Burnspot
Who Me?
I had the opportunity to get back down to Florida over the Christmas holiday to visit with my mother and other family, some of whom I hadn't seen for years for one reason or another. The weather was chilly and the holiday traffic would be brutal...perfect riding conditions.
Not so much a ride report as it is just a collection of some photos. I rode every day I was down there; however, most of my rides were constrained by time/family commitments, so distances were limited apart from the down and back up trips between NC and FL.
Packed up and ready to go at 0800 Saturday morning (12/22). The temperature was 29 degrees. Not too much to my trip plan...slab I-95 down to just north of Jacksonville and then take the A1A-->301 "shortcut" to cut diagonally across Florida to I-75 and then on to the Tampa area. Had to arrive by the end of the day...a 680-700 mile ride.
The traffic through South Carolina was brutal, essentially stealing the whole day. Ended up near Brunswick, GA by dinnertime.
Arrived at my mother's house at 2330, the holiday traffic pushing the ride down to 15.5 hours. Temperatures in the dark dropped down to a low of 32. Just before dark, the left side low beam burned out (OEM lights had nearly 48k miles on them), but the remaining headlight provided enough to keep moving....I'd replace the bulb the next day. A "cozy" garage spot awaited the Feej.
The next day began the daily "get out and ride" days. I only had a few hours each day, between doing family things, but I got out. The daily temperatures for each day I was down in Florida ranged in the 60's and 70's...very comfortable. The Sponge Docks at Tarpon Springs...
My mother's house is backed up against a small protected wetlands, with more of the subdivision on the other side. With that, this is a common sight every morning from her back porch.
When riders think of Florida, they think flat and straight. The straight part is pretty accurate; however, there are "some" hills to be found in Florida...on highway 41, north out of Dade City. This was a rise to a summit of 240'...woohoo!
Looking back down, towards the south.
Went up the road further north where it turns into 541 (IIRC), found another hill...
Beauty shot at the top of the hill in the last pic...there's some sort of citrus shop at the top.
And more...
At the end of that particular hill ride, stopped into the McD's at Cortez Blvd. and I-95. The local popo seemed to like the food too (they were rather rotund fellas).
Did some riding over to Orlando on Christmas day to go pick up my grandmother. While the thought of hauling grandma back to my mother's house on the bike was entertaining, it was never going to happen....shuttled her around in her Rav 4 for the remainder of the day, staying the night at her place before heading back, on the bike, to my mother's the next day. The day after Christmas was rainy; I decided to take the long way back to Wesley Chapel from Orlando. Lake Parker after a downpour...
Fancy...
The next day, I ended up with only a few hours in the afternoon to ride, so I decided to head south and get a bike pr0n shot with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, stopping to see an old friend along the way. Ended up with this just before sundown...
Sunday morning, the 30th, marked the end of my trip to Florida, so I packed my bags and headed north on the 680 mile trek back to my house. The 70 degree temperatures from the other days were nowhere to be found on Sunday as a storm front had blown through the east coast on Saturday and left behind windy conditions...temps would remain in the 40's and low 50's during the day and drop to what turned out to be 30 after it got dark. Somewhere in Georgia...the portable cooler on the back was stuffed with goodies from mom, lol.
South Carolina was only bad through the southern half, but near sunset, things were starting to clear up. Bio-break in SC at sunset...
After 13.5 hours, I arrived home! For the last 80 miles of the journey, the temperature was 30...thank goodness for the Warm 'N Safe jacket liner and glove liners.
Total mileage for the trip was 2044; not impressive miles, but considering the main purpose of the trip was visiting family and friends, I'd say I did alright. The bike was completely comfortable and reliable the entire time, apart from the headlight burnout on the first day.
Gear report:
1. Aerostich Roadcrafter: Kept me dry through quite a few huge downpours...I had the zipper upgrade done earlier this year, but it'd kept me dry before too.
