riding to low in the saddle. When we enquired what he meant he said "If you are going to Key West it appears you do not have enough money as your wallets are not thick enough!" We heard quite a bit of this, with warnings that primitive camp sites can run as high as $80 per night, so perhaps its a good thing we never made it!

Now this may seem an easy thing to do, but it really takes some effort to get your mind around it. Our daily lives are so full of schedules, deadlines, appointments and planning that it was quite difficult not to allow this to carry over into the trip, especially the planning stage, to really come to grips with the fact that there is no "planning stage". Nada. In a discussion with Kelsey I was going on about how many hours we needed to ride everyday in order to get here or there. Kelsey wanted know what the difference was between not having a "destination" but having a daily number of miles or hours to ride every day. I had to admit there was none, and realized this was not going to be easy.

So, the only plan was for the Alabama group, Brendan and Sean, to meet us in Perry FL at about 2:00 PM. Kelsey and I got a little bit of a late start, but not as late as Brendan and Sean as they had forgotten the one hour time difference between Alabama and Florida and the back roads took a little longer than they had planned. "there was that "planned" word insinuating itself again. When they called to say they would be two hours late into Perry I had to remind them if there is no plan or schedule then you cannot possibly be late. Right? So, instead of Kelsey and I tapping our fingers and waiting in frustration, we realized that we did not have to be anywhere in particular either as we had not particular place to be that night. The original plan called for heading towards Yankee Town when Brendan and Sean arrived, but hey, that was now just a thought, not a plan!

We had lunch at Poncey's and had the Potato Burger Loaf the waitress recommended. You had to be dying of starvation to finish it the portion was so large. The parking lot had huge shade trees covered with Spanish Moss.

Kelsey's Kawasaki was having the usual Kawasaki problem of fuel starvation. Past experience showed that changing the inline fuel filter helped, so we went in search of one.

My TomTom, after working great through all the back road twists and turns, had given up the ghost about 20 minutes from Perry right at an unsigned fork in the road. Fortunately, Kelsey had brought his Garmin so we were soon on track. I took the TomTom apart and had the battery tested, but it was not that. Having the TomTom om the bike was absolute magic as took away all of the stress of navigating, so a replacement was sought, preferably under warranty as it was less than one year old. WalMart seemed a likely vendor so we went there. They could do nothing with the warranty, but we were advised to buy a replacement and then simply return the non-functioning one to the WalMart in Conyers with the new receipt. This did not seem exactly Kosher, but we needed another one anyway so soon had the new one out and mounted. It worked just fine and we were set. The old one went in the box.

We found a fuel filter for Kelsey's bike and soon effected a parking lot repair and had the new filter installed. By that time Brendan and Sean had arrived, famished. After they had eaten we left for Yankee Town.

TomTom took us straight to the Shade Tree campground, but no management in sight, and worse, no bathrooms either. Using local advice we went to the Big Oak Campground in Inglis. The campground is right on the Withlacoochee river. Beautiful location, but very short of space. However, the owners were wonderful. We arrived late, but that did not seem to faze them at all. They apologized for the fact they were pretty full, but rode us all over the show in a golf cart so that we could pick a spot. They then promptly ran extension cords and put up temporary lights so that we would not have to put tents up in the dark. We did not have the heart to tell them we could do this in the dark in the rain, if necessary. They just went out of their way to see that we were settled in and comfortable.

Maps can be very misleading when you do not know the area. The map showed barrier island running along the coast of East Florida. The barrier islands along the North Carolina coast are pretty wild and uninhabited so why would these be different? We headed south on 19. The map showed a causeway across to Honeymoon Island, but no no connecting roads to the islands to the south. We stayed on 19 until we intersected 60 and then turned west towards Clearwater. The approach to 60 was beautiful, but 60 was a parking lot. It took well over an hour in hot sunshine to cross the causeway. Once on the Island, headed south it took most of the day to to reach the southern tip of the Island, a distance of about 78 miles. High rises on both sides block any chance of a breeze or of the Ocean. But hey, we are not going anywhere, right? So I turned the radio on, fired up the MP3 play and let the Beatles turn it into a slow moving block party.

Coming off the Island you soon cross over to I275 and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across the bay. A truly spectacular ride and worth the wait.

Coming off the Skyway Kelsey saw a small alligator on the side of the road. While we were a little skeptical, later events showed that our doubts were misplaced.

