A Weekend Ride In Florida

 What began as a Saturday ride with the Motorcycle Ministry group from Northland Church in Orlando from Lake Mary to Cocoa Beach, Florida began to come apart on Friday afternoon.
The tight, smooth ride I was used to with my sidecar rig became soft and mushy. Right turns were suddenly shaky experiences.
I thought the struts were coming loose, but Ilidio spotted the real problem. A BROKEN strut!
The lower, front pipe running from the sidecar to the bike had cracked in two.
It could have been wear and tear on the rig during the thousands of miles I have put it through, but I have a suspicion that it was the result of my wild dash through the ditch and over the steep bank to get off I-10 in Houston during my cross country 50cc Quest ride.That was a rough way to get off the interstate and the rough ride may have caused the crack.
Whatever the cause, if I was going to make the ride in the morning I had to find help. That help came in the form of Lloyd the Welder who on Saturday morning used the skill that comes with forty years of being a welder and made it as good as new. Thanks Lloyd. Great job!
Unfortunately, I was now to late for the meet up with the Christian motorcycle group and set out on a solo ride to Cocoa Beach.
The ride was going great and I was enjoying a sunny morning ride when I noticed the spare tire on the back of the sidecar had come partially loose and was flopping up and down in the 70 mile per hour wind. I pulled off the freeway and got as far away from the traffic as possible to make the repair needed to keep the spare solidly in place. As I was using an extra bungee cord to lock it down help was arriving on the scene in the form of Alonzo Ryan, a Florida Buffalo Soldier Rider who pulled his Harley to a stop some distance down the rod and walked back see if he could be of any help. Although I had finished with the tie down we had a good visit and he took time for pictures, including one of the back of his vest, showing that great Buffalo Soldier logo. When he learned that I was heading for Grills Restaurant in Cocoa Beach he said, "Follow me, I'll take you there."
Although it meant riding some forty or fifty miles out of his way, he said, "It's what we do Brother, it's what bikers do."
The riding  community has some great people in it and my new friend Alonzo Ryan is one of them.
He led me to the Grills parking lot and with a final hand shake was back on his own ride.
Thanks Alonzo.
I missed meeting the group again but enjoyed a solo lunch of  a Maui Maui fish sandwich and then moved back onto the highway for a run up Florida Highway A1A to the Cape Kennedy KOA campgrounds at Mims, Florida.
This is the same KOA that I stayed at for the Orion launch on my last trip south.
It's a well run KOA and this time had a special surprise.
LIVE music for a Halloween Party in the Recreation building, next to my camp site.

The music ran from 7PM to 10PM and was loud enough to hear clearly from the comfort of my tent.
Sunday morning began with the change in  time and an early start for a ride through the Merritt Island Wildlife refuge.This huge park has many narrow roads and trails to follow and a friendly, helpful staff at the Visitor's Center.
I rode to the Canaveral National Sea Shore and as far as the entrance to the beach and then turned back to do, what the Visitor's Center staff had called the bikers favorite ride down Florida state highway 3 through the park.

Here I almost had a great video as I drove through a large flock off carrion  birds feeding on a large road kill. I snapped on the Garmin handlebar camera, only to discover the battery was dead. Well, I'll charge it up before he next ride.
The next missed video was the draw bridge which suddenly began to go up as I approached.
I did get stills as the bridge was raised to allow a ship with a very tall mast pass through. You can see the mast to the left of the bridge.
Leaving the park I moved onto Florida One and headed North towards Flagler's Beach.
Spotting a Waffle House a few miles North of Daytona Beach I felt a twinge in my stomach which had survived most of the morning on a bottle of Ensure and a fiber bar.
It had been a great Sunday morning ride through some great Florida back country and I was ready for a break.
The Waffle House lived up to it's name, even though I skipped the waffle and went for the eggs, toast, bacon and hash browns.
As I was paying my bill a group of Lady Bikers  came in and sat down in  the next booth.
They were wearing fancy vests with their club logo, Leathers and Lace on them.
I showed them my small Last Chance Riders Motorcycle patch and asked if I could get pictures of them and their vests for a BLOG post. Raven , Pepperoni and MacGyver agreed and the result is here displayed.
They explained that they were a local women's biker group from Daytona Beach.
It is good to see so many women riders and the clubs and programs they support with their rides.
Thanks to the proud members of Leather and Lace for posing with, and for, the old guy from Montana.
Leaving them to enjoy their lunch I headed for the parking lot to continue my ride north.
As I headed for my rig I spotted a nice looking couple wearing Biker Vests with great looking logos.
Of course I asked them to let me get a picture, knowing that many of the readers of this BLOG have asked to see more pictures of the people I meet in my sojourns across the country.
I have enjoyed the opportunity to visit with so many people from around the world.
Pedro and Sandra, are proud members of the National Motorcycle Club of Puerto Rico.
Sandra and I posed for Pedro as he snapped a picture of us.
Flagler's Beach was the scene of a huge Outdoor Community Market cars parked on both sides of the street for two miles or more. I finally found a place to pull over and get one Surf Shot. Waves were higher in other areas but no way to stop for pictures.
So here is your Surf Shot for this trip. Enjoy.

This has been a fun filled and exciting weekend ride, even though the beginning was a little slow.
And even the crack in he support strut brought me together with a fine gentleman who did a great job getting me back on the road.
Many Thanks to all of the folks who have helped me and shared stories along the way.
And Thanks too, for the prayers and support from family and friends.
Watch for me, I'll be in the Right Lane America.
Del "Lonnie" Lonnquist