May 7th, 2026
Short video on Bruce Updates – May 7th, 2026
– Black Dog Cycle Works Foot Pegs
– Harley-Davidson Sundowner Seat for Pan America
– Aux Lights Aiming Adjustment
Bruce Updates – May 7th, 2026
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Scarlett Homecoming | Fly-In & Ride Home Trip
May 7th, 2026
I will be flying out of Atlanta Georgia tomorrow May 8th, 2026 to Orlando, Florida and then catching an Uber (or Lyft) to Deland, Florida where I will spend the night in a hotel. The next morning on Saturday May 9th, 2026, I will be picking up Scarlett, my new to me 2006 Honda VTX 1300S from RC Hill Honda in Deland, Florida.
The Plan
The plan is to ride Scarlett home from Deland (with a 40 mile detour through Daytona and ride the Ormond Loop again, becuse I am here) to Douglasville, Georgia for a planned distance of 488 miles (just shy of 500 miles) and arrive home sometime in the evening (hopefully not too far past sunset).
Planned Route
Weather Concerns
Because this is the southeast, of course there is rain forecasted pretty much for the entire ride home. Depending on the weather forecast source, forecasted rain is either going to be an all day, all trip affair or it will be scattered with showers and thunderstorms. If there are scattered showers and thunderstorms I feel I can deal with that much better than an all day, all trip rain event. I am not sure I have room to pack any rain gear (pants and jacket) but I will try. My Revit jacket does a pretty good job with the rain as is even though it is not really a waterproof jacket (I did not use any rain gear during Florida Loop 2026, the RevIT pants and jacket was good enough). However, on this trip, I will be wearing Cycle Gear Ironman Riding jeans which will get soaked if it is an all-day rain event, yuck. I will see if I have room to pack rain pants and if not, will just deal with it.
I am more concerned with slow travel due to rain. Scarlett has Michelin Commander tires installed (which are great) and the tread looks good. However, I have not yet inspected these tires in person and will do so Saturday morning. Worst case scenario is I will have to get new tires (I don’t think so) on Saturday morning, which of course will also delay me.
This is also a new to me bike. Even though I have owned two VTX 1300’s in the past, it has been 9 years since I have ridden one. Plus, each bike is always a bit different. I will not be riding Scarlett hard on this trip home and if the rain is prevalent with reduced visibility, I will be riding even slower. I also don’t want to ride this bike much in the dark on the maiden voyage, especially if it is raining due to low visibility and safety concerns.
Contingecy Plan
If my rate of travel is slower than expected due to weather, the bike, ergonomic issues, etc. I have three locations in Georgia picked out to stop for Saturday and then resume the trip home on Sunday May 10th, 2026. The three contingency stops are Douglas (not Douglasville), Perry, and Griffin. I would like to get home Saturday night, but I am not going to push it past where I feel comfortable or if I feel safety is being compromised. Better to arrive a day later without any incident. Well worth the Hotel fee.
Florida Loop 2026 Day 7 Part 1 – Dupuis Campground to Stuart, Florida
April 10th, 2026
This video contains the start of Day 7 departing Dupuis Campground – Canal Point, Florida and my ride east to the coast on Florida Highway A1A in Stuart, Florida. This morning’s ride starts rural, transitions to suburban metropolitan and then into coastal areas.
Continue readingFlorida Loop 2026 Day 6 Part 2 – Ride to Dupuis Campground
April 9th, 2026
This video is part 2 of Florida Loop 2026 Day 6 covering some of US Highway 27 south of South Bay, Florida and the ride from South Bay to Dupuis Campground near Canal Point, Florida.
Continue readingFlorida Loop 2026 Day 6 Part 1 – Key West & Seven Mile Bridge
April 9th, 2026
This is video is part 1 of Florida Loop 2026 Day 6 covering some of my departure from Key West, Florida up to the Seven Mile Bridge on US Highway 1 – Overseas Highway.