We had wanted to continue south and pick up the barrier islands south of Bradenton, but, being a little more cautious now, we sought local information even though the map showed the islands as pretty much uninhabited, locals assured us that it was now high priced residential with little access to the beaches. It was late afternoon and we decide jut to camp in Bradenton after getting something to eat. A lady coming out of a CSV Pharmacy recommenced the Fishbar. She said she ate there for lunch most days and the seafood was great. Lulled into a sense of complacency we found it and paid no attention to the fact that we were the only vehicles in the parking lot and the only diners. The food, service and pricing were all absolutely terrible. But it provided sometime to call and find a campground. Most simply did not answer their 'phones, and those that did were full. We found one back in Ruskin, and so had to trek back across the Sunshine Skyway and head north. Florida is not a Helmet state and while we were on the back roads coming from Bradenton I took my helmet off and strapped it to my luggage. It was not very secure, but we were not moving very fast. Once we got onto 275 the speed picked up to about 75/80 mph. I heard something come off and hit the road. I thought something had been blown out of the little box up front, but a quick inventory showed that that was not the case. I instantly knew it was my helmet, a quick look in the rear view mirror showed the rest of the gang pulled over in the grass about 50 yards apart and way back. I pulled over and waited for them knowing I was in for some ribbing. I also had to listen to the war stories about dodging the flying helmet. Those I could believe as I am sure that a helmet hitting the pavement at 80 mph develops some action! Apart from a few scratches the helmet looked OK. I was just glad my head was not in it at the time.

We found the Sunlake RV Resort in Ruskin without much effort. It was very nice. Our host Chester made us welcome. Very good bathrooms, showers, lots of hot water and a laundry room to convert some of clothes from dirty to clean. Our site was right next to the bathrooms and right on the edge of the lake. It could not get much better than this.

The next morning it was time to head back, so we headed east toward 29 along unnamed back roads, trusting TomTom. We stopped at the Sun City Restaurant in Sue Grande for breakfast. Very highly recommended. Breakfast was very good, as was the service.

As populated as Florida had been so far, we headed east across open country that was almost completely unpopulated. Apart from the odd orange grove now and again, nothing. We stopped at a small farming town for gas where Kelsey took the opportunity to make repairs to his helmet.

One of the things we really learned on this trip is that minor repairs are obviously just part of riding. We have not been on a single trip that did not require something. This trip was no different Loose bolts, loose chains, loose lights, loose helmets. Just a lot of problems with stuff getting loose.

TomTom, the new one, decided to quit just before we hit 29. It seemed as though it was an electrical problem in that TomTom was not being charged. The one thing both Brendan and I noticed, he also had a TomTom, was that their appeared to be quite a bit of vibration. I was using a homemade mount, Brendan was using a bought one, but both mounts used TomTom's mounting system where TomTom slid into two grooves. Both the grooves and the back of the TomTom was covered with a fine white powder which we figured was finely ground plastic caused by TomTom vibrating in the mount. The purchase of a new charger did not solve the problem for long. Switching back to my old TomTom helped a bit, but navigation became a bit of a hit and miss affair.

The TomTom I had bought at WalMart in Perry expired on the way back in Macon GA. This had vertical lines down the screen so I knew that was toast and was able to return it to WalMart with a clear conscience. When I got back and was able to really have a look at it, I found my old TomTom worked in the car, but the USB connector was a bit fragile. I took the Tom Tom apart and found that the white powder from the vibrating mount had got inside and was effecting the contact with the USB Port. I cleaned it out and bought a heavy duty mount from RAM at http://www.ram-mount.com . These folks make mounts for a lot of things. Their mounts are not pretty, but they look like they were made for severe use military conditions. Mounted in this mount the TomTom was as solid as a rock. This mount does not use the TomTom slots it uses grips that clip the TomTom in place. The TomTom was a bit of a loose fit, but I went to the hardware store and bought the foam insulator that goes behind the light switch. This fit in the RAM Cage behind the TomTom as though it was made for it and made the TomTom real snug. Have not had a single problem since. The moral is that if you do not use the unbelievably expensive TomTom made specifically for motorcycles, buy a RAM mount. Worth every penny.

