Flagler Music Festival - Molly Hatchet

Boots and I rode up to Bunnell, Florida on September 30th to catch the Saturday evening portion of the Inaugural Flagler Music Festival. We had a couple of poker runs we covered earlier in the day so didn't make the afternoon's activities. There was a bike show scheduled but we missed it. Probably no big deal since all the bikes are now lookin' more 'n more alike. The one-offs bikers used to make to ride are disappearing and people are just buyin' bolt on parts, gettin' a $5,000 paint job, parkin' it in the garage, callin' it a custom chopper and enterin' it in bike shows to get another trophy. Shoot, it'd be easier to just go buy your own trophy. I'll wait for Tropical Tattoos' Ol' Skool Chopper Show or the Rat's Hole Show durin' Biketoberfest later this month. Sorry, I digress.

We arrived and got hung up with our asses out in the right hand lane of US Hwy 1 tryin' to pull into the Thundergulch Campground, the location of the event. That was pretty dangerous, plus it took us twenty minutes to get off the road and through the admission gate. After payin' our $15 per person, we rode to the motorcycle only parkin area. Nice touch - thanks. We love it when venues provide motorcycle only parkin' and don't mix the cars, pick-ups and bikes.

We hooked up with Toni, our Northeast Florida moto-journalist and Robert; plus Halfbreed and Karen from the Iron Brotherhood, and went in the Black Cloud Saloon to get a cold one. What a disappointment. A White Russian - $6; a shot of tequila - $6; a Bud Light - $3; and two Miller Lites - $6. For cans. Jeez. This after payin' $15 a pop to get in. Yep, this normally biker friendly bar jacked up their prices to take advantage of bikers for the event. And it got even worse when we walked over to the area where the vendors (and carnival rides) were set up in the ThunderGulch camping area. Boots and I hadn't eaten so while Mark "Muddy Harp" Hodgson (right) was doin' his awesome gig gettin' the crowd warmed up for later, we wandered over to the Black Cloud Saloon's food tent. They had a grill and fryer set up, but once again, the prices were the gougin' kind when ya got a monopoly: $3.50 for a little bitty ol' corn dog and $3.50 for about twenty french fries that were still frozen in the center. What a bummer - left a bad taste in my mouth - no pun intended.

After eatin' we wandered back over to the stage area to enjoy Blackfoot. They've been playin' quite a few dates around Florida the past couple of years and our readers always have lotsa good things to say about 'em. We saw 'em last year at Harley-Davidson of Crystal River and they just don't seem to age. They just keep crankin' it out, and they were great tonight as well. Very enjoyable, plus we'll get to see 'em again at the Starke Fall Jam on November 3 & 4. They're opening for the Charlie Daniels Band and they'll definitely get the crowd worked up.

Molly Hatchet, the evening's headliner was set to play at 9:30, but before they played they got an award from their fan group at Yahoogroups.com for the twenty years this iteration of the band's been together writin', composin' and playin' kick-ass Southern Rock. When they finally came out to play, the crowd, I'd estimate at over 5,000 went crazy - makin' lotsa noise and in the mood to rock. Molly Hatchet didn't disappoint. Mighta been thirty years ago that they first formed, but they haven't lost their gritty, southern-rock roots formed in South Jacksonville, also the home of Lynyrd Skynrd. They haven't sold out to mainstream pop, and have continued to record new records every year or two despite no air play rotation on classic rock stations. And they're always interacting with the crowds, bein' real, not above it all. That's why we support 'em by buyin' each new CD. Yeah, right - we buy 'em cuz we love the music!

These guys seriously kick ass.
Bobby Ingram's guitar licks and playin' are still second to none. He's still rockin' and played an awe-inspiring guitar solo cover of Clapton as a tribute to his wife Stephanie, who passed away 0n April 1, 2004. Obviously, she's still part of the band and on their mind and they performed Rainbow Bridge, as well. They also did a nice tribute to Danny Joe Brown, original lead singer and frontman who passed away last year.

Gator Country and Son of the South got huge responses from the audience, as expected. Shoot, we're in Florida's little portion of Dixie, after all. And of course they hadda play Flirtin' with Disaster, the original 'mainstream' hit from the late 70's. Daytona Beach native Shawn Beamer also did an awesome solo on the drums and had the crowds surging forward to the stage. Good to see a local boy kickin' serious ass on the worldwide music scene. Shoot, they're all local boys.
Great choice to the Flagler Chamber of Commerce pickin' them as the headliner for their Inaugural Music Festival.

