Get out there and ride!
My wife's first tour on her motorcycle!
I've finally convinced my wife to take a ride that is longer than a run to a local haunt for breakfast. ON HER OWN MOTORCYCLE NO LESS!
She rode her 650 V star Classic to Jacksonville, Florida from Naples, Florida and back again overThanksgiving weekend. She did splendid and actually had fun. Her motorcycle performed without a hiccup and not one complaint from her about being tired, or cold or anything. My daughter rode on the back of my '08 Triumph Tiger with me. Total ride up and back was about 700 miles.
Our route was to take back streets andblvds from Naples to SR 31 that is in N. Ft. Myers. We rode that north into Arcadia, Fl. where we picked up U.S. 17 up to Lakeland, Fl. Out of there we found SR 33 which winds it's way towards Eustis, Fl. where there is this gem of a road called SR 19 that meanders through the Ocala National Forest. This places you in Palatka, Fl. and we found U.S. 17 again into Jax.
We took our time and averaged maybe 50 mph. With breaks every hour or so, we got up there in about 9 1/2 hours.
Maybe longer trips and camping is on the horizon. For my wife, roughing it is a 3 star hotel. I'll push my luck on a later date.
One lap around Florida! (Almost)
This trip started with just a thought. My wife and I were in two different places. She was in Brazil (she's Brazilian) taking care of matters concerning a second home for us in her country. I was in Texas training for a job to be part of the security force for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
When we returned from our trips, not knowing when I would deploy to Afghanistan, on a whim we decided to take a motorcycle trip up to Panama City, Florida from Naples.
What started out as an up and back over the weekend turned into a 4 day ride in the worst weather We've ridden in. It wasn't all bad but a storm came in off of the Atlantic with 60 mph winds and caused a lot of havoc for us. Being the trooper that she is, we had fun regardless of what mother nature threw at us. We did have good weather for the first two days but it deteriorated quickly.
All in all, we rode 1100 miles and never left the state. (We threw in a ride over to Jacksonville to see my Dad before I deploy overseas) U.S. 98 along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida's panhandle is a must ride if you're ever up/down there.
dstrickland has been a member of our motorcycle community for 16 years, 195 days. dstrickland's home location for riding is South West Florida.