Bike Trip To Homosassa

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I decided to take a bold step, get out and do something different so I arose at 6:30 and went down the interstate to Gandy Boulevard and met up with the Bayside Biker's Club who, on their website, invite bikers to join them for trips around the area.  A nice long led bike ride was just the thing to put me into a better frame of mind than the one I have dipped into for a few weeks (months?).  I got off the bike at Barney's of St. Petersburg (a dealership, who also happen to sell Yamahas) and was immediately greeted by a couple of guys who shook my hand and welcomed me.  So far so good.  Nice guys, even if a lot of them were riding Goldwings.  I guess technically they're cycles, too.

A few more bikes pulled in and before not too long a row of bikes numbering 12 or 13 were lined up.  After we received our trip briefing, riding instructions, and a 50/50 we all took off.  The bikes were mostly touring Goldwing types, a BMW, a little Honda maybe 750, a Valkyrie, a Kawasaki Concours, and my new Stratoliner.  No Suzukis and no Harleys.  No, these were bikes built strictly for comfort and ease, with GPS, Sirius, and gadgets and do-hinkies of every kind (Steve even has remote control air gauge).

We were off to Homosassa Seafood Festival.  It was supposed to be a 110 miles trip one-way but ended up being 130.  Lot of busy in-town street driving, but when we got far enough North we ended up in some boonie type roads.      

Here we are at our first pit stop on the way to Homosassa.

This was our second stop.  These guys stop fairly frequently which is OK, since it is hot and a cool beverage is always welcome.  

At Homosassa, we all parked at the $5.00 parking area but they gave us a break and it only cost $3.  At this point we are all on our own getting home.  Yikes!

The next pictures are not of the festival, which all look alike, but rather, an old sugar mill in Homosassa which used to be right next to the road.   

I'm not entirely certain of the process but there were cooling vats and large tubs they put something in.  I was too anxious about finding my way back to St. Pete to take the time to investigate for a full report.   

Cooling vats.

Storage pits.

This is where the sugar comes out after having been crushed by the giant rollers. 

Gears used to crush the sugar cane.

Another shot of the giant gears that crushed the cane.

Remnants of an old engine.   

Side view of Mill.

This was a mid 19th century mill.

I didn't win the 50/50 and everyone started to drift away to explore the festival.  Exploring festivals alone is no fun so I decided to just get back on the bike and head on down the road.  I procured directions (89 to 19 all the way) which astonished me since we took so many turns, loops and routes I was certain I'd never make my way without a compass, sextant and either Louis or Clark.  I did, however, follow those directions and 5 miles out of Homosassa I hit 19 and from there on that turns into 34 which is only a block away from Shawshank, where I live.

It was great to be on a bike again.  Great to be riding with people again, although there was no blue Harley behind and to the right.  And there was no yellow Suzuki behind.  It would have been great to ride with my old NH homies, Tim, Rick, Christopher, Ole, and Rod, but these guys will have to do for now.

So to Jack, David, Sue, Steve, Fred, Willy, Jayme,  and the rest I don't know, thanks for a nice ride.  Friendly and welcoming, they say i am officially a member of the Bayside Bikers Club.  No dues, I like that. My first impression is that this completely helmeted a bit older bunch of guys enjoy riding and going pretty good distances.  That's OK, I can keep up.  Oh, about that keeping up business, man these guys are also nuts.  Nuts as in fast.  These guys travel at least 70 mph and sometimes more on straightaways.  They are no slouches in city traffic either.  The bike performed marvelously for our first outing. Next week we travel to Lake Wales.  I 'll report on that when I return.