Another thing that struck me as cool was seein' so many younger folks enjoyin' the show. They might notta come out specifically to see Molly Hatchet, but when they left they were hooked on Southern Rock instead of that rap shakalaka shit that's gloggin' the airwaves and videos nowadays. Gotta thank Molly Hatchet, and the thousands of fans that still come to their shows, for keepin' the Southern Rock tradition alive and kickin'. They ended up playin' for well over two hours and it was super high-energy all the way. If you're comin' to Daytona for Biketoberfest 2006, don't waste your money at Destination Daytona with all the yuppie-rub bikers hangin' out for some concert or another. Git yer ass on your scooter and ride six miles north to the White Eagle on October 20 and catch Molly Hatchet for free. Yep, that's right - free. You'll thank Dixie Biker for the recommendation after the show. Guaranteed that they'll knock you on your friggin' ass. . . and you'll be glad they did.

All in all the Flagler County-Bunnell Chamber of Commerce deserves a BIG tip-of-the-hat for puttin' on this weekend event. Great job for an inaugural event. Next year we'd like to see it moved to a different venue (maybe the Fairgrounds?) and have more resonable priced beer and food. Other than that, way to go. And, we'll definitely sponsor the event again. All the volunteers and workers get a pat-on-the-back, too. They're the unsung folks doin' the behind the scenes work to make sure everyone has a good time. We had a great time and thank you for your efforts.

September 11 Memorial Service and Run

On Sunday, September 10, I rode up to Flagler Beach to attend a 9-11 Memorial Service in Veteran's Memorial Park hosted by the Red Knight's MC. A thunderstorm rolled through around 8:30 am, very early for Florida in the summer, and I rode in my 'rain-suit' - shorts and gore-tex boots. I hate wearin' the conventional rain-suits; it's just too damn hot in the things in Florida and you get just as wet only with sweat. Anyhow, the roads were wet but it had pretty much stopped rainin'. The waves were churnin' heavily on the already eroded beach along A1A. Hurricane Florence was 5 or 6 hundred miles off-shore, no threat to us, but the ocean was angry.

I rode into town around 9:30 for the 10 am service and there were already a hundred bikes or so even though the skies to the West were super mad - it was gray, black and white and we were fixin' to get wet again. I immediately saw Alan, Paul and Paul, the wrenchin' and executive team at Psycho Cycles, and we said "hello's" and hung out shootin' the shit.
About quarter to ten Vinnie walked up and said, "Hey, Monk, how're ya doin'? Boots with you?" as he shook my hand and hugged me.
"Nah, she's home with our girls and grandkids," I replied as I introduced him to the crew from Psycho Cycles. "Where's Sue (his other half)?"
"She's hostin' her hospitality deal at the Jaguar's game today - gotta do the corporate deal, doncha know," Vinnie said. "She's kinda pissed she couldn't make it but the NFL schedule just didn't work out this year."


I found Joe, Prez of the Flagler County Chapter of the Red Knights MC and introduced myself. We'd sponsored the event for them with free advertising and publicity. He was little disappointed in the turnout, but I told him I'm sure the weather had a lot to do with it. Vinnie told me it poured all the way down from Jacksonville. Only stopped when he got to Crescent Beach (about twenty miles north of Flagler Beach). Plus the weather looked terrible to the West. I thought it was a pretty good turnout and told him so. By the time the Memorial Service started there were about two hundred bikes.

Following the Service, the Flagler and St. John's County Sheriff's Departments escorted the participants in a run up A1A to St. Augustine for a little get-together at Dick's Wings (pictures below). Next year I think we'll get involved with the Red Knights and put on a good run and memorial service. I think the demand is there for something to honor our fellow citizens that died on September 11, 2001. This time we'll do it in a place that will support us, however.

