BMWNEF

4^th Quarter Social Dinner

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Salt Life Food Shack

Fernandina Beach, Florida

We had a wonderful turnout for the 4^th Quarter Social Dinner. 25-30 members and guests gathered at the Salt Life Food Shack on the north end of Amelia Island.

Members arrived around 5PM and were seated, upstairs on the patio deck for Happy Hours and conversation. Around 6 the staff began taking dinner orders.

Our large crowd required several tables pushed together with additional  “satellite” tables to accommodate our group. All were eventually seated with no one left out of the evening.

The weather cooperated with clear skies, gentle ocean breezes and comfortable temperatures.

Our large table had one waiter who provided prompt and courteous service. As we have experienced before, the Salt Life’ food was excellent. No complaints were expressed during the meal service.

Thank you to all who took the time to drive up and enjoy our evening together.

Special thanks to Cai Mei Dengler for her photos of the evening.

November has several events and rides on the calendar. Please stay in touch through the BMWNEF.org website.

Bill Botkin

Yalaha Bakery Ride

The weather couldn’t have been any more perfect for the two riding groups totalling 15 bikes winding their way off the beaten track to the heart of the lake district. The ride started with riders congregating with coffees in hand at Weedman’s where Lenny “O’ Florida”, the ride leader, delivered a detailed safety briefing.

An abundance of V Twin biker groups was observed along the way, and why of course, coincidentally it just happened to be Biketoberfest in Daytona.  As we rode further south large amounts of piled up tree and yard debris along the sides of the roads were observed, all as a result of recent Hurricane Milton. 

Four hours after departure our BMW crew arrived at a bustling Yalaha Bakery. It was a long ride, appetites had built up, and some of the group went straight for the baked German cakes and other goodies. Others opted for a the more traditional sequence of Bauernwurst or Wienerschnitzel or other specialties first, to be then followed by desert. The meals and conversation were enjoyed at picnic tables in the Biergarten accompanied by traditional live Bavarian Oktoberfest music. A great day was had by all.    

Iron Horse Camping and Riding Weekend

19 members and friends made it to Iron Horse and enjoyed perfect weather all weekend.  The early mornings were nice and cool in the low to mid 60s which made a great start to our riding days.  After a hearty breakfast and allowing the fog to lift, we grouped off into various sized groups and headed out for the day.  Popular destinations were the “Tail of the Dragon”, Chilhowee, Tellico Plains Bakery, Cherohala Skyway, and many more.  Everyone made it back to Iron Horse before dinner. 

With the exception of “The Dragon” on Saturday, the roads were not very busy.  The leaves on the trees were just starting to change colors the closer you rode to the mountain tops.  Sleeping was excellent after a hard day of riding as the temperatures dipped down in the low 50s.

Iron Horse made for an excellent base camp for the weekend.  They renewed their support of BMWNEF by providing an award certificate to be given out at the 2025 Winter Rally.

No bikes or riders were harmed during our shenanigans. 😛

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GET YOUR 'Y" Ride - July 20, 2024 

Eight riders departed Weedman's at 0830 on Saturday in pursuit of ABC Challenge letters, including the elusive Y. Slightly overheated after a scenic ride, they arrived at Yankeetown, a quiet riverfront town where it appears that time is standing still. Meeting up with three club riders coming in from the Gainesville area, the group enjoyed a delicious lunch at the historic Blackwater Bar and Grill. A handful of riders continued on to Zephyrhills to collect a few more letters and the Z. A great time was had by all!

May 11th Picnic Report

We want to send out a Great Big Thank You to the Fleet Reserve for hosting our picnic and providing lunch for about 55 members. The hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork and all the fixens' were delicous and really hit the spot.

We had a quick meeting with reports on past and future events, safety minute, and the ABC Challenge. A good time was had by all and with the weather pitch perfect. No one was in a hurry to leave.

Thanks to everyone that participated. Our hope for those that were unable to attend was because they were riding somewhere in as equally nice weather.

Our next meeting will be June 2nd at Fleet Reserve.

The next ride will be May 18th to St. Simon's Island

Second Quarter Social

April 12th, 2024

I want to thank Chris Terajewicz for coming up with a great event for the club.  The night out at the Jumbo Shrimp Baseball Park could not have been any better.  Chris ordered up perfect Spring weather for our night out.  Our tickets included a buffet style dinner with Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, chips, drinks and all the fixings.  The team came from behind to win the game 7 to 4 and a full celebration of fireworks followed the game.

