Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Rides, Rallies, & Events Florida Meet and Greet Sign Up

Mark,

I thought I read that Phil will be the Road Captain (Road Captain: a person who devises group riding rules or guidelines for an organized group ride. And who communicates these guidelines to the group, and who generally plans and lays out group rides. The Road Captain may or may not ride lead for a particular ride) or Lead Bike (Lead Bike: a person who rides in the most forward position in a group and who relays information to all other riders in the group via hand signals. The Lead Bike determines the group’s direction, speed, choice of lane, and formation. He or she often must make quick navigation decisions in the face of road hazards, changes in road surface conditions, poor signage, construction and other obstacles while maintaining control of his or her bike and communicating to those following. If there are three groups on a ride, there will be three Lead Bikes).

You probably need to assign someone as the Drag Bike (Drag Bike: a person who rides in the last position in a group. The Drag Bike must secure a lane for the rest of the group during lane changes into faster traffic (move first to block oncoming traffic) and close the door (move to block passing traffic) when a lane is lost in a merging lane situation. Usually this is the most experienced rider in a group, for the Drag Bike is the rider who stops to assist a rider who has mechanical trouble, loses control, or drops out of a ride for some other reason. The Drag Bike should be prepared to render aid to a downed or disabled rider in a group. If at all possible, the Drag Bike should have a co-rider who can assist with traffic control if a serious problem arises. If there are three groups on a ride, there will be three Drag Bikes. The rider in this position is sometimes called the tail gunner).

More info at Riding Etiquette

Tom

So, what is going on down there!

I called my sweetie last night. He said they were drinking & talking about me.

Please keep us posted.
I wish I could be there!

Don't hurt each other,
Uncle Charlie

Well, I made it back after my surprise guest appearance. 550 miles in 9 hours and only 1 hour of it in the rain It started off as just a mist but then kept coming down harder the closer I got to home. I didn't want to stop to put on my rainsuit because I was so close so I just got wet. It was still worth it even though I spent as much time on the road going to and from the rally as I did at the rally.

Greg,
Glad you made it home OK. Guess your new T-Shirt got wet. That was your 40% chance of rain. Glad you made it and plan on coming again next year for round #2. Do you have any idea how far Charlie was going to ride today. At 1100 miles one way and on a Speedy with 70,000+ miles, that guy is a long rider for sure. Thanks for coming down.
Mark

Well i am almost home. Stopped in same crap town i did on the way down just northwest of mobile alabama. just found an idle computer in the hotel. hope i don't get caught. started raining on me at Tallahassee and still hasn't quit. washed my clothes for free in shower with me. everything was pre-soaked anyway. waiting for it all to dry in pay-dryer at hotel.

even though i spent about 10 hours of my trip in the rain, it was worth every minute of it. and that home-made hooch really went down smooth when i got in the hotel room. I am going to have to make the georgia rally for sure now. will be bringing an assortment of colored sharpies.

hope everyone else had a safe dry trip home.
Charlie

time to hit the road again. guess what folks still raining. but the forcast is looking good as soon as i get a little farther north. I will check in once i get home. only 387 more miles according to mapquest.

Hey Mark,

We all got back safe to South Florida yesterday. Took the yutes to the Keys today. Little over 200 miles all told. The weather was outstandingly perfect!!

We got down there and the yutes are text messaging pics of the water/sand/trees/etc. back to their friends up north to p!ss them off!!

Quote:

---

We got down there and the yutes are text messaging pics of the water/sand/trees/etc. back to their friends up north to p!ss them off!!

---

yes they are...

PS: Phil, If this site had an audio feature, one sound byte that would get played over and over, is you saying "outstanding."

I see how it is Greg...You waited til I couldn't make it & then you decided to go.