Day 6 Ride Summary
On Day 6 I rode from Key West, Florida to near Indiantown, Florida where I camped for the night at the fantastic Dupuis Campground. Another day with more rain and at times quite heavy. But the real weather pain in the butt today was the wind. I am not sure of the speed that the wind was blowing but some of the wind gusts (all day) were intensely producing some white cap waves on the ocean and giving me quite the workout keeping Bruce aimed correctly in the lane.
The ride over the ocean in the Florida Keys was as epic today as it was yesterday on Day 5.
Total Miles for Day 6 = 250 Miles.
Day 6 Part 2 video will cover some of the ride on US Highway 27 to South Bay, Florida and the ride to Dupuis Campground.
Scarlett Homecoming – Fly In, Ride Home Trip
Fly In & RIde Mototcycle Trip to Bring Scarlett Home
As announced in an earlier posting, on April 28th, 2026, I purchased a new to me 2006 Honda VTX 1300S that has been named Scarlett. On the early evening of May 8th 2026, I will be flying out of Atlanta, Georgia to Orlando Florida, and then taking an Uber to my hotel in Deland, Florida. The following morning, I will pickup Scarlett from RC Hill Honda in Deland and ride Scarlett home to Douglasville, Georga.
As also stated in my Scarlett Introduction Post, Scarlett is now my thrid Honda VTX 1300, When I started riding for realish in 2015, I had a 2007 Honda VTX 1300C which I sold in October 2015 as I scuffed it up in a low side. At the time, it was easier for me to replace the bike than to repair it. In February 2016, I purchaed a 2004 Honda VTX 1300C that was named Jolene. I brought Jolene with me to my move to California from Minnesota in January 2017. Sadly, in August 2017, I had a high side crash with Jolene and she was totaled. In November 2017 I doubled down on my interest in long distance touring and purchased a 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic named Dexter which was traded in for Bruce, a 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special in October 2025 that is now my primary touring bike.
With all these bikes 2 up ridiing is possible but frankly sucks with the Pan America, Scarlett will be the primary for adult 2up riding and local cruising. Bruce, the Pan America, is primary for touring but will still see action locally as well.
Scarlett’s Homecoming Route Overview
With the exception of the portion from Deland Florida to Daytona Beach, Ironiclly, 99% of the route I just rode with Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special, during my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcyle Tour that I completed on April 11th, 2026 this route will be nearly identical. During that tour, I rolled through Daytona Beach and the Ormond Loop (fantastic short route) during Day 7, April 10th, 2026. I had no idea at the time I would be back so soon, let alone on another motorcycle. 🙂
From Daytona Beach, Florida to Douglaville, Georgia the route is the exact same is my route during Florida Loop 2026.
Route Parts One and Two will both occur on the same day, May 9th, 2026. The route is brown down in two parts only due to the fact I used Google Maps to plot the route.
Total Planned Miles = 488 Miles Should be very doable but Scarlett does have that crappy stock seat, I have already ordered the Ultimate Seats Big Boy Ulitmate X seats and plan to install them in June.
Continue readingFlorida Loop 2026 Day 5 Part Two
April 8th, 2026
For Florida Loop 2026 Day 5 Part Two I continue to roll south to Key West, Florida via US Highway 1 – Overseas Highway. The riding through the keys in many areas was spectacular, despite some heavy traffic in some of the town areas (with Key West having very heavy traffic).
Day 5 Total Miles (Part 1 & 2) = 221 Miles
Continue readingFlorida Loop 2026 Day 5 Part 1
April 8th, 2026
On Florida Loop 2026 Day 5, I rode 221 miles from Everglades City, Florida to Key West, Florida. This video for Day 5 Part 1 covers some of the 84 mile ride from Everglades City to Homestead.
Route to Homestead
I rolled out of Everglades City on Calier Avenue / Florida Highway 29 to US Highway 41 and rolled east (US Highway 41 South) through some of the Everglades and turned south on Florida Highway 997 to Homestead, Florida. In Day 5 Part 2 I continued south and turned onto US Highway 1 / Overseas Highway to Key West.