It seems the City of Flagler Beach was too supportive of Joe's efforts and one of the local cops drove up and asked, "What's goin' on?" Joe had to explain that he coordinated use of the Park with some Sergeant on the force, but no one had put the word out. The cop made some snide remark or another to Joe about they better move on out. While Joe wondered what in the hell this was all about, one of the Flagler County Motor Officers looked around at all the bikes and bikers and said to the Flagler Beach patrolman, "Hmmm. . .. Lotta bikes, lotta people here to honor those who died on September 11. Maybe you better call for back-up. . . but don't bother callin' us." Hats off to the Flagler and St. John's County Motor Officers, Fire Departments and EMT personnel for the escort and help with the Run. We'll have full coverage of the event in the October issue of Dixie Biker Illustrated and on our website at http://www.dixiebiker.com/ by the end of September.

Ridin' to a Support Our Troops Benefit

On Saturday, September 9th I rode to Titusville and American Legion Post 1 for a Support Our Troops benefit. It was a beautiful day for a ride, mid eighties and sunny. I headed outta the driveway a little after 11 o'clock and stopped along A1A to watch the much delayed launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Cape Caneveral is about fifty-five miles south of us (Ormond Beach) and we get a good view of the launches from the beach. It's good to see them on their way safely. The event was pretty good and we had a chance to meet lotsa good folks supportin' our brave young men and women fightin' for our freedom overseas. We also met up with a couple, Russ and Kathy, that we'd first met last month (August '06) and talkin' with them made me come up with a new idea: a seperate page at DixieBiker.com where our troops, or families of our troops, could send pictures, thoughts, etc. You can check out the page here: http://www.dixiebiker.com/troops.html

Ridin' down I rode A1A through Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores - normally a place to AVOID if you're on a bike - over the Dunlawton Bridge and down US Hwy 1 through New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, Oak Hill, Scottsmoor and Mims. That used to be a nice ride but, like most of the rest of the State, it's gettin' built up. The twenty miles from Oak Hill to Mims are still pretty nice ridin', but the rest is addin' traffic lights, traffic and construction zones. Ridin' back I took Hwy 46 in Mims towards Sanford. Stopped at the Jolly Gator for a quick, cold one, checked out the gators sunnin' on the shores of the St. John's River and then rode through Geneva and hung a right on Hwy 415 back towards Osteen and on to Daytona Beach. Jeez, that's another road and area buildin' up quickly. I swear Deltona is gonna swallow Osteen. They even have a humongous new Wal Mark Super Center goin' up in the middle of nowhere. Another nice ridin' road is fixin' to become history. Bummer. Another nice day of ridin' - 161 miles round trip - with some sunburn and wind burn to show for it. And no close calls with cages.

Back in the Fray

It's been a while since we've posted here - just no time. Lotsa stuff happenin' to comment on, though, so we're gonna get it back goin' again. We've just got too many irons in the fire and finding the time to post everyday is difficult. But I'm gonna at least try and post every weekend with the words we've been hearin' from y'all.

Summer is comin' to an end in Florida and boy are the runs pickin' up. Every weekend there are ten or twelve benefits or poker runs for something or other. For an idea of what I'm talkin' about, you can take a peak here: http://www.dixiebiker.com/Events.html.

Next weekend is one of our favorite events but we're not gonna be able to make it this year. The Bainbridge Bike Fest is goin' on but we don't have the time or the money to make it. Bummer, cuz we love it. At least we have a couple of couples from our staff headin' up: Wile E and Road Runner and Chad and Jill. That means we should have good coverage of the event for y'all both online and in our regular monthly magazine. Oops, almost forgot. Here's a link to this great event: http://www.bainbridge-bikefest.com/ and here's a link to some stories we've done on past events there: http://www.dixiebiker.com/bb02.html

Be safe on the road - the cagers still don't see us and, if they do, they don't give a shit.

Fair Tax Rally in Orlando and Ocala HOG Christmas in July Run

Today I did 270 miles of not too fun ridin'. Left outta the house about 8:00 to head to Orlando for the Fair Tax Rally. I-95 to I-4 to downtown on the Sporty - damn Dixie Glide wouldn't start so I guess I gotta put it on the charger. Heat the past week probably sapped the battery.

