Author Archives: Matthew

Florida Loop 2026 – T Minus Two Weeks

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Kickstand Up in Two Weeks – April 4th, 2026

Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my upcoming motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip .

The trip as planned will be 8 days starting from Douglasville, Georgia to Pensacola, Florida and follow along the gulf and Florida’s west coast to the Everglades and Key West, Florida.  Then turn around and roll north following Florida’s east coast (more or less) and some interior back to Douglasville, Georgia.

Planned Miles = 2,495

Camping Nights = 5

Hotel stays = 2

Kickstand up: April 04, 2026

This will be my first touring trip with Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special.

For all of the planned details of this touring trip, Click Here for my original Florida Loop 2026 post.

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Death Valley Day 2

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Death Valley Day 2 – February 19, 2018

This was the first touring trip with Dexter, 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.

I rode from Beatty, Nevada back to Death Valley coming in from Amargosa Valley and was planning on riding up to Dantes View, however the road to Dantes View was closed. 

I then rode down to Furnace Creek and headed to Artists Circle and Badwater, also in Death Valley.  From there I rode to Baker, California and stopped at the fantastic The Mad Greek and rode back to Lake Elsinore, California.

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Death Valley Day 1

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Death Valley Day 1 – February 18, 2018

This was the first touring trip with Dexter, 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.

I rode from Lake Elsinore, California, to Lone Pine, California, through Death Valley, visited the Ghost Town Rhyolite, Nevada and stayed in a hotel in Beatty, Nevada.

The ride North on US Highway 395 was quite windy.  The descent into Death Valley on CA Highway 190 was entertaining with a well-maintained twisty road and breathtaking views of the valley below from the mountains.

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San Diego Hwy S-1 | Sunrise Highway with DeAndra | April 22, 2017

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April 22, 2017

DeAndra and I ride east on the Sunrise Highway in San Diego County California, San Diego County Highway S-1. 

We start east of Mount Laguna, California from CA Highway 79 and follow San Diego S-1 (Sunrise Highway) across Interstate 8 as we make our home in Chula Vista, California.

This was the conclusion of a full day of riding to include picking strawberries in Carlsbad, lunch and pie in Julian, and then back to Chula Vista.

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Ride Up Palomar Mountain with DeAndra March 11, 2017

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March 11, 2017

San Diego County Road S6 – South Grade Road

DeAndra and I ride Jolene, my former 2004 Honda VTX 1300C, up Palomar Mountain in San Diego County California.

Gemini Description of South Grade Road (S6)

Ascending the western slopes of Palomar Mountain, South Grade Road (S6) is a legendary stretch of asphalt renowned for its relentless complexity and breathtaking vistas. Often referred to as “the tight side,” this historic route gains approximately 3,000 feet in elevation over just seven miles, characterized by a dizzying sequence of 21 hairpin switchbacks. As drivers and cyclists navigate these technical curves, the landscape transitions rapidly from chaparral-covered foothills to dense forests of cedar and fir. The engineering of the road—originally improved in the 1930s to transport the massive 200-inch mirror for the Palomar Observatory—offers sweeping panoramic views of the Pauma Valley below, eventually terminating at the mountaintop plateau where the iconic silver dome sits against the sky.

FeatureDetail
Elevation Gain~3,000 feet
Length~7 miles
Number of Hairpins21
Peak DestinationPalomar Observatory (6,126 ft)
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Dexter’s Last Tour – Deals Gap to Robbinsville North Carolina

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September 13 2025

Dexter’s Last Tour – Deals Gap to Robbinsville North Carolina on US Highway 129.

The weekend touring trip of the North Carolina / Tennessee mountains was the last touring trip with Dexter, my 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.  On October 4th, 2025, I put down the deposit to purchase Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davison Pan America 1250 Special.

The final ride (excluding ride to Atlanta Harley-Davidson for trade in) was on October 10th, 2025 when DeAndra and I rode from Douglasville, GA to Newnan, GA to have lunch at Culver’s (about 67 miles round trip).

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Santeetlah Road & Joyce Kilmer Road – North Carolina

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September 13, 2025

Not far from Robbinsville and Deals Gap North Carolina, I rode on Santeetlah Road and Joyce Kilmer Road on my way back to Deals Gap, North Carolina.

Joyce Kilmer road goes along a portion of Santeetlah Lake in the mountains of North Carolina just south of Tennessee.  This was a very scenic ride with some nice-looking camp sites along the way that I may try and take advantage of in the future.

Bruce – 1000 Miles

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2/28/2026

Today I rode 250 miles for another burger 🙂 Rode 250 miles round trip from Douglasville, GA to Burger Heaven in Birmingham, AL again but this time I had their 1-pound burger…hmmm beef.

Primary mission was to rack up some more miles to get to the 1000 miles mark on Bruce (my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special). Soon I will be taking Bruce into Atlanta Harley-Davidson for its 1000 mile service and will also have them install my aux lights and run some power leads under the fuel tank for me, at this point, I don’t want to monkey around with removing the fuel tank, that sounds like future fun but not now LOL.