03-22-2009

Bonnie's Dockside

Check out Chip's website...he's the Guitar Player from Bonnie's Dockside

 The Chronicles Continue.....03-22-2009

Hello Misfits,
   Well here it is-hot off the presses or disc or memory stick, or whatever-this Sunday's Misfit pic. Another classic, don't you think! We met @ HESS on Sunday morning for the ride north and then west to Deland. Despite the dire weather warnings, we queued up under a clear blue sky with cool
temperatures (the warnings would bite us in the ass later, but hey, that's later-let's ride!). At 9:20 it was kickstands up for the ride north. I took us on an unannounced side trip through the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge on the way north; everyone seemed to enjoy the detour. We came out just south of Oak Hill and of course stopped at Kelly's Bait so Bob could get his Coke and the rest of us could have a butt check! We picked up Mike Petrill there who was riding a '91 Sportster this week. Good to have you back with us, Mike, and hope Kathy can get Ivy (her bike) out and ride with us again soon, too. Barrett, Ivy's brother, was riding his Kawasaki this week. We haven't seen Barrett in a long time, so it was great having him ride. Tammy was back riding with us on her Yamaha; she only had one piece of duct tape on her toes this week. They're healing up after the pool mishap! From Kelly's, we hopped on Maytown Road and were west bound on the open road with the intermittent canopies of Oak and the silence of the back country as our companions. The run from Oak Hill to Osteen via Maytown Road is about 23 miles, and it's a serene ride despite the bumpy road. At Osteen, we stopped at the Chevron so Mike could get some gas. John had a concern with his rear tire bead, but it turned out to be fine. It was good to have John back after a few week's hiatus and hope he can bring Freddie along soon! You know it's quite a colorful sight when the Misfits pull into a gas station or other stop; usually 15 to 20 and more bikes roll in with engines roaring with as an eclectic mix of bikers as you would ever want to see. Some of the people in the parking lot stop and smile, some shake their heads, and some run and cry! Next we jumped on S.R.415 and ran north the 13 miles to Samsula and S.R. 44. Then 15 wide open miles to Deland and we were still riding under a predominately blue sky. I got Danny's phone message a bit later that he and Betsy were on their way and would be joining us at Bonnie's Dockside. That's great and would bring our bike total on this day to 17! Things were going great until we hit the approximate center of town in Deland. Tammy's Yamaha picked up a roofing nail in the rear tire, S__T! Not good with it being a tubed tire. The wound was too great for fix a flat to repair, and Tammy ended up calling AAA who eventually came to the rescue. Tammy, we hope you have the tire fixed soon so that you can ride again next week. You know that it's a pleasure to have you along. We rolled into Bonnie's Dockside just as Chip Brock began to play. With Bonnie's being right on the St. Johns and Chip playing some laid back tunes, the ambience was great. Danny and Betsy rode in and got to break bread with us, too. I wanted to introduce our group to Bonnie, the proprietor, but she had been called away for a family emergency. I am sending our group pic along to her and asked her daughter, one of the servers, to extend a warm hello from the Misfits. I'm also sending the pic to Chip at his request; he is in our pic this week, and it was great to meet him. He has a bike and may join us on a ride sometime. With the day slipping away and the skies clouding up, the Misfits headed for home. As we approached Mims, we could see that we were gonna get wet! We stopped at the gas station on the corner of U.S. 1 and S.R. 46 to say our goodbyes and prepare ourselves for the coming shower. We got nailed south of Mims, not a bad storm, just enough rain to get us wet and mess up our bikes! Oh well, if you're gonna ride scoots, you're gonna get wet sooner or later! Next week's requested ride is the famous Daytona Loop. I'll throw in a couple of variations that I think everyone will like including a stop at White Eagle in Korona. We'll come back down Dixie Highway (part of the loop) and cut west on LPGA Boulevard to Tomoka Farms. We'll also throw in a stop at Foxhead as some of you requested, and then we'll meander through Ft. Christmas, Taylor Creek, and by Lone Cabbage for anyone who wants to stop there. If the weather is good, it will be one beautiful ride. Anyone who wants to go, meet at HESS @ 9:00 AM. We'll stop for breakfast on the way up. I've got a surprise for you for that breakfast stop! Hope to see everyone Sunday.

Pat