There was a great turnout at the Rally - over 10,000 I'd say and y'all know I don't exaggerate numbers and hate when the Rallies do. I thought I'd see more bikers there since we put it in the calendar of events and the e-mail update for this weekend, but then again it was pretty hot. I saw thirty or forty bikes while negotiating downtown streets. Here's a link to some pictures: http://tax.orl360.com/view.php?gid=1 If y'all haven't heard about The Fair Tax, there's a couple of links in our link box and we're startin' articles on in it the August issue of the magazine.
From Orlando I jumped on the 408, the East-West Expressway, to the Turnpike to I-75 north to Ocala. Jeez, what a mess that is. Hot concrete super-slab, but hey, I wasn't in a cage. I promised Derek and Ray at Harley-Davidson of Ocala and Wayne and the Big Ragu of the HOG Chapter to make it up for their Christmas in July Poker Run. Good turnout - over 250 Poker Hands sold and it benefits the kids at New Horizon. Santa even made an appearance. I know he was sweatin' his ass off, just like everyone else. It was over 95, but I drank plenty of water (Thanks, Wayne), a couple of beers (Thanks Kellie and Andi) and listened to some tunes from One Flight Up, hung out with Patrick and Leslie and got to meet lots of our readers. That's always fun.

I got a burger for just two bucks, the beers were $2 for a 16 ounce ice-cold draft - thanks for takin' care of bikers. Talked to a lotta folks about our benefit for Support Our Troops, Inc. on August 12 (link to our flyer) and got lotsa promises. Shoot, we have three poker runs startin' in the Ocala area that day - we should have a good turnout. Anyhow, I hadda good time, took lotsa pictures and we'll have the article in the September issue of Dixie Biker.

I left around 3 or so, people were still ridin' in, but I was draggin' ass from the heat all day. I took the Hwy 326 by-pass to one of my least favorite roads - Hwy 40 through the Ocala National Forest. I've seen where other people ride it and write about it and say how great it is. Hogwash. It's a piece of crap road just like the interstates. It's straight, has a couple of sweepers, but now it seems as if you're always stuck behind an 18-wheeler, an RV or a truck towin' a boat. I can tell people lotsa of better roads to ride. But Hwy 40 isn't one of them. And it's dangerous. During parts of the year there's always lotsa critters to watch out for, cages blastin' by ya at ninty mph, plus the cops have been out with radar alot this summer. And here's a picture I took at the intersection of Hwy 19 today. Bet that ruined their day. It was a recent accident, too, cuz the operators were standin' by the road talkin' to a State Trooper. Bummer. At least they seemed to be alright.

I got back home to a surprise. Boots had gone and picked up one of our grandkids, Cody, for a sleepover, so I had a swimmin' partner tonight. It's always good to jump in the pool and wash off the road grime after a couple hundred miles of ridin' in our summer heat. And to have one of the grand kids makes it even better. Guess I'll hafta do some story readin' tonight.

Word from the bikers today:
"Man, it's friggin' hot!"
"I need another beer (or water or soda)!"
"Boy, the Harley dealers are makin' some deals to get rid of these 2006 models!"

Scootin' on top of the World

I got this e-mail from Frankie5Angles, a DBI Freelancer who's ridin' in Norseland this month, and thought I'd share it with y'all. On the right's a picture I took at Trader Jack's Roadside during Bike Week 2006

Hellö from da top of da world!

We decided to cross da border over to Norway today after all. Fuck it, we're already wet and freezing so it doesn't matter much. We went to check in a hotel on da Norse side and da clerk said 1 room wit 2 beds was 600 dollars!!! We think that was his way of telling us he didn't want bikers to stay there. Fucking jerk-offs all over da world I guess. ):->
We got a room on da Finnish side for $20 each. We start back south of da Artic circle tomorrow and Vedde (my Finnish co-worker) and I should be back inHellsinki Thursday (July 13). This has been quite an experiance. There is no place like this on earth. The scenery is amazing, and da fact that people actually live here year round is even more amazing. My buddy Sami said last winter it was -47 c in Lapland with 3 meters of snow!! Fuck, that's cold!! You can ride for 100+ miles and see no one anywhere. Just Reindeer and Moose. Well, I better get some rest as tomorrow is anotherlong day of riding.
The first day we rode 12 hours from Hellsinki to Lapland over 600 miles! Today we rode 12 hours too but only half da milage as it was freezing and raining it's ass off all da while trying to dodge Reindeer. At one point we rounded a turn to see over 100 of them in da middle of da road. Needless to say bikers here are da real thing. No trailor queens like in da states!!

):-> F5A

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By the way. . .
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