Sketchy Rest Stop
Shortly after turning onto Florida Highway 997, I found myself needing to take a break and stretch my legs. At the junction of US Highway 41 and Florida Highway 887 there was a gas station / convenience store but I it was on the other side of the highway and decided to keep rolling to find a gas station easier to get in and out of (yeah, I do that lol). 9 miles down the road and all I encouted was produce stands and farm fields.
I was in desperate need of break to stretch my legs, cool off and hydrate so I pulled off at one of the produce stand on what looked to be a paved street. This was a “street” in a rural, agriculture area and as I turned in, the street itself looked like it was bombed and not in use. I actually almost dropped the bike in what was left of the pavement before the “bombed” out section. I was at a full stop and was preparing to back up the bike a little to turn around to face the highway and park. I looked and did not see the loose pea size gravel on the deteriorated asphalt, it blended right in and I could not see it. When I transferred weight to my root foot, it was like I was standing on marbles and my foot began to slide to the right as the weight of the bike started tipping to the right. A nice panic shot of adrelene and I was able to quickly shift my weight to the left and centered the bike. Then it was baby steps to turn around Bruce on the mess they called a street.
Crazier yet, people were driving through the bombed out area to I am guessing a residential area beyond. Even a Tesla 3 series came driving through. What really ground my gears though, was about 4 miles or so down the road there are about 6 gas stations with nice flat paved lots LOL. SIGH.
Day 5 Part 1 Summary
This part of the ride was uneventful and fairly chill. Rolling through the Cypress trees again was enjoyable. Once I reached the sawgrass area of the Everglades, it was like riding in the plains states, complete with a pretty roubust crosswinds as well.
Bruce Has a New Sister
Introducing Scarlett – 2006 Honda VTX 1300 S
April 28, 2026
Scarlett is my new to me 2006 Honda VTX 1300 S with 32,317 miles on the odometer (which is nothing for the Honda VTX cruisers). I completed the paperwork this afternoon and Scarlett officaly joined the herd. Currently, Scarlett is at the dealer, RC Hill Honda in Deland, Florida (very close to Daytona Beach). I will be flying from Atlanta, Georgia to Orlando, Florida on Friday May 8th, 2026 and will ride Scarlett home the next day.
I wanted a cruiser again for local and near regional riding and 2 up riding with DeAndra, my wife. We have only rode together once since 2018, Dexter’s last ride (excluding the ride for trade in at Atlanta Harley-Davidson). I really miss our rides and she has stated this in the past as well. My original plan was to keep Dexter but we decided that we didnt have the garage space, plus Dexter still had some issues to eek out but overal was in much better shape that when I purchased him in November 2017.
Continue readingFlorida Loop 2026 Day 4 – Everglades City & Chokoloskee Island
April 7th, 2026
After a fantastic ride of the Loop Road Scenic Drive and seeing the famous American Alligators (some of those things were huge!), I rode to the Miccosukee General Store for a lunch break.
After lunch I rode back to Everglades City, checked in at the Everglades City Motel, dropped off some gear and rode off to get my staged gear at the Parkway Motel & Marina in Chokoloskee Island.
I was going to stay another night at the Parkway Motel & Marina as the room was fantastic. However, they did not have any availability for the night of April 7th. They were, however, very gracious in allowing me to stage some of my gear in their office while I went for a ride today (The Loop Road Scenic Drive).
After picking up my gear, I had a fantastic meal of Mahi-Mahi Cuban fish dinner with a very flavorful and spicy in-house sauce (most certainly had Habanero peppers (one of my favorites) in it.
After dinner, I rode through Everglades City for a brief tour and looked around.
Day 4 was very welcomed and needed relaxed day. I still managed to ride 109 miles today, but it was very chill pace all day.
Wanderlust Lyfe 