Jan. 1st 2019 1st Ride...

Happy New Year... 1st ride of the year, a small one day vacation to Goodland, Florida from Naples with the woman, lunch, then back home.

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Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to my fellow bikers...

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Day trip to Everglades City...

A quick little day trip from Naples to Everglades City, pass some Indian villages and the Everglades national Park. Was a nice hour long ride, stopped for lunch and rode back.

10,000 miles reach...

I reached the 10,000 mile mark on my 2017 Harley Davidson, almost all of them completed in 2018.

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Blue Ridge Parkway, July 2018...

On my way up to the 6 hours of the Glen IMSA race at Watkins Glen International Raceway I stopped by a friends house in Virginia, I went to the race from there, came back and my wife flew up to Washington DC. We then toured the area then returned home to Florida via the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was July, so not much traffic, and very green. Would definitely like to do that ride again in the Fall. Day 1 was hot and sunny, day 2 was rainy, and day 3 was rainy and foggy. It was definitely a learning experience for this new rider. Anyway here are some pictures and videos.

Slideshow of iPhone pictures from the whole weekend:

Washington DC slideshow:

Blue Ridge Parkway slideshow:

Video clips from the Blue Ridge Parkway ride:

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Key West. Florida...

The first motorcycle ride we had planned on going on as a couple was to Key West in 2017. Well Hurricane Irma came that weekend.

We finally made the trip in September 2018. The ride was great, the weekend was fantastic, and the return ride just as nice.

Here's a slideshow of the weekend:

Here's the ride across the 7 mile bridge to Key West:

And for fun, here's a 360 degree walkthrough of the Key West Butterfly Garden:

And the most requested view of Key West, A 360 view of the Southern most point of the Continital United States. Just FYI, to answer a popular question, if you get up and go before say 9 AM, no line. Almost always a line after that thou.

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Patron North American Endurance Races Review...

Patron North American Endurance Races

My opinion of each track and venue of the 2018 season.

Introduction

After my retirement I made the decision to ride my new 2017 Harley Davidson Ultra Limited to each and every race of the 2018 Patron North American Endurance Races. I would ride to the races, camp in my small tent, and then ride home after each race weekend. What I learned I hope will help others plan and execute their own trips. This is a review of my experience more so at the track and race scene, not the actual riding, which was a story in its own self. (NOTE: I had originally planned on going to every track race in the 2018 IMSA season, but quickly learned that would be very hard on timing, and my wife's opinion. So I settled with the 4 endurance races within the IMSA season.)

Daytona International Speedway

I’ve been to the Rolex 24 three times before, all were infield locations where I slepted in my car. The infield is great if you go for the party and infield activities. But the views of the race and different track positions are almost all blocked by tents and buildings. For this 2018 Rolex 24 I went all out and bought the Rolex 24 Lounge ticket.

I had reserved a small camping area. The site area was assigned to me and each spot marked with chalk, so it was easy to arrive to the section assigned and find an open spot.

The lounge itself was fantastic, has an indoor area with plenty of seats, tables, and TV’s along with a bar and food serving tables. The food was plentiful and great. It also has an outdoor area that overlooks the start/finish line, from up there you can see the whole track and the pits. It was money well spent, the only drawback is that you must have binoculars to see the race details on the far side.

Sebring International Raceway

I’ve also been to the 12 hours of Sebring a couple of times before, this year I got the Gurney Terrace. This is right above the pit stops watching pit exit and turn 1. This was a good seat with overhead cover and a few TV’s to watch the race. There was no free food or drink, but plenty of food trucks just down stairs.

Sebring has a nice camping program, it’s included with your ticket. You still need to rent RV spots but basically throw up your tent in the general area. In my case I simple pitched my tent right next to the free motorcycle parking area.

Sebring’s spectator options are pretty good. You can pretty much walk the whole track, they keep about a 5-foot-wide walkway around it. They also have spectator hills around most of the main turns. 

Watkins Glen International Raceway

This was my longest trip on motorcycle. Upon my arrival there was clear signs to my assigned camping area. What was great about Watkins Glen is that you pick and reserve your camping spot online. I was able to Google map the track and clearly see my spot which has the area marked and with the assigned number. I knew right where to go and setup quickly. Watkins Glen also had many clean hard buildings for bathrooms and showers, most others just have portable toilets and portable shower areas.

I bought the hospitality ticket for the new Esses Party Deck. This was a covered platform that had a small bar and 2 TV’s for viewing. It also had a small grill area. Food and drink were not free but sold at a discount price compared to other public locations.

The thing is, the Esses Party Deck over looked the Esses, but the view really isn’t that great. The angle was all wrong, you could see the cars take turn 1 then climb the Esses but disappear behind the wall, then the view is blocked by the big yellow building used for TV cameras or officials. So, for me the Esses Party Deck was a waste. But don’t worry Watkins Glen has open bleachers almost completely around the whole track, giving you great views and a place to sit. It was far better just to walk, sit, watch, repeat around the whole track. With plenty of bathrooms and food stops around.

Road Atlanta Raceway

I was delayed a day on my travel to Road Atlanta due to a Hurricane. There was no option to reserve a camping site, instead I paid $40 for a non-reserved site. What that meant was that you find a spot in the designated camping area and pitch your tent. I arrived in the early evening, none of the security personnel knew where I was supposed to go, just where I wasn’t allowed to go. There were no signs either. I was told just to find a spot. After riding around for an hour after a 12 hour ride to get there I couldn’t find a open spot. I finally just stopped on the side of a road in the middle of the track area and pitched my tent there before it got to dark.

I bought the hospitality ticket for the Podium Club. It was in a nice location, right on the front stretch over looking the pit lane. I was disappointed to learn it was a semi trailer, the inside sat around 8 people and had a TV, it also had a small bar and serving area for the included food, which was included in the price. You could climb up to the top of the semi trailer and watch from the top uncovered. You really couldn’t see much besides the pit stalls and turn 1.

Road Atlanta has a nice walking area around the track with nice spectator watch areas around some of the exciting turns. Again, it was more exciting just to walk around the track.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the best track and facility is hands down Watkins Glen International. All other tracks should learn from the Glen. The camp site was firm, well marked and maintained. The Glen had plenty of hard covered bathrooms and showers, and always clean. The track had complete visibility with many bleachers at every turn. The only issue I had was the Esses Party Deck. Like I said before was better just walking around the track. I guess the Party Deck was good for cheap food and drink.

Sebring was my second favorite, and my home track.  Sebring is more of an old school flat track. With a nice walk around area and excellent viewing mounds. The camping was free, no extra charge.

Daytona was great because I paid for the Rolex 24 hour lounge ticket. Very fancy, high end. But if your only in the infield area, it’s all for the party because buildings and tents block almost the whole race track. The camping was good and organized.

Road Atlanta was the worst. Unorganized and confusing on where to go, where to set up your tent. And none of the workers had answers. The area is very hilly, and made mostly of rocks, gravel, and slippery red clay. I had a difficult time getting my 900-pound Harley around the area. I bought the Podium Club ticket expecting it to be like the Rolex 24 club, it was not. It was a semi-trailer with an uncovered roof stand. The food was good and included but I don’t think I will ever go back to Road Atlanta, till they make some serious improvements to the facilities.

NOTE: Plenty of slideshow videos, GoPro videos, and more 360 videos on my You Tube Page if interested. Link listed below this article.