We had 41 registered to attend.  I didn’t take a headcount, but we had close to that at the park.  Everyone had a great time and joined in on the festivities.  It even snowed beach balls!!!  If you haven’t been to the Ball Park in awhile, I highly recommend taking in a game.  The park has been renovated and is truly a 1^st class minor league park.  You are close to the action and entertainment.

Who knew you could have fun without the bikes?

Ride to Lake Harris / Hidaway Restuarant

March 27th, 2024

Steve’s ride for March had us returning to some of the oldies-but-goodies-twisties. We started in Green Cove Springs with 12 riders and headed south on 17. The first half of the ride was Florida Straight, however, before long we got into the sweepers of 314a & 182nd St. These roads were recently paved and were void of pot holes and bad patch work. The weather was perfect with overhead clouds keeping the sun out of our eyes and the heat at bay. 

Our lunch destination was Lake Harris Hideaway on the bank of Lake Harris. The view from the restaurant was excellent and it wasn’t too crowded so it was the perfect destination spot. Unfortunately, they were struggling with help (as do many places these days) and the service was not the best. My order was delivered wrong, but I couldn’t complain. Chip, Bill and the Hiday’s never received their food. Other than that, it was a perfect day.

Thanks again Steve for an excellent day out. Can’t wait to see what you have planned next.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO FROM THE RIDE!!!

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Ride to the World Equestrian Center

February 28th, 2024

Steve did another outstanding job designing a ride for us from Green Cove Springs down to the World Equestrian Center. We had 18 riders participate and after a short Group Ride meeting, left at 9 am. We stayed off the 4 lane highways for the most part and enjoyed scenic two lane roads twisting through the Live Oak Canopy Roads. We made one pit stop prior to crossing I75, then enjoyed the pleasant rolling hill ranchlands around the Ocala area. What a beautiful part of Florida.

We met up with the BMW Tampa Area Riders in the World Equestrian Parking Lot. They had about 12 riders in their group. After some hellos and story swapping, we moved into the Center. The admission is free and we were treated to some jumping competition going on in the center arena. The arena included two jumbo trons so you can keep up with who is on the course and the scores. There are plenty of food options at the Center with Burgers, Pizza and more. We checked out the stalls, practice area, and covered warm up/cool down arena in Exhibit Hall #2.  



If you have never been to the World Equestrian Center, you should plan a trip. It is first class all the way. The horses are all the top of the line jumpers and you will certainly see a good show. I think this will have to become an annual event. What do you think?

Northeast Florida Tech Day

February 23^rd – 25^th, 2024

John Brueggemann

Larry and Jeanette Meeker once again opened their home to the Airheads for Northeast Florida Tech Day. I believe this is the 4^th or 5^th year they have hosted this annual event and the 14^th Annual Tech Day for Northeast Florida. The event was attended by about 25 campers and visitors and several projects were tackled.

Courtney Black recently purchased a 100RT for $1,200. It had been sitting outside under a roof and covered for three years prior to his purchase. 1^st step was to install a new battery and replace a known failed starter. Success!!! The bike fired up and tried to run with the gas that had been sitting in the carburetor bowls for 3+ years. The bowls were pulled and a thick coating of slime was removed. The gas tank was reinstalled (Courtney did flush it out prior to arriving) and the bike fired on the second attempt. It could even idle. Then came that fateful moment that every project that seemed to easy to have accomplished happened. Courtney said, “If you were impressed with that, watch this!!”. While the bike was running, he attempted to connect the clock. Plugging the positive wire into the negative lead never has good results. Yes, Courtney failed the smoke test. The wiring harness was removed and we found only two wires in the harness that needed to be replaced. With this accomplished, the bike came to life again. Thanks Courtney for the opportunity to work on your wiring….

Larry wanted his front forks rebuilt on his 90S. With the fork legs removed, Hank noticed the tapered roller bearing in the triple clamp had a problem. With the bearings pulled and cleaned up it was determined parts needed to be ordered. Luckily, he can leave the bike disassembled waiting on the parts since it’s his garage we were using.

He also acquired a “One Owner” 1960 R60S that he wanted to get the engine and transmission pulled. With the support of several young, muscular Airhead members with strong backs, the bike was rolled up a ramp onto a work bench. Once in place, the experts got to work removing the assemblies per Larry’s request. The plan is to take the engine to Barnsley Motor Werks for rebuild and vapor blasting.

