108 hours! 4 1/2 days. No better way to spend it than in the saddle of a steel horse. My pal Paul and I have been wanting to get away on a road trip to the Keys for quite some time. It's been 5 months since I've been more than a hundred miles from home and I was getting an itchy throtle hand. We had a few days off from all our jobs so figured now was as good a time as any to head south. Just so happened that bike week was also going on in Daytona.
Sunday morning 0800: Bike is packed and ready to roll. Talked our relief at the fire station into coming in early so we could get out of town as soon as possible. Clear day and not much traffic on the roads. There is just something soothing about hearing that twin cruise at 5000 rpms for hours on end. Not getting in any real hurry just enjoying the ride. End up on the back highways of Mississippi heading south before lunch time. Did I mention the weather was beautiful? Supper time rolls around and we find ourselves in Pensacola. After a great meal of grilled talipia and shrimp its back on the road. Once it got good and dark and we had been on the road for 13 hours decided to find a place to lay our heads. Cool little rest area in Ponce de Leon, Fl seems very inviting but we opt for the roach motel that was only $50 bucks. Some 99 cent beers from the gas station and off the sleep.
Monday 0730: Wake up to another beautiful day. Choke down a week old sausage biscuit and rock star for breakfast and to the open road we go. The miles clip away and we find ourselves slowly cruising down A1A. There are not many things in life that smell better than the wind coming off the ocean. Its hard to concentrate on the road with the waves breaking to my left. Traffic gets a little more congested the closer we get to Daytona. Find a place to park amid all the trailers and walk around to see the sights. Buy some t-shirts and after about an hour we head south on US 1. See a storm brewing out off the coast but never get any rain. The night is so beautiful that we just keep on cruising. About 0430 found a nice church parking lot in key largo, rolled out my sleeping mat and caught an hour of sleep.
Tuesday 0700: I just love waking up with the sun in the lower latitudes. The smell of salt in the air and the relaxed feeling of the keys recharges the soul. Arrive at the southern most point marker and there are so many tourists milling about we had to wait in line to get our picture taken with the thing. Find a place to stash the bikes and take off on foot to exlopre the town. Buy some trinkets to prove we were there and get some pictures of the wildlife roaming the streets. Stop by the fire station to see if they are hiring. The pay is not as good as home but to live by the sea would make up for it. What trip to the keys wouldn't be complete without a margarita? Could have stayed and drank a dozen but back on the bikes to head north. Here is where the trip got interesting. Noticed a little more slack in the chain than there should be. reached down and had way more play in the cush drive than should be there. After having a bad experience on a road trip before, I had checked it out very good before leaving. This appears to be a weak link in the bike that is fine till it is bad. Then it is really bad. Granted its been 40,000 miles since i changed it out and shouldn't complain but i will anyway. The Marine Corps taucht me how to improvise, adapt and overcome so I found a K-Mart, bought a bicycle tube and found a little garage that let me use a floor jack. 30 minutes later and 3 thickness of inner tube sandwiched into the cush rubber and i was back on the road. Had a lunch of fresh seafood that couldn't be beat. Found a secluded spot along the road to swim for a while and take a bath in the ocean. Rolled my mat out on the beach next to the bike and napped till dark. Feeling refreshed, out of the keys and across the everglades to cruise up the west side of Florida. Stop in the worst rest area i have ever seen near San Antonio around 0100 for a few hours shuteye. Some deep down instinct told me to stretch out one of my tarps for some shelter even though the night sky was full of stars. Turned out to be a good idea because around 0300 the bottom fell out. Ignored the 0430 alarm on my pager and slept in till 0600.
Wednesday 0630: Our hasty shelter packed away and northward we go. Turned into a beautiful day and more miles fell behind us. Stayed off the freeway and got to see some really pretty little towns. As the day grew longer, a change in the air could be felt. The upper 80 degree weather of the keys was now gone and the panhandle was a lot cooler. As the sun got closer to the horizon more clothes went on. Soon after dark, we thought we must have transported ourselves to the artic becasue it was now very cold. Ended up at the same roach motel from the first night of our trip and decided to give them some more of our business. A few coronas and a hot shower seemed in order.
Thursday 0800: It seems I didn't learn from experience because now the sausage biscuit i had for breakfast was probably sitting right next to the one under the heat lamp that I ate 2 days ago. Oh well, as you can see it didn't kill me and I have ate worse. Made a mistake by stopping in D & D Cycles in pensacola. Have any of yall seen the new rocket III touring? I have got to have one! The feeling will probably pass in a few days but it hasn't yet. I think that I might just design a shaft drive for the speedy. The sun came out and the temps went up making for another great day of riding. I think that we goofed off a little too much today because 30 miles from home the storm of the century started. The wind was trying its best to blow me off the road. What trip is not complete without getting wet? I thought that i had beaten the odds and actually made a road trip without riding in the rain. But what fun would that be? Glad i finally invested in some rain gear.
Thursday 1900: Safely at home. Time to reflect on my trip. 4 1/2 days on the road. 2650 miles. $210 in gas. $3 for a bicycle tube (D & D wanted $85 for a t-bird sport cush drive but my repair is holding up fine). Way too much on T-shirts and other memoribilia. Don't even want to think of how much i spent on rock stars and food. Another road trip and all the memories that come with it: PRICELESS