That night found us in Leesberg looking for a camping spot. A fish camp which seemed like a good spot turned out to be a trailer park now. While we were pondering what to do next, an old faded Ford Escort pulled up and this little gnome of a man got out. Even from where we were we could see his mouth moving and as he came in range could hear him talking. The words came in a torrent but we finally understood we were to follow him and he would lead us to a motel where we could rent a room for $35 or camp in the field behind for free. Sounded like a good deal, so we followed him to the Melody Motel on 29. We discovered his name was Casey Balcerzak, his wife was Judy, that he was part Polish, part Russian and was a mine of information for anything that had occurred within a 50 mile radius of the hotel. He had all the newspaper clippings to prove all of it, and when I asked him to write his name and phone number on a piece of paper, I found that he had written "Fri. Feb 2 - 2007. Tornado 3:20 AM hit Lady Lake - Lake Mare. 20 people died". I not only had his name, but a piece of him. Casey is one of those rare and interesting people you meet that have a heart of pure gold. Casey told us to go to The Villages, it was just down the road, turn left, beer $1, well drinks $2, hamburgers and hot dogs. So we went and were pleasantly surprised. A totally contained retirement community built around a new town built in the old Florida Spanish style with a large town square. The square had a bandstand, complete with band, and everyone was out dancing and having a great time. Very unique. The beer really was a dollar too.

The next day when we headed north on 29 we realized that we had not quite appreciated how big The Villages was. We drove through a few miles of facilities including a huge medical complex and hospital. I am not sure if this complex is part of The Villages, but without doubt, if you got sick, you would not have to travel far, everything was right on your doorstep. Lots of golf carts and lots of roads for them to use to get just about anywhere.

We ran through our first sprinkle and then hit the cold front that had been steadily moving east and the weather turned cold. As we headed north the temperature dropped steadily and a pretty healthy crosswind came up. A lot of the road was through Cyprus forests, and you had to watch the gaps as the wind was quite strong. We broke out of the trees into a swamp called Paynes Prairie. I guess he had a sense of humor because this was definitely a swamp. Closer examination showed it was not only not a prairie, but was loaded up with alligators. Big ones. In the ditch right next to the road. We counted nearly 40 in about a hundred yard stretch. And that does not count the many we did not see. If your bike left the road here you better having walking on water at speed down pat. No laying around on the ground moaning. These are very big alligators.

The temperature dropped steadily and it got really cold. We stopped at the turn off the the Okeefenokee Swamps and I nearly froze to death standing in the wind. It makes no sense, and everyone thought I was just being funny, but in conditions like this I am warmer with the bike moving than stopped so I was keen to be on my way as I was really cold.

The Okeefenokee is the source of the Suwanee river made famous by Stephen C. Foster in his song "Way Down Upon the Swanee River (Old Folks at Home"

The road to the state park was quite long, but they had a nice campground, although it was quite pricey. They charged us $15 dollars each to camp, which was OK, but slapped use with a $25 per vehicle parking permit when we left. We argued that we were on motorcycles, not a proper vehicle, but our pleas fell on deaf ears. $35 per night to camp is a bit excessive.

We soon had a roaring fire going, but the temperature continued going down and got below freezing that night. It felt like someone had left the air conditioning on full cold in tent and I could not find the heat switch.

We woke up to find Kelsey had ridden the 20 miles into town at 5:00 AM and returned with cups of hot coffee. He had to ride through the swamp at one point as the park gates were still locked at that time of the morning, but the coffee was appreciated by all.

Packed up and went into town, just a small country restaurant and a gas station, and had a good country breakfast, eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, grits and coffee and left warm and with a full stomach for the last leg of the trip home.

We all dressed with everything we had to wear against the cold including full helmets and balaclavas. It was still a mighty chilly.

We parted company with Sean and Brendan in Pearson Georgia and they headed west to Alabama.

The rest of the trip for Kelsey and I was pretty uneventful. Some of those back roads have long stretches with no gas stations and we limped into one with Kelsey on reserve and us both traveling the last 20 miles at 40 miles an hour trying to stretch the gas without having any idea where the next gas stop might be.

Nine O'Clock that evening Brendan called. I was expecting him to say they had arrived safely. But no. It had got so cold that they decided that they were going to give up on the back roads and they punched into Brendan's TomTom to take them home the "Fastest" route. To TomTom that simply means "Head for the nearest interstate, even if you have to back track". So TomTom, instead of heading west or even northwest, headed north for I20 and they were having a bite to eat in Newnan Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. They still had about 3 hours of riding in what was now below freezing weather. Shades of my trip back from Roanoke Virginia in 2 degree below freezing weather for 9 hours down 81 along the Blue Ridge Mountains. But alls well that ends well, even though Sean got home in the early hours of the morning to find all the cars in his driveway coated with ice.

We all agreed that traveling without any place to go is the way to ride if you do not have to go anywhere. It really takes the pressure off. Any delays caused by anything don't mean anything, you just sit back and enjoy. These type of ride must become the regular way of riding. They sure beat the other type.