TEWKS Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Or, classic adventure dual sport is what they call themselves and I want to say what a fun bunch of guys! Bill Ferran and Rich (sorry his last name eludes me) organized this Trans Florida GS Ride that myself and my friend Jim attended. They down played it but the amount of time that went into planning this was huge. Scouting the routes, maps, route roll charts, door prizes, class winning prizes, hotel accommodations, restaurant reservations was only what was visible, I'm sure there was much more. We trucked down in 19 hours which was a rally in itself but we wanted a few days to putt around Daytona. As soon as we rolled the bikes out of the parking lot we heard a crunching noise coming from the brand new Tiger. We trucked it over to Daytona BMW TRIUMPH for repair and they got him in and had the crushed wheel bearing fixed in a few hours, so we thought. The second day of the rally he had a major bearing failure that left his swing arm all chewed up. His day was over, It's now up to Triumph to make this right, I hope they do the right thing. One of the CADS guys (Dave Rogers) offered to go back for a trailer and allowed me to finish the day riding. Above and beyond! I found out that Florida sugar sand is not like Daytona beach sand by a long shot and it takes every bit of effort & concentration just to keep the bike vertical and a continued forward momentum. I wish I had pics of the deep stuff but I was in survival mode. A bunch of pics of my really great time in Florida. Great weather. Great food. Track, surprised by the freedom we seemed to have to roam at will. Sons of a Beach! Riders Meeting. Rich mentioned if you stop and help a rider you get points. Mike was nice enough to let us tag behind him but when his shock bolt broke the camera came out! Points is Points! More points. Dirt. Ferry. Warrens Honda Varadero. Jim rolled on to the ferry just as it pulled away. Next time! More in a bit. Pat Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Just survived some more of that sugar sand! Curley frys Trees! O.N.F. Yeah, more Dirt! Ha Ha, how do you like it Bill? Hey Bill, don't cha want to check the depth? Naw, it's fine! Just about lunch time. Found some! More points. Yup you guessed it, more dirt! Hope I look this good in 900 years! I Gotta Pee! Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Rest after our tree visit. Oh no what to do? I know, wash it dummy! A bit of old Florida. Rolling in to Cedar Key. Very nice! Jim & Bill. Feeling knotty? Dinner pics. Ok digest that for a minute! Link to comment
roadscholar Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I found out that Florida sugar sand is not like Daytona beach sand by a long shot and it takes every bit of effort & concentration just to keep the bike vertical and a continued forward momentum. I wish I had pics of the deep stuff but I was in survival mode. True, no pics of the worst, requires both hands and then some. Still, Pat is being his usual modest self, he rode like a champ, only one other 1200 went everywhere Pat did and it's local, rides out there all the time. We'd been tooling thru the woods at a decent clip when this kid on a DR (his handle is FastandSpeedy) goes by us like we're not moving. Get to an intersection and he's giving us pointers on sand riding, says he loves it, been doing it his whole life. I go "how old are you dude?", he says 22. I tell him yeah, we could do that then too, but you're half his age and a third mine. He laughed. Some more random shots, ironically our photos are similar. I love the surreal nature of this place, we gave it only a one point bonus (everything else was 10) because it's slightly illegal to have your motorcycle there. For some reason every time this thing appears in the mirrors something clicks and I start thinking I'm Steve McQueen trying to escape the Germans. I think Carson (the dog) is trying to tell dad his googles blew off, slow the heck down. Link to comment
Huzband Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Say, Bill, is that a bridge I see there? Nice pics, Pat. Good seeing you & meeting Jim. Keep us posted on his Triumph. Link to comment
roadscholar Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Say, Bill, is that a bridge I see there? You know it occurred to me if you saw that I would not hear the end of it. Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Very Nice Bill! Breakfast on Sunday morning. Points at pond 6. I think there was a point or two for a soil saturation test! Lunch stop. Wolfgang. And Carson, now this guy is one cool pooch! Brick road. Jack. Bright side? Not a BMW? I would like to dedacate my pictures to Paul Mihalka. A man I admire and strive to be like. You will travel with me for many years to come! Pat Link to comment
lawnchairboy Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 There's no sand down there.... Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Looks like a blast......maybe next time Link to comment
Kathy R Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Thanks for all the pics! Looks like a superb time to me. Link to comment
big-t Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Looks like a great time...I regret not being able to make it,but just been up to my ears in stuff... Sure could have used the sand training Link to comment
roadscholar Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Nice stuff Pat, if you don't mind I'm gonna drag this out a little. Still in Ocala National Forest, they call it the scrub, it's roughly 600 sq. miles. The good Dr. Z Johnny Africa and friends. Doug and Bo on 12GSA's. Again, one of my fave spots. Moving on Hey Pat, watcha doin? North Fla's dirt freeway. Personal best (not on this trip), one fifteen ind., gradual increases over several trips. If you ever wondered the real purpose of a GSA, it may be that. Curves. You have to look for them but they're out there. , too fast Ok, are you ready? Oh wait, too fast. Pat, go back and do it again...dang, still too fast! C'mon man, get it right, will ya? ........ A little relaxation Into Micanopy for lunch on the old road Was there something about points for animals in the wild? Psst, hey buddy. Oh man, this guy is good, I think we just got hustled Link to comment
Huzband Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Say, Bill, is that a bridge I see there? You know it occurred to me if you saw that I would not hear the end of it. And you shan't. Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Bill, love the pics, thanks! Been to Florida many times before (DW and a beach or two) and I've always said after the trip, don't need to do that again any time soon. This was so much fun I say sign me up for next year! Danny, the Tiger is back at the shop and the dealership owner is working with Triumph to make Jim a happy customer. Pat Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 This one needs to go in the small car bike bike thread. It's about the exact setup I use with my GS and I still get 20+ on the highway dragging it along Link to comment
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