Crystal River, Florida

March 3rd- 7th,2004

Trip Statistics:

Time Traveled - 23:51 (Seat Time) 6:40 (Stopped)
Miles Traveled - 1381
Accommodations - $199.30
Gas - $52.44
Food (Estimated) - $98.00

     Tuesday:  Not able to leave as planned today. Jim Brown left Raleigh yesterday and is in Crystal River waiting on me as I type this article. This year, attendance on the ride is low so Jim and I are going to change the rules. Instead of a tent, Jim towed his 5th wheel camper and hauled his bike in the rear compartment. Sounds like several steps up the scale of evolution in the camping world. I hope it works out. Jim has not heard me snore...UP CLOSE like in the confines of a camper. Don't be surprised if Jim has me in Motel 6 after 1 night!
    My surgery has not healed up yet so I doubt I will be able to tolerate 628 miles via Interstate all the way. I know, YUCK! But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Besides, if I ride the whole route in one day, then I will be trying to find Jim after dark and he is usually out roaming after dark, especially if it is a full moon.
    My plan is to update this article and post photos every night. Sometimes it don't happen that way though. I might be tired, or it could be too late, or any number of other things might come up. Who would have thought the phone system in our hotel would not be computer compatible? Remember last summer in New Hampshire? It messed up the whole effect of writing every day. But I promise I will try. Check after 10 PM or first thing every morning for updates.

   Wednesday: It is 322 miles from my house to Perry, Georgia where I am spending the night. Jameson Inn has rooms that open into the parking lot and those are my favorite for bike security. My average speed today  was 55.1 MPH, 5.20 hours driving time and 40min.56sec stopped time. That included lunch, a oil change and gas stops.
    All Interstate today so no photos have been posted. I left home around 11:00 and ran into just enough rain to trash my bike just as I turned South on I-75 outside of Knoxville. I stayed on I-75 through downtown Atlanta and noticed a couple of signs displayed 77-79 degrees. I stripped clothes off quickly as I moved South. More tomorrow night!

     Thursday: A great day on the Interstate got even better when I left the 4 lane and got on the back roads for 125 miles. Total mileage today was just under 280 and I arrived at the campground at 4:30 PM. Jim has everything washed, cleaned and shiny for my arrival.
    Wow! What a nice rig! Jim's camper is a 2001 Forest River All American 5th wheel. 36' long with a 10' compartment in the end to haul his bike. Air Conditioned, (temps. today in the mid 80's) cable TV and wireless internet access. Cable TV too! You see, this is the trip we take every year and we always camp out. I bet Robert and Missy Cutshaw wish we had this rig last year.
    We ate at a great restaurant tonight and Jim had a momentary lapse of memory. Remember Jim, call your Mother, not yourself.
    We miss our old buddy Talmadge Blackwell on this trip. He could not get his schedule organized this year and is missing a wonderful weekend.
    A odd thing today. Yesterday I never saw any bikes traveling either direction . Today, there were more bikes heading North than I have even seen. Not sure why, but I estimate 1,000 or more in the 4 hours I was on the superslab. I assume this is common and these riders were people that have been at Daytona for several days. One guy I spoke to briefly, told me Daytona is much better the week before bike week. This reminds me of stories I have heard about Sturgis. Cheaper, less crowded and much better the week before the rally.
    Don Daniel and I have been calling each other back and forth for the last few days. He is in Daytona with his buddies since last weekend. Don is a CRGR member who lives near Detroit and we hope to hook up tomorrow for a visit. Don comes down to Tennessee a couple times a year and rides with us when he comes down. We hope to go to Michigan on a organized club ride someday.
    Tomorrow....Mickey Mouse?

    Friday: An old friend, bright sun, fast bikes and bare breasts in only 200 miles of riding. Oh yeah, and the Harley broke.
    Don Daniels and I hooked up on the phone early this morning and headed towards each other to meet in Central Florida. Don came down from Michigan with some of his buddies and opted for the night life of Daytona over boring Crystal River. The small town of Eustis was our destination and we arrived at about 11:00 AM meeting in a church parking. After a few minutes of socializing, Don, Jim and I headed off for a more comfortable location and found it at the Big Dog Saloon in Mt. Dora. We were welcomed by the locals and treated as if we have been customers for years. After a hour or so, we headed out to get something to eat.
    The sun was bright and I felt a little tingle starting on my forward. Eighty degrees in the shade was the official temperature at Shady Oaks Restaurant and Tavern. A deck out on the river was perfect for lunch. A great hamburger and fries did not take long to consume but the talk was good so we hung around for awhile after we ate. We were watching the boats pass when a blond is a black bathing suite come up revealing two interesting points about her anatomy. She did it in such a way so as to prevent anyone on her boat to see what she had done, but the crowd on shore howled and applauded at the awesome spectacle. The women on shore screamed "fakes" while the men smiled saying "so what?"
    Don had to be back to Daytona by 5:00 so he headed off on that direction. Jim and I take the long way home traveling up through Altoona and along the Ocala National Forest. As we got close to the camp, a mechanical failure occurred to the shifter linkage on my Harley. We were within 3/4 miles of a shop that had a used part and they fixed me right up. Even loaned me the tools to install the part and refused to charge me. I threw $5 at the owner anyway and ran out the door.
    Home tomorrow? We will see.

    Saturday: Leaving today. As I type this (8:00 AM) the weather forecast looks favorable for a two or three day return trip so I am heading home. Jim Brown is just too wild for me and keeping up with his party style is just too tiring. Will type more tonight.
     (6:00 PM) Made it to South Atlanta. Mileage today was roughly 370 miles most was which was on the Interstate. I had planned to return via the pan handle of Florida but time was short so I opted to head straight home. Traffic on the Interstate was awful. Mostly, pickup truck pulling trailers hauling motorcycles. Today, most of those trailers had license plates from Northern states. Tomorrow, I assume I will see more motorcycles that trailers. (Sure hope so.)
    As I got on the Interstate near Lake City, FL. I ran into a brief shower. Again, just enough to trash the bike. The sky was getting dark and I thought about stopping to put on my rain gear. In fact, I saw a few bikers who were doing just that. But I noticed the South Bound cars looked dry and only a few had their wipers on...so I cracked the throttle and was outta the rain in 5 minutes. During that 5 minutes, I would guess the temperature dropped 10 degrees. It dropped a little more in the next 30 minutes but started to climb as the sky cleared and the sun warmed the air.
    I put up a picture of what it looks like to head to Florida with Lilly white skin and then ride in the bright sun for 4 days. No comments about the helmet head/beard please! Ha! Go ahead, I don't care!

    Sunday: Back to Tennessee! Tired and burnt but no more cabin fever.
    I met Earl Pratt today. Earl approached me during lunch and started a conversation. We decided to ride up to Chattanooga together where Earl would take I-24 towards Nashville. We spoke of the differences we saw this year. Mainly, there were thousands of trailers on the Interstate and very few bikes. Most of the bikes we did see were from Georgia or South Carolina. It seemed that very few rode their bikes to Daytona this year. Well, I hope Earl made it home Ok. There is snow in the forecast for the Chicago area.