Gulf Coast Ride 20061111

[Badbob]

My wife and I rode our GZ250s down to US98 yesterday. It was a beautiful day with little traffic and very few bikes out which really surprised me until I found out it was home coming for FSU. Tallahassee is a big football town and things get deserted during "The Game". It good riding while the game is in progress but not after it gets out. Drunks, lost out of towner's, and just plain crazy people out everywhere you go. But while the game is being played its very quiet.

The weather was great and as it turned out I was a little over dressed. Partly cloudy with 20% chance of rain and it got to 82 degrees. I was over dressed and was wising I had my mesh jacket before we got home.

US98 from Panacea FL to Mexico Beach is a nice ride but its a 50 miles from Tallahassee to the scenic areas. If your ever in the area its worth the trip. However. I don't recommend riding US98 past Panama City FL. There is little scenery and heavy tourist traffic from Panama City Beach west to Texas. However this little stretch of US98 is not yet heavily populated and is far enough away from an interstate that most tourists will never see it. It is one of the few places left in Florida where you can ride within a few feet of the beach. If you have time side trips to St Georges Island and down highway 30 are in order. There are plenty of places to eat. Sea food is everywhere and there are a good number of BBQ places as well as a few fast food things if your in to that.

This is a days ride. Don't expect to average more than 35 mph so leave early and take your time. Our ride was about 250 miles but we like to take the back roads where we can.

There are lots of deer hear not to mention other wildlife so you will want to plan your trip so you will get back before dark. This is not a problem in the summer but in November you should be well on your way buy 10:00am. We ran a little late getting stated and got back home just after dark. Half an hour after we got home the rain started. Hows that for timing.

Here is a map of the basic route we took.

[Dupo]

Must have been an enjoyable ride along the shores there. One of these days i want to head to Jersey and hit the coastal areas.

[Badbob]

Clear blue water, sugar sand and sea breeze.

Here are a few photos I took at a rest stop.
http://tinyurl.com/tn6vn

I want to go back in the summer and start early stopping a lot an taking lots of pictures before they cover it all in condos and beach houses.

[Bill]

Looks like a great ride for such a nice day. It's difficult to find good scenic roads free of congestion for a safe ride. Glad you and your wife had a perfect day and arrived home before the rain. Great timing!
We did a short ride on Friday on the east side of the state from Atlantic Beach down A1A to Palm Coast. It was fun to ride along the ocean and watch the pelicans in formation skimming the water and see osprey catch their breakfast.
Sat. we rode with the Patriot Guard and about 600 members on motorcycles for a funeral in Jacksonville to honor a fallen soldier killed in Afhganistan and to shield the family from a Christian extremist group that protests, disrupts, and is verbally abusive to the family during their time of grief. Fortunately they did not show up as they threatened.
Cheers!

[Dupo]

I bet when they heard 600 guys on motorcycles were coming, they changed their minds about showing up real quick lol.