Club Ride - Wild Turkey Tavern - 01/10/09

Update, 01/23/2009:  Okay, the collages were not a big hit so I have reworked this posting into individual photos for your viewing pleasure. Of course, I also added a few pithy comments to go with the pictures, so enjoy!

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Our regularly scheduled club ride took us through the wild and twisty parts of central Florida, including the ridge area of Imperial Polk County. We made our way down oh so many dusty roads (tip of the hat to Mr. Seger) and cruised through a lot of small towns before ending up as far south as Sebring.  From Sebring we made a quick sprint up US 27 to the outskirts of Avon Park, where we had a fabulous lunch at the Wild Turkey Tavern.  I love that place! Great food, great atmosphere, and always a great time.

I wasn't in much of a photo mood, so these shots are from the times we stopped somewhere for something...and that something was mostly FOOD! 

Eddie showed up with a freshly pinstriped Gold Wing:

Breakfast was at the Strawberry Palace on SR 60:

And here we are at the Wild Turkey Tavern. Naturally, Eddie insisted on placing lunch order FIRST!:

Both Eddie and our waitress found his lunch order to be an exasperating experience:

But that didn't stop Eddie from checking out the waitress's ass:

The Eddie tried to act like he wasn't staring at the waitress's ass:

"I'll have one delicious cheeseburger, my dear.":

"Hmm, our beers appear to be of different colors.":

"Why, yes, they are of different colors. I wonder how that happened?":

"Your hamburgers are the best, you say? Okay, make mine a double. Yes, a double...as in two delicious burgers, please.":

"I'll have the giant rabbit thighs that we will pretend are chicken wings. Oh, and make them extra crispy, if it wouldn't be too much trouble.":

Orders placed were soon transformed into orders delivered and some quality eating began:

Motion blur photography is not so easy with a point-and-shoot:

With a great lunch in our bellies, it was time to head for home, but the excitement was not quite over.  Just as we were preparing to leave the parking lot of the Wild Turkey Tavern, this crash occurred right in front of us:

The food at the Wild Turkey Tavern is truly delicious...one of the best burgers I have ever had...but their menu is just as funny as their food is good. So, I took shots of all eight pages of their menu for your reading pleasure:

 

Following lunch we made a mad dash for home and enjoyed the remains of the day.

A Sad Update

The motorcyclist who had a heart attack in Chili's next to Champion Honda did not make it. Glenn made a phone call and learned that, in spite of Boyd's valiant efforts to save him, the gentleman passed away at the hospital not long after being transported from the scene. (See the next post below for the full story.)

None of us knew his name, but we still knew enough about him to feel a kinship to him. No matter what else there was to know about this man, he was a motorcyclist. Like the rest of us who from time to time grace the pages of this blog, this man knew what it was like to feel the wind on his knees and to navigate the urban jungle on two wheels. This man was a kindred spirit who embraced the thrill and the inner peace that comes from riding a trusted steed of steel and chrome. Like us, he accepted the challenge that is incumbent to motorcycling and, as a result, lived a fuller and more rewarding life.

Rest in peace, our brother, and from your now lofty vantage point keep watch over those of us who remain behind to ride the ribbons of asphalt in pursuit of our motorcycling dreams.