A Hot Day's Hard Ride

Our customary Saturday gathering commenced in the customary way. Over breakfast we discussed the fact that the customary way has become less appealing and less necessary than once might have been the case, so in the not-to-distant future it seems we will adopt a new custom.  Translated, all that means is that we are tired of having breakfast at Snellgrove's every Saturday and we will return to a schedule where we meet up, ride for a spell, then have breakfast somewhere on the road. That change will, indeed, be a nice change from the now years-old Snellgrove's routine.

After breakfast it was me, Beaker, and Mr. Sarcasm for the ride, with Gunny turning for home to prepare for a round of world traveling in the name of his other passion, shuffle-boarding.

Our first stop was for gas just a couple of blocks up the road. You see, my decision to ride was kinda last minute and I didn't have enough gas in the V-Strom to make it more than about 30 miles down the road. Thank goodness!

When I got off the bike at the gas pump, Beaker pulls up and says that I need to check my back tire. So I did. And this is what I saw:

For those of you who don't ride motorcycles, these tires aren't supposed to look like that. This is a case of having ridden the tire to the point that all the rubber is gone from the center and the steel belts are showing through. This is not a good thing. In fact, it's a very bad thing.

Limping home on the V-Strom, I parked her and jumped on the ST to continue the ride.

Leaving my house, we circumnavigated the Fort King area and Lake Thonotosassa before turning more northerly on US 301. As we rode near the entrance to Hillsborough River State Park I spotted a large deer standing along the roadside munching grass and watching the traffic go by. Mr. Sarcasm saw her, too, so there is a witness. This is the first time in my many decades of living in this area that I have seen a deer around here.

Our travels continued through Zephyrhills, Prospect, San Antonio, and onto favorite roads like Bayhead and Hayman, before a stop at the Hess station in Brooksville.

After our short break, Beaker called it a day and turned for home, while Mr. Sarcasm and I continued to ride north.

Just across SR 50, this was our view as we motored north on Mondon Hill Road:

Along the western leg of Mondon Hill Road, I spotted these flooded homes, no doubt victims of the torrential rains that have been hitting this area for the past several weeks:

Continuing west we motored through the edges of Brooksville before turning north again on US 98 to Lake Lindsey Road, where we turned east and ran over to Istachatta for a scenic jaunt north through the Pineola area. Riding north on Istachatta Road we were treated to many scenic views and a smattering of S-curves to keep things interesting.

This sign needs to be moved down to US 301, I'd say:

Signs like this one are always nice to see when you are motorcycling:

This is what much of Istachatta Road looks like:

Spotted this quaint church along Istachatta Road:

In the Moon Lake area of Istachatta Road, I stopped to get a shot of this old barn:

I'm lucky to have gotten a few clean shots of the barn because this guy kept getting in my camera's line of fire:

From Istachatta Road we dipped a bit further west and north up to Floral City for lunch at the Shamrock Inn, where I had one of the best hamburgers I have experienced in many years. How good? So good that I asked the waitress to complement the cook, who, in turn, seemed genuinely appreciative of the feedback. Next time I'm in the area and hungry, a burger at the Shamrock Inn will definitely be on my to-do list.

This beautiful tunnel of oak trees line the road out of Floral City:

Leaving Floral City we worked our way east over to US 301, where we turned south as far down as SR 50 again.  At SR 50 we turned east and made our way over to Tarrytown and SR 471, where we turned south again.

The ride south on SR 471 is 21 miles of straight, nearly featureless road that runs through the heart of the Green Swamp. As I rode along 471 I couldn't help chuckling to myself as I thought about those t-shirts that read, "Florida: 11 curves in 318 miles". Whoever came up with that (a parody of the famous Dragon's 318 curves in 11 miles) must have surely ridden SR 471.

Near the southern end of 471 I saw something that we native Floridians are quite used to seeing and it begged this question: Why did the alligator cross the road?  Well, we'll never know, because he didn't make it!:

That's an 8-foot alligator laying on the edge of the roadway. Judging from the amount of damage done to his head, I'm guessing he tangled with a large truck and, obviously, lost the fight.  Gators on the roads are one of several reasons I really don't like to ride motorcycles at night. To that list you can add deer, wild hogs, coyotes, assorted furry vermin, drunk drivers, and distracted cell phone users.

Across the highway from the dead alligator I spotted one of his kin swimming about in an exposed pond. Can you spot the alligator in this photo? It's a big one; at least a 10-footer based on the size of his exposed head:

If you guessed that the gator is that area of whitish coloring near the center of the photo, you're wrong, and probably from Michigan.  Look at the upper right corner where the trees bracket the water; that's your 10-foot alligator.

After 471 we continued south on Old Dade City Road before making our way into the Kathleen area where I said adieu to Mr. Sarcasm.

Arriving home I parked the ST with a very satisfying 190 miles on the odometer. Adding in the 19 miles I rode earlier in the day on the V-Strom brought the day's total to 209 miles.  Even though it was excruciatingly hot, it was still an enjoyable day of riding and shared adventure.

Until next time, ride safe, and Ride With Pride!