# Road Trip



## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

A couple buddies and I got a weekend pass from the 710s, so we decided fire up the Harleys and ride out to Daytona. Turned out to be a most excellent adventure. A few pics...

The best bar in town...says so right on the sign...










A bit of advice my buddy left a few years back...glad to see it was still there.










Gotta wonder what it takes to get barred from this place...










One of the best damn biker bars on the beach...










Sure, the bartender has a freaky tattoo, but she also has fantastic tah-tahs...


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Cruising up A1A..



















The view from the balcony...










A fat couple in the parking lot...










Another biker bar...


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

My ride in the morning...



















Me with a stupid grin on my face...










Later that day NASA launched a space shuttle... (look between the two palms)


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Riding "The Loop" outside of town...



















Some 'ole rum factory on the side of the road...










Could be an album cover, doncha think?










(for the record, I'm wearing an SMP, the guy in the middle a Sub, and we won't talk about the neanderthal on the right)


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Tattoo anybody?










Sunset...


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Superb, Im jealous 

I would live to see a Shuttle launch too!

And some tah tahs...... :bb:


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

fantastic! :thumbup:


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Great pics and story :thumbsup:


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2008)

We were there in 2000 (during the endless florida recount). We got bored with Orlando and drove down to the keys. As we arrived at the motel in Marathon we wondered why everyone was standing in the car park............. Doh !, it was a shuttle launch. I would have loved to have seen one of those babies go up.

We visited the space center on our return to Orlando and was extremely suprised to find out how basic & utilitarian the shuttle cockpits were.


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

Great pics and story. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing.


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## dredd (Nov 23, 2007)

Lucky man, That's three of my favorite things, watches, bikes, Florida.........in fact make that four if I count tatooed barmaids with big "tah-tahs" as you put it. :tongue2:

Can't wait to get back.


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## mjolnir (Jan 3, 2006)

Great pictures.

All that blue sky (sigh)


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## Alexus (Apr 9, 2003)

Thanks for sharing - awesome pics.


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

You're making me very jealous, Rich. :tongue2:

Nice of NASA to launch a shuttle for the three of you, I thought :lol:


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Bootiful skies, great bikes, ugly blokes, luuuvly "tah-tahs" :drool:

Why, oh why, didn`t my parents take me to see a Saturn-5 launch? :taz: :crybaby:

It would have been _soooooo_ cool to actually see one of those big muthas go up unk:


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## Stuart Davies (Jan 13, 2008)

Its a tough life but someone's got to do it i suppose! :lol:


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## Running_man (Dec 2, 2005)

Thankyou for sharing; I've enjoyed reading and looking. Especially the tah tahs. :

A.


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Kinda wish I'd taken more shots of the shuttle, but I was somewhat mesmerized just watching it. It launched about 60 miles to our south and arced aross the Atlantic in front of us. We even saw the boosters break off and begin their fall to the ocean.

The sound of the thing didn't reach us until several minutes after the launch.

Amazing stuff.


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## Stanford (Feb 10, 2007)

Running_man said:


> Thankyou for sharing; I've enjoyed reading and looking. Especially the tah tahs. :
> 
> A.


Nice bikes, scenery and weather (and bar staff :blink: ) - sounds like a great trip


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Excellent pictures, it is a great place to visit, forget Disney land, I did a similar tour around a few years ago when the bike week was on, wall to wall Harley's and the BUD beer tent was something else.


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## Fatbloke (Oct 15, 2007)

Brilliant pics mate

Was in Daytona last month and tah tahs were very much in force on the beach.

Thanks for sharing those pics.


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2008)

Nice article and pics are super mate cheers


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## adrian (May 23, 2004)

Great photos, thanks for sharing.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

Rich that looks like a superb road trip :yes:

What was the NASCAR trip like?


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

JoT said:


> What was the NASCAR trip like?


I did the ride-along with a professional driver...speeds up to about 165MPH. The best part is the high-bank turns (31 degree banking) ...all you see is wall and track in front of you and you get REALLY close to the wall. The G forces squeeze the breath out of you, then when you shoot out of the turn and hit the straightaway...the sense of speed is incredible. They make you wear a Hans device to restrict head movement...which I found a bit annoying, but otherwise it was a kick in the pants.

My bro-in-law did a brief training course, then actually drove one of the cars on the track behind a lead car for 16 laps. Speed is restricted by the leader (you are required to stay four car lengths behind), so his top speed was about 145. I decided to skip the driving and go for the higher speed...next time I'll probably do both.

I certainly came away with a new respect for the drivers. How those guys can do 500/600 miles on that track...with 43+ other cars inches away from each other...and a crew chief and spotter yapping in their ears about fuel and tires and stuff. Anybody says drivers aren't athletes should be made to do a few laps...totally changes your perspective.

It was eerie passing the spot where Dale Earnhardt crashed and died...I sure understand better now how it can happen.

*Daytona International Speedway Specifications:*

Superspeedway

2.5-mile trioval

40 feet wide with 12- to 30-foot apron

Turns

Banking: 31 degrees

Length: 3,000 feet

Radius: 1,000 feet

Tri-oval

Banking: 18 degrees (at start/finish line)

Frontstretch

Chute length: 1,900 feet (from turn to middle of trioval)

Total length: 3,800 feet

Banking: Minimal for drainage only

Backstretch

Length: 3,000 feet

Banking: Minimal for drainage only

Pit Road

Length: 1,600 feet

Width: 50 feet


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## b11ocx (Mar 19, 2008)

I always used to think I was going fast in one of my old TVR's on track , until a friend of mine who was the Chief Instructor at Oulton Park took me around.... in my car.

He was hitting 30mph faster on many areas of the track, braking 20m later, and cornering much, MUCH faster than I ever had.

All the while he was chatting to me and grinning like an idiot !!!


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## Fatbloke (Oct 15, 2007)

I am thinking of doing this next year

Got a trip planned for september so might just have to scare myself stupid there


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

SharkBike said:


> JoT said:
> 
> 
> > What was the NASCAR trip like?
> ...


Rich that sounds awesome :yes: I guess as passenger you were next to the wall as well? :fear:


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## Russ (Feb 7, 2006)

Thanks for taking the trouble to post this up, a 'real life' photo essay is brilliant for giving us a window on far flung places and people. Much more interesting than any other method too.

While you were doing all that I went to the dentist and pressure washed the patio, you don't have it all your own way you know. :naughty:


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

JoT said:


> Rich that sounds awesome :yes: I guess as passenger you were next to the wall as well? :fear:


Oh yeah...right from the start. The driver punched it leaving pit lane and went straight up into the top of the turn as we accelerated. It felt like inches.


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Russ said:


> Thanks for taking the trouble to post this up, a 'real life' photo essay is brilliant for giving us a window on far flung places and people. Much more interesting than any other method too.
> 
> While you were doing all that I went to the dentist and pressure washed the patio, you don't have it all your own way you know. :naughty:


Glad y'all enjoyed it...it was fun to do. I agree...love stuff like the recent Alaska post from JoT and the pics Nalu posts from Iraq. It's one of the many things I dig about this forum.

(Be careful with that pressure washer, Russ...it really stings if you get your foot...I know from experience.)


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## Guest (Jun 11, 2008)

Hi Rich,

Thank you for sharing! The story/ pics are simply stunning! Seems like, I live in the wrong part of the world...

all the best

Jan


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