There were a few other smaller projects going on. Frank Curtis modified his 100GS with a kickstand offset shaft for the kickstand that provides a secure footing for the bike. And Bill Botkin completed some basic maintenance procedures with his grandsons () on his son-in-laws 1200GS (yeah, we let a wet head on the rack). 



John Glazebrook (Florida Airmarshal) jumped in on a few project and Duck Kock set up the Airhead Store.  A good time was had by all. It rained briefly on Friday, but Saturday’s weather was perfect. It was good to see Firebug up and giving us grief and Vicki Decker. Thanks again to Larry and Jeanette Meeker for hosting the event.

BMW Motorcycle Owners of Northeast Florida

Jekyll Brewery Ride/Dinner Recap

February 17th, 2024

The first Club social of the year was a great success. Bill Botkin planned and led the ride to the Jekyll Brewery located at Jacksonville Beach. It was a rainy day and not the type of day for a good ride, but Bill managed to talk his daughter and Son-in-Law to make the ride with him south from the BMW Dealership through Palatka and back up to the beaches.

You make us all proud...

There were 21 members and guests for dinner and we met upstairs next to the Airstream Trailer Bar. Interesting atmosphere with a potentially great view of the Atlantic if it had not been for the rain. Service was very good and the dinners were delicious. Everyone had a good time.

Out next Social will be a Jumbo Shrimp Baseball game on April 12th.

You'll need to register for that one as it includes tickets to the game, special meeting area, and buffet dinner.

Hope you can make it.

Ride Safe

John Brueggemann

BMW Motorcycle Owners of Northeast Florida

Drifter’s Lunch Ride Recap

January 31st, 2024

The second ride of the year was one of the best scenic rides we do.  

Steve Wishard planned and lead the ride to Drifter’s Restaurant

near Astor, Fl., along the St John’s River.

Drifter's Website

11 Riders met up at Weedman’s grocery and 10 of us headed south about 8:45AM. Dan had other commitments for the day and stopped by to wish us well. The first half of the route is familiar to all who have ridden with the Club before. The route took us down SR 13 which is a scenic Live Oak canopy road along the St John's River.

We made several departures from US17, enjoying the scenery

and “twisty” only to rejoin US17 further south.

Don’t ever let it be said Florida has no curvy roads!

Just follow Steve through this matrix he created for our ride.

Follow this link to see the route:

GPX FILE

I’d recommend saving it for future use. You can intercept any portion of the route. All paved roads, beautiful oaks and fern nurseries are located along the route.

Not to mention a sea plane.

We arrived at Drifters about 11:30 and enjoyed a well-prepared lunch.

We met up with two other club members that rode over from Gainesville.  

The food was excellent and the view of the river breathtaking.

If you were unable to join us please look for future ride and events on the Club website events calendar.

Home

If you missed the first two rides of the year, don't worry there are more on the agenda.

Our next ride will be after this Sunday's Monthly Meeting.

Chris Terajewicz has plotted us a course west of Jacksonville from Fleet reserve,

then north ending up at Cedar River Seafood in Callahan, FL.

Hope you can make it.

The 2024 - 41^st Winter Rally was a huge success.

The forecast for rain held off to be just a little more than a humid day in Florida. 

There was a wide variety of events and activities to choose from including;

-  Led Rides and solo rides that could be downloaded from the Rally Program

-  Seminars by riders from a variety of backgrounds and experiences

-  Tire Repair on the Road and bike maintenance

-  BMW Academy Training

This year we also had the pleasure of a National Airhead Meeting and Event taking

place at the campground location.  This included a Tech Day, Bike Show and

General Meeting.

Some other hits this year was Charlie’s Chuck Wagon and the Camp Weed Dinners.

Of course we can't forget the Bonfires each night.  There was no shortage of split wood.

We gave away close to 30 Door Prizes and the Grand Prize winners were:

-  BMW Bike Performance Kit won by Chris Terajewicz

-  Helite Air Vest won by Michael Salvemini

-  Performance Training Grand Prize was Billy Luper

The Rally Program this year was over the top.  Steve Wishard did an excellent

job putting this together for our use including QR codes for the rides, articles,

list of vendors and a “Who’s Talking” section.  Unfortunately, Steve was unable

to attend, but he has our heartfelt thanks.

The surveys received to date have been very positive with excellent feedback.

Of course, none of this could have happened without all of the volunteers that worked

hard prior to, during, and after the Rally to ensure its success. Without their dedication,

there would be no Rally. Many, many thanks.

Can't wait until 2025 !!!

2024 Winter Rally Vendors and Sponsors