Soldier Thanks a Dixie Biker Advertiser - Timbuktu

My name is Mike Kraft and I am a soldier in the North Dakota Army National Guard. There are 12 of us that arrived in Florida and are attending a Six week training course at Camp Blanding in preparation for my second deployment into Hell (Afghanistan).\

The reason I email you is this. If it is possible to print in one of you next months issues this real life story of the Timbuktu. If you would print it, please do not print it for me but for Steve, for his employees and for some of the best bunch of people I have ever met!

First I want to say your Dixie Biker magazine is a real Kick-Ass Magazine I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover twice. It got me pumped up to ride. In North Dakota, riding in April isn't possible due to the that there is still snow on the ground.

Anyway here is my story.

On the 19th of April we flew into Jacksonville. I rented a mini van and we took U.S. Hwy 301 through Starke to get to Camp Blanding. As we entered the North end of Starke I see the TIMBUKTU Lounge and package off to the right side of the road. Well, we settled ourselfs in at Camp and I say to Darrin (my battle buddy) lets get the hell out of here and find us a cold long neck. I knew right where to go!

Darrin and I arrive at the TIMBUKTU, we belly up to the bar. I am taking in the atmosphere while enjoying a cold brew. The Juke box is playing ( I'll never smoke weed with Willie again). The regulars are shottin the shit with one another, Randi is working the bar and making us feel right at home. Now I am thinking and saying to myself, BRO, I love this bar!
After enjoying the friendly atmosphere for a couple of hours Darrin and I head out for the night. As we are driving back to camp, Darrin and I are talking how we just found our place to hang out for the next Six weeks.

As the weeks have ridden by, Darren and I established our selfs as regulars. The Beers are already on the bar as we walk thru the door. By now we know all the bar ladies by name. Brandi, Randi, Sandy, Linda and Constance or CC. Let me tell you Monk, you will not find a more friendlier, kinder set of bar ladies that what work at the TIMBUKTU. They are Awesome.

Also, by now we have made some good friend with most of the regulars at the TIMBUKTU. Joel and TJ, who kick our asses in pool most of the time. Dave, whom has become my Brother and who passed on the torch for me to carry for all Veterans who gave some and for those that gave all! I will ride to Light the way Bro!

Now there is Steve. Steve is the owner of the TIMBUKTU. It was a Tuesday night and the cold long necks were going down good. I meet Steve for the first time. We talk as th why I am here. I find out that Steve is a Veteran as well. I begin to tell Steve what a awesome place he has and how I enjoy the friendly folks who make us feel right at home.

Later that same night Darren and I are shooting a game of pool and Linda comes over to us and says, Steve needs your help, Steve dumped his bike on his way home. Shit! Lets go I said. Darren and I left the pool game as is, dropped our pool sticks and blazed out of there in a hurry. We pull off Hwy 301 on to a sandy gravel road. The road is very soft and shitty. We finally get to Steve and all was good. Steve is not hurt and the 09 Electra Glide is not damaged. We help stand up the bike and Steve says, Boys, the drinks are on me tonight.

Back at the TIIMBUKTU, the pool table is just as we left it. As we resume our pool game I hear everyone talking about another bike crash that Jerry was involved in. This crash sounded real bad. Jerry was ran into by another bike.. Anyway it did not sound good.

Now the TIMBUKTU is gearing up for the 4th annual Biker Fest on the 5th and 6th of June. The band stage needs to be built and Jerry was the man building it.. Now the pressure is on for Steve to have the band stage built on time. So I said to my self, self lets give the TIMBUKTU a helping hand.
Two days go by and I talk to Steve at the TIMBUKTU and we make arrangements to help where we can to help build the band stage.

On Sunday afternoon we arrive at the TIMBUKTU. Steve is working the bar because Randi was sick and Linda had broken her wrist the night before, but have no fear, Constance or CC was on her way in to safe Steve. As I walk in I say to Steve put us to work! Steve says Jerry is right there. Jerry is at the bar, looking like shit. All banged up, face scraped and his arm is in a cast and Joel is beside him. So after a couple of cold brews we start. Jerry is barking what to do to Joel, Darren and me. Lumber is getting put down, the air nailer is going to town, only stopping to reload and by the end of the evening, with the sun going down, the band stage was built!

Monk, I can not begin to tell you how proud I am to call the TIMBUKTU "MY BAR".
Steve and his crew and to all those that stop in are just the best Damn bunch of people I have ever met You will not find another place that cares not only for one another but also for the customers that ride through like the folks at the TIMBUKTU lounge and Package. Just walk in have yourself a cold long neck and you will see for yourself what I am speaking of.

Darren and I will be returning to N.D. on the 29th of May to prepare for our deployment. We have made some damn great friends @ the TIMBUKTU and I will miss not only the Bike Fest, but also I will miss the damn great friends that I have made. I will always be at the TIMBUKTU in heart, but more importantly, I know that the torch I carry will light the way for all fellow biker's and Veterans to see or at least stop in at the TIMBUKTU. Ride safe Monk and ride on. Sincerely Mike.

The Timbuktu Lounge is on Hwy 301 just north of Starke across the street from the Branford County Fairgrounds. The Starke Bike Fest is June 4 - 5, 2009.

Two Bikers Die in Accident

Two bikers died in Lake County this week and we just got the news from a reader. What a bummer. Here's the info:

Norman M. Kauffman (aka "Rocky" and owner of KSC Performance Cycles in Belleview. ), 54, and David G. Daniels, 41, of Leesburg, were killed Tuesday night, August 5th, when the motorcycles they were riding bumped each other, went out of control and ran off County Road 25, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

The motorcycles, a 1999 Fat Boy Harley-Davidson, driven by Kauffman, and a 2007 Fat Boy, driven by Daniels, were heading north on County Road 25 at about 8:50 p.m. when both vehicles failed to make a curve. The motorcycles collided, according to FHP, with the '99 Fat Boy going off-road just south of County Road 42 and onto the west shoulder where it flipped over in a gravel parking lot. Kauffman was thrown off when the motorcycle flipped and hit a utility pole guide wire.

Daniels’ motorcycle ran off the road and hit a palm tree, started spinning and slid about 25 feet before stopping. Daniels was thrown off and his head hit the front of an empty flat-bed trailer. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a Marion County Fire Rescue paramedic at 8:59 p.m.
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If you're ridin' two-abreast together, you gotta know the other person very, very well or this kinda stuff is gonna continue happenin'. It's the reason I very seldom ride side-by-side with anyone, no matter how long I've known them, no matter how long I've been ridin' with them. I ride staggered with at least ten feet separating me from the other bike. You just never know what might happen and on a motorcycle it's definitely not like being in a car or truck. You have no protective metal surrounding you; no safety harness; no seat belt. Just two hands grippin' the handlebars. If something runs out in the road; if something pops up in the road; or if another biker you're ridin' with is distracted for just a second, this kinda thing can happen instantly and there's not much you can do about it. Think ahead, always be aware and try not to put yourself in dangerous or unsafe situations.

Oh, by the way. . .
of course the local media made a big deal out of the fact that the bikers were not wearing helmets. http://www.ocala.com/article/20080807/NEWS/808070352/0/APA Like that would have prevented these unfortunate deaths.

Please ride safe and smart! And try to avoid putting yourself in an unsafe situation.