Summary:
- Trip - Plano TX to Coushatte LA to Evergreen AL to
Daytona FL to Palm Bay FL to Key West FL
to Ocala FL to Tallaahassee FL
- Pack - Runt/X picked up WDawg, met Oldman and Coyote,
went South with Oldman, trucked home
- Date - Tues 10/16 @ 3:00 PM till Thurs 10/25 @
11:00 PM
=> ~9 days (Bike trip
ended Tues @ 10:55 AM)
- Miles - xxx total/yyyy on bike
Tues
- Plano to Coushatte LA
- 75S, 635E, 80E, 20E, 71S, xxxx
- 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
- 265 miles
- Runt comes home from work and feels need to clean house.
X fumes silently.
- Pleasing. First real tour in over a year. Brief
panic as 'do we take 80 or 30 or 20' shows routeplanning
has been minimal. 80 selected flawlessly.
- Standard interstae blast to 71. No cops on 20, 4
cops on 71. LA loves speeding tickets.
- Dawg has got himself a nice pound and a kitchen stove from the
Four Seasons. Fried Catfish was
very pleasing
Wed
- Coushatte LA to Evergreen AL
- 84 E
- 8:15 AM to 5:45 PM
- 450 miles
- Clear sky becomes sprinkles by time we loadup. 'Just put
on raintop, don't need the pants' was
questionable call as we run in rain for 1.5 hour.
- Dawg takes point on his shiny new Red Gold Wing.
- Small towns, a stop for at gas station with no gas and a gear
removal stop hurt progress. 84 is not
the favorite road at this time.
- 84 gives some rolling hills in MS mostly 4 lane divided.
First 100 mil in AL was best part.
- Good first day. Dawg is doing fine job as LOTR, decent
steak in Evergreen, no bugs at the hotel.
- Oldman/Coyote are 260 miles back and running in heavy
rain. It is good to get out early.
Thurs
- Evergreen AL to Daytona FL
- 84E, 75S, 10E, (miss the loop around Jacksonville, booboo), 95S
- ~8:00 AM to ~6:00 PM and lost an hour to time zone change
- 475 miles
- Rain for 4 hours across 84, took off gear so we could put it
back on in 5 miles. "Ride to the Sun"
finally works.
- Dawg continues to execute well as LOTR. No curves and
rain is not preferred environment but
still a most pleasing day. 84 has some 'interesting'
route signs. Quiteness of GW shows value
as Dawg actually hears X's horn and sweeps over to proper
exit curve/corkscrew.
- Hotel across from J&P Cycle/Daytona Pig Stand has room for
$xxx.yy. X stumbles back to pay
when Runt/Dawg heckle him. Lovely KOA right
down the street was rejected by the high rollers
- Dawg is down 160 lbs from when he bought his rainsuit and the
bungee cord around the stomach to
minimize flapping is not fashionable. No suit
purchased, fashion ploce remain on alert.
- Runt's original Frogg Toggs were outstanding. Replacement
suit is junk and get replaced.
- Oldman/Coyote remain to the west. Old's cell phone
continues to be worthless but 'rain....rain ...rain'
is heard.
Fri
- Daytona FL to Palm Bay FL
- Pack wanders into Daytona for people watching
- Runt continues her 'if it says Gradma on baby clothes, we need
one' campaign
- Multiple stretched sport bikes on the streets
- Meet/Greet Joker and crew at Kaw demo tent. X looks good
on a Concurs
- Motel 6 cannot be got to. Sign is seen, route to hotel
unclear. Pack determines it is definately not
on the south ramp and get a bonus 26 mile loop to
get back.
- Old/Coyote swim in with horror stories of rain.
- Meet/Greet pack at HotSauce/Margot
Sat
- Cruise Palm Bay FL area
- Dawg decides weather forecast means time to head home.
- Pack does obligatory 'touch the sand and water at the beach.
- Lovely lunch on the water
- Back to Hacienda for a fine feed and more meet and greet
Sun
- Palm Bay FL to Key West FL
- 75S, FL Turnpike, 1
- ~330 miles
- Coyote heads north, Old and X/Runt head south
- Good ride down, if the Keys were 50 miles instead of 100 it
would be perfect
- Pack rents scooters and terrorize the locals
Mon
- Key West FL to Ocala FL
- 1, Turnpike, 75
- ~460 miles
- Make good time blasting back
Tues
- Ocala FL to Tallahassee FL
- 75, 10
- Crash at 10:55AM, hospital
Wed
- Hotel in Tallahassee
- Get Uhaul, strap in bike, send Oldman towards home, be a nurse
Thur
- Tallahassee FL to Plano TX
- 10W, 12W, 49N, Loop Shreveport, 20W, etc to home
- 9:30 AM to 11:00 PM
- ~900 miles
- Runt troopers up and climbs in truck
- 4 very expensive gas stops later (single digit mileage) we get home
Early part was great, return home was bad.
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