2. Oxtar Matrix boots: Kept the feet dry with no fuss.
3. Warm N Safe Gen 4 liner: As usual, kept me toasty warm.
4. Warm N Safe Glove Liners: Kept my hands toasty.
5. LDComfort tights and long sleeve shirt were my go to base layers every day I rode.
6. My toes were the only thing that got cold on this trip (the down and up long trips). I was wearing Merino wool socks.
Not so much a ride report as it is just a collection of some photos. I rode every day I was down there; however, most of my rides were constrained by time/family commitments, so distances were limited apart from the down and back up trips between NC and FL.
Packed up and ready to go at 0800 Saturday morning (12/22). The temperature was 29 degrees. Not too much to my trip plan...slab I-95 down to just north of Jacksonville and then take the A1A-->301 "shortcut" to cut diagonally across Florida to I-75 and then on to the Tampa area. Had to arrive by the end of the day...a 680-700 mile ride.
The traffic through South Carolina was brutal, essentially stealing the whole day. Ended up near Brunswick, GA by dinnertime.
Arrived at my mother's house at 2330, the holiday traffic pushing the ride down to 15.5 hours. Temperatures in the dark dropped down to a low of 32. Just before dark, the left side low beam burned out (OEM lights had nearly 48k miles on them), but the remaining headlight provided enough to keep moving....I'd replace the bulb the next day. A "cozy" garage spot awaited the Feej.
The next day began the daily "get out and ride" days. I only had a few hours each day, between doing family things, but I got out. The daily temperatures for each day I was down in Florida ranged in the 60's and 70's...very comfortable. The Sponge Docks at Tarpon Springs...
My mother's house is backed up against a small protected wetlands, with more of the subdivision on the other side. With that, this is a common sight every morning from her back porch.
When riders think of Florida, they think flat and straight. The straight part is pretty accurate; however, there are "some" hills to be found in Florida...on highway 41, north out of Dade City. This was a rise to a summit of 240'...woohoo!
Looking back down, towards the south.
Went up the road further north where it turns into 541 (IIRC), found another hill...
Beauty shot at the top of the hill in the last pic...there's some sort of citrus shop at the top.
And more...
At the end of that particular hill ride, stopped into the McD's at Cortez Blvd. and I-95. The local popo seemed to like the food too (they were rather rotund fellas).
Did some riding over to Orlando on Christmas day to go pick up my grandmother. While the thought of hauling grandma back to my mother's house on the bike was entertaining, it was never going to happen....shuttled her around in her Rav 4 for the remainder of the day, staying the night at her place before heading back, on the bike, to my mother's the next day. The day after Christmas was rainy; I decided to take the long way back to Wesley Chapel from Orlando. Lake Parker after a downpour...
Fancy...
The next day, I ended up with only a few hours in the afternoon to ride, so I decided to head south and get a bike pr0n shot with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, stopping to see an old friend along the way. Ended up with this just before sundown...
Sunday morning, the 30th, marked the end of my trip to Florida, so I packed my bags and headed north on the 680 mile trek back to my house. The 70 degree temperatures from the other days were nowhere to be found on Sunday as a storm front had blown through the east coast on Saturday and left behind windy conditions...temps would remain in the 40's and low 50's during the day and drop to what turned out to be 30 after it got dark. Somewhere in Georgia...the portable cooler on the back was stuffed with goodies from mom, lol.
South Carolina was only bad through the southern half, but near sunset, things were starting to clear up. Bio-break in SC at sunset...
After 13.5 hours, I arrived home! For the last 80 miles of the journey, the temperature was 30...thank goodness for the Warm 'N Safe jacket liner and glove liners.
Total mileage for the trip was 2044; not impressive miles, but considering the main purpose of the trip was visiting family and friends, I'd say I did alright. The bike was completely comfortable and reliable the entire time, apart from the headlight burnout on the first day.
Gear report:
1. Aerostich Roadcrafter: Kept me dry through quite a few huge downpours...I had the zipper upgrade done earlier this year, but it'd kept me dry before too.
2. Oxtar Matrix boots: Kept the feet dry with no fuss.
3. Warm N Safe Gen 4 liner: As usual, kept me toasty warm.
4. Warm N Safe Glove Liners: Kept my hands toasty.
5. LDComfort tights and long sleeve shirt were my go to base layers every day I rode.
6. My toes were the only thing that got cold on this trip (the down and up long trips). I was wearing Merino wool socks.
