MN winters suck for motorcycle riders. I’ve been pretty lucky in that many years that I can usually catch a day or two almost every month to get a ride in over the winter. If it’s over 40 degrees and the streets are clear, I’ll take the opportunity to get on the bike, even if it’s only to putt around the lake. Even a mile or two really helps my mental wellness through winter.
The last couple years have sucked for winter riding. No opportunities. Either too cold or too much snow. Mostly both. The last two winters started in October and didn’t end until April. Makes for a long, long time. We’re hardy here in MN, but damn! It seems we’re having to prove it every year lately.
I caught a break this year though. No riding my bike, but in March I flew to Florida where Jim was spending the winter. We spent a few days riding in the Florida sun and it was glorious! For the past ten years my yearly vacation has been to Ft. Myers, FL in March to see a few Twins spring training games. I’m a loyal Twins fan and love my boys of summer but this year I needed a ride more than baseball. Jim had taken his 2018 Glide to Florida with him for the winter and was staying about 50 miles north of Orlando with friends who ride. They had a couple bikes in the garage and offered a 2003 Heritage Softail for our use so we could ride to Daytona Bike Week and wherever else we wanted. Jim took the Heritage and I rode his Glide.
Heritage… Thanks Joe! 
Jim’s 2017 Glide
We spent one day riding around the Lake County area and up into the Ocala National Forest, and through a lot of ranch land. It sure felt great to be that warm. When March rolls around I am more than ready for some time with my face in the sun. I really like riding through forest, albeit a completely different one than you’d find in MN. I wish I knew more about Florida trees, but they do have a couple different kinds of pine along with the huge palms in National Forest. The roads aren’t much of a challenge (unless there’s an alligator in the lane), usually flat and straight for the most part. One day we did actually ride up and down a couple “hills” but it’s not the norm. The ranches in that part of Florida are pretty awesome too. Florida produces a massive amount of beef cattle and a large portion of that area of the state is used for cattle farming. Who knew?
We rode over to the Cabbage Patch, a well-known biker bar, to check it out. They’re one of the “must do” stops of Bike Week and I wanted to toast my friend Barney (more about Barney later). The Patch is known for the coleslaw wrestling bouts they put on during Bike Week. We missed out on it because we were there early in the day. I was okay with that because I’m not wild about being in a large crowd of people. I’d rather go somewhere early and get out before the huge influx of people later in the day. The Patch is a really small bar inside, but there were large tents outside with full bars and music everywhere. I saw three stages (one in the bar, two outside) and a band was playing at each one even though it was mid morning.
Jim and I decided to head for the inside bar 1st to get out of the sun for a bit. After a winter I’m pale enough that it doesn’t take long to burn to a crisp and going from -30 to 80 takes a bit of adjustment. I wanted our first drink at the Cabbage Patch to be a toast to Barney, a friend from riding days with people who are now old friends. This year it so happened that Daytona Bike Week was going on during St. Patrick’s Day. The last time I spoke to Barney was St. Patrick’s Day 2005. He was out riding his panhead and called me from the Cabbage Patch. We laughed and talked about me moving to Florida to work. He said he was a regular at the Patch and could probably get me a job there while I was looking for a paralegal position. We hung up and for a few weeks I didn’t know that I was the last person to talk to him. He was killed shortly after leaving the bar that day when he broadsided a car that turned left in front of him. So I remembered my friend with the first toast and know that he would’ve been happy to see it.
My guy and I decided to check out the wares. I’m not much of a shopper, but was looking for a cup holder for the bike and a Cabbage Patch t-shirt. Didn’t really find anything I had to have except a tank top, so I splurged on that. Should’ve bought Anita a shot glass or something, but I wasn’t thinking. There was quite a selection of stuff; metal art, groovy leather hats, motorcycle gadgets, t-shirts, chick-wear, boots, and most anything else. We probably spent a bit over an hour walking through the grounds looking at vendors, which was more than enough for me. We were getting hot and wanted to get back on the bikes.
We decided to pack another Bike Week activity in that day and go to Destination Daytona. I’d never heard of it but Jim had been there before. There’s something of a complex of hotel rooms, specialty shops, some restaurants, a Harley dealership, and a J&P Cycles Superstore. It was chocked full of vendors during Bike Week. Anything you need motorcycle related you should be able to get here. We toured a couple toy hauler RVs and compared them to Jim’s, then found a cigar store and spent a few minutes in there while Jim had a short cigar. It was the first time we’d been in air conditioning that day, so we lingered a bit and talked to a couple from South Carolina for a while.
We shopped a bit, but it didn’t really last long. Neither one of us are compelled to look at every vendor booth and we generally don’t like being in crowds of people. We cut that short and went to the BBQ restaurant on the site. Luckily we hit a lull and got a table and our food quickly. After we were seated a huge line formed, so we hit it right. The BBQ was good and the iced tea cold. And not sweet! After lunch I did end up buying a couple bandanna-like head covers to keep my hair in check when riding.
I’m really into vintage motorcycles and getting to see the bikes from the Wall of Death was really great. I was disappointed there wasn’t a show scheduled while we were there, but it was great to get up close to look at the bikes they use. There were also a couple really amazing vintage riding suits/gear examples to gaze at. I love the look of the vintage stuff. At that point we decided we’d had enough of people and were ready to get back on the bikes. The line to get out of the place was crazy, so instead of playing by the rules, we rode right through the vendor area and popped out at the front of the line. Cheating death and risking tickets. Ha! Actually, we weren’t the only bikes that rode through. Some people were delivering their bikes to vendors for customization and I assume that’s what everyone thought we were doing.
The days kind of ran together while I was there. We rode along US1 on the east coast one day. Rode around ranch country another. Hit some really great places for food and drinks. My fave food was at Eaton’s Beach Sandbar and Grill. We had some righteous BBQ shrimp! The sauce on it was to die for! I wanted to go back every day for that. We had oysters at The Oyster Troff in Eustis, FL. Definitely go for the raw ones there and see the US Oyster Shucking Champ! Wherever we are we tend to find food and drinks!
Oh, and we did fit a couple baseball games in because… well, it’s spring training! Go Twins! Go Cards!