Skeet, Conrad, and I planned on riding the “Gauntlet” in northern Georgia in November, 2014.  However, a snow storm moving through north Georgia that weekend caused us to change our plans. We rode from Gainesville – Tallahassee – Port St Joe – Apalachicola – Gainesville instead. The above picture shows my Yamaha V-star in the top left, Skeet’s Harley in the middle and Conrad’s BMW.

We left Friday morning heading south to meet up with Conrad who was riding up from south Florida. Skeet and I had a splendid breakfast at the Pyper Kub Café and Restaurant at the Williston, FL airport, then continued over to Inglis, FL to intercept Conrad.    It was a clear, cold and uneventful ride to Tallahassee.

That changed Saturday morning when I went out in the 25° weather and discovered my bike wouldn’t start. Skeet’s a Harley Davidson mechanic and diagnosed the problem as a likely failed stator (like an alternator on a car, recharges the battery).  Conrad carries a small garage inside his BWW’s fairings and pulled out jumper cables to get me started.  Skeet had already called numerous motorcycle repair shops in the area and recommended we take my bike to Red Hills Powersports for repair.  We hoped my bike had charged enough that I could make the ride over to Red Hills without it dying on me.  Fortunately, the bike made it and the Red Hills crew was anticipating our arrival.

They immediately took my bike into the shop, diagnosed the problem as a bad stator and said they could order the part and have me back on the road the next day.  Couldn’t argue with that, so I told him to make it happen. Meanwhile, Red Hills’ owner Cody Langston helped me find a rental car and drove me over to the Tallahassee airport to pick it up.

Once I had the car, Skeet and Conrad took off to continue their ride. We agreed to meet in Port St Joe that night.

I awoke early the next morning and drove to the Port St Joe Marina to take sunrise pictures. Returning to the hotel, Skeet, Conrad and I met for breakfast at the Port Inn and developed a plan for the rest of the day.  The mechanic at Red Hills told me the Stator would arrive by 10:00 am and after allowing a few hours to install it, I should be ready to ride by noon.

We drove/rode over to St George Island after breakfast and while there I received a call from Red Hills stating that my bike was ready.  After agreeing to meet Skeet and Conrad in Apalachicola that evening, I headed back to Tallahassee.  As I neared the Tallahassee airport to return the car, I called Red Hills and they said a driver would meet me at the airport to bring me to the shop.

True to their word, no sooner had I returned the rental car, the Red Hills driver was there.  Five minutes later we arrived at the shop where I saw my bike sitting our front ready to go.  Awesome and motorcycle repairs aren’t words normally associated together, but in Red Hills Powersports case, they certainly apply.  They are a first class organization!

Back on the bike, I headed to Apalachicola to meet up with Skeet and Conrad. Of course I stopped along the way to take pictures. This picture was taken on Highway 98 near Carrabelle, FL.

I arrived in Apalachicola in the late afternoon and after exploring downtown Apalachicola, retired for the night.

We awoke early the next morning and following an excellent breakfast at Caroline’s River Dining we hit the road to return to Gainesville. Here is a short video shot as we left Apalachicola.

All in all, not a bad trip; just wished my bike hadn’t broken down.