Club Ride - The Heat Was Not Beaten!

Our typical Saturday gathering started in the typical way; with breakfast and good conversation.  Once that phase of our weekly ritual was completed and things shook out to accommodate all the various schedules and situations, it was down to just me and Mr. Sarcasm to do the day's riding.  And ride we did!

Setting off to the east we made our way via crooked roads over to the Green Swamp area and took Dean Still Road over to SR 33, just north of Polk City.  I was in need of both fuel and a place to download some rented coffee, so I turned us south toward Polk City.

Arriving at the Polk City Shell station, I found conditions too crowded and uninviting for my taste so I moved the party even farther east and brought us to the Love's at SR 559 and I-4.  Here's Mr. Sarcasm and our bikes chilling in the shade of the building at our first stop of the day:

Leaving Love's we headed a bit more to the east and took in the sights and curves of Old Lake Alfred and Cass Roads before turning back to the west to return to SR 33 and continue our northerly track.

SR 33 took us north to Laws Road which we took east over to CR 561 to continue our progress to the north and our destination of Champion Powersports in Eustis, FL, where I hoped to pickup a new pair of riding boots.  Here's my ST 1300 parked in front of Champions:

Sadly, Champions had exactly zero pairs of street riding boots, so I left empty-handed. We did get to peruse a large number of interesting new motorcycles, though, so the trip still held rewards.

Leaving Champions we doubled back to the west a few blocks to have lunch at the local Applebee's. While getting off the bike I noticed the message board on the sign at the restaurant next door:

Did I mention that it was hot today? I mean REALLY hot?!?

After lunch we headed south in the general direction of home and made it down to SR 50 in Groveland, where we turned west toward SR 471. At 471, Mr. Sarcasm kindly and generously offered to let me ride his nice, new Kawasaki Ninja ZX 14R.  Here I am suiting up to throw a leg over that beautiful green rocket on wheels:

All suited up and ready to ride that beast; can you see the big smile on my face? Well, it was only bigger by the time we got to the south end of SR 471 at US 98:

Let's just say that the Ninja is an awesome ride. Smooth, powerful, responsive, and rock steady as she rolls down the highway. Did I mention that this bike is an awesome ride???  Thank you, Mr. Sarcasm, this little jaunt on your Ninja was a sweet treat and a nice cap to a good day of riding.

Speaking of the day's riding, we had a good time rolling up mile after mile, despite the heat. I parked the ST with 217.4 miles on the clock for today's outing. I was hot, thoroughly cooked through, but with a smile on my face. And that, my dear readers, is what this motorcycling madness is all about.