I swear that wasn't the plan, it just kinda worked out that way. I didn't even know if I was going until I put a new chain on my bike Friday night.

good people, good food, good rideing, good fire,good music good b.s.
what better way to spend a wknd than that???? THANKS all!!! mostly Mark, for inviteing us. we all know, it takes alot to put something like this on so i think its safe to say....we all raise our glass to you sir!!!!!!

Hi Mark,
Thank you for a great Rally! It was a pleasure meeting you! Loads of fun as we met a lot of new faces . The best burgers, pulled pork supper feast, breakfast and cold beer! Outstanding accommodations and a beautiful chunk of Florida you have there.
Lynn and I rode home arriving in time to catch some football. Saw (Jane's, well same color too) Honda Magna on the side of the road and couldn't figure out what was up with the no-power issue and hot battery. Skipped the Frog legs as Lynn's back was hurting. See you in Georgia or once a month till the temps rise above 100 degrees! It sure was a surprise seeing Greg ride in as we had met another member Brian (BrianT) on our Saturday ride round the lake and he was riding a yellow speedy too. Lynn and I said Greg's here. Well now... Had Charlie ride all the way out from where the land is below sea level to where the land is below sea level . Mighty fine seeing all the brothers and sisters at the rally!

I had so much fun at the FL Rally that I was ready to leave for the GA Rally yesterday!!!

Mark,

Thanks for being such a great host. All your efforts were much appreciated. It was great seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones, friends one and all. Nothing like great company, food, beer and of course riding our bikes in some of the best FL weather one could ask for.

The camp fire was fun and the boys going off for cow tipping was so funny listening too from a distance.

On the way home Tom (Panman)his wife and myself stopped off at the Sugar Shack (about 0.5 mile down the road from the Frog Festival) for a beer. This old guy was sitting at the bar playing guitar and singing for beer and tips. It was great with half the bar singing along.

Again thanks for all your efforts and everyone else for contributing to a great weekend.

Tom

Had a great weekend in florida. thanks to mark for the hospitality of his home. it was great to meet up with so many new people. i really needed to get away for a while and this was perfect therapy to get my brain recharged. Even with 10 plus hours of rain during my travels the trip was well worth it.

once again proved the worth of never having enough wire ties in my tool pouch. the zipper on the left leg of my chaps went fubar. zip tied the thing shut and rode on. of course the dang thing didn't break till it started raining in tallahassee on my way home.

again thanks to mark. I can't wait till the next time. see yall in georgia in a couple months. Charlie

Well Matt and I arrived in NJ this morning. To make a long story short, we arrived at 3:00 AM after a 17 hour drive straight up the east coast and had to sleep in Matt's truck (again) in my friend's driveway in NJ. I made my way into NYC for some well needed sleep and Matt made it back to Honeoye around 1:30.

We had a great time down in FL and again thank Mark for hosting a great rally, Fill and Janet for opening their home to us, Tom and Graham for the great steaks and crab legs and letting a couple kids they've never met before the weekend crash on their couch, and Jim and Lynn for another great feed, opening their house as well, and for showing us the twistiest roads in all of Florida.

It was great meeting a handfull of new people, and going cow-tipping with a few new acquaintances as well...we'll have to work on our stealth abilities for the next time. Charlie...thanks for the shirt...there'll be some more shine in store for you at the GA Rally.

I do believe that stealth is the key to productive cow tipping. we probably made so much noise that matt even heard us from his coma. Live and learn.

Good to hear yall are off the road. See everyone in Georgia.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for coming. I really enjoyed myself and that is the bottom line for me. We had great weather, great food and great friendship. I am looking forward to the Georgia Rally so I can see you ugly faces again. Matt and Mark I have acquired a couple of uniforms from my school crossing guard buddies on the next rally you can be our crossing guards at each intersection. My thanks to Tom and Graham. I loved the food but most of all hanging out around the smoker with Tom watching the Yutes work on the bench project of getting the dirt bike up and running. Thanks guys. Glad you all made it home OK and see you in Georgia. I already have the time off.
Later//Mark

I had a blast