Tag Archives: Motorcycle Trip

Scarlett Homecoming – Homerville to Perry, Georgia

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR SCARLETT HOMECOMING DAY 1 PART 4 VIDEO

Scarlett Homecoming Day 1 Part 4 – May 9th, 2026

This video covers Day 1 Part 4 of 4 of my Scarlett Homecoming motorcycle tour from DeLand, Florida to Douglasville, Georgia.

After riding most of the day in rain, I finally start to ride out of the rain bands as I approach Perry, Georgia. Soaked and now a little cold with the air temperture at 65 degrees Farienhiet (Temp was 91 degrees farenheit when the ride started in DeLand, Florida). I put on some warmer long sleve riding gear and swaped out my gloves for my cooler weather Harley-Davidson gloves.

I rolled into my hotel in Perry, Georgia right at sunset, perfect timing! After getting checked into the hotel and gear stowed in my hotel room, I peeled off my riding gear and dumped out about a cup of water out of each boot!

My Daytona Road Star GTX boots are waterproof, however I was wearing motorcyle jeans (Iron Workers) which were soaked, I think the water entered the top of the boot and collected inside the boot, being trapped inside the boot due to the waterproofing. I had rain gear (pants and jacket) packed but I delayed putting them on incorrectly thinking I was only going to encounter scattered showers and thunderstorms.

By the time I realized it was going to be a most of the day rain event, I was already very wet and thus, no point in putting on the rain gear at that point. I packed gear that I didn’t use for the joy of lugging it through airports, taking up my limitied luggage space on the bike, and extra weight….good job! LOL.

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Scarlett Homecoming – DeLand to Palatka, Florida

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR SCARLETT HOMECOMING DAY 1 PART 1 VIDEO

Introducing Scarlett – 2006 Honda VTX 1300C

I purchased Scarlett on April 28th, 2026, and flew to Orlando, Florida from Atlanta, Georgia on May 8th, 2026, and took an Uber to DeLand, Florida to my hotel for the night. The next morning, May 9th, I grabbed breakfast at C’s Country Diner and then picked up Scarlett at RC Honda in DeLand.

The start of the trip home was short lived as I noticed that the speedometer was not working. So, I headed back to RC Honda and had their service department check it out. They determined that the speed sensor was not working and needed to be replaced. They did not have any in stock (20-year-old motorcycle) but they did order the part and have it shipped to my home in Douglasville, Georgia to have a local mechanic install it (or myself).

I decided to use a GPS speedometer on my phone (along with Google Maps for navigation) and I would deal with the speed sensor in Georgia. However, once down the road on the second start, the speedometer started working. As of June 10th, it is still working. I have the replacement speed sensor in my storage cabinet and ready when it fails again.

Initial Photos of Scarlett

Day 1 Route to Perry, Georgia

I was anticipating significant rain north of Palatka and into Georgia. Because of this, I planned on splitting the 482-mile trip from DeLand to Douglasville into two days to accommodate the expected slower travel due to heavy rain (and oh boy I got soaked on Day 1, but more on that in future posts).

The route back to Douglasville, Georgia very closely followed the route I rode on Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special, just a few weeks earlier during my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcycle Tour. The only major difference is the portion from DeLand to Palatka. During Florida Loop 2026 I rode from Daytona Beach to Palatka.

Most of the route from Palatka, FL to Douglasville, GA is nearly identical to the route during Florida Loop 2026 apart from less secondary roads this time (pretty much stayed on US and State highways).

Total miles traveled on Day 1 from DeLand to Perry = 325 Miles

Scarlett Homecoming – Day 1 – May 9th, 2026

Florida Loop 2026 Completion – Barnesville, GA to Douglasville, GA

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 8 PART 8 VIDEO

Florida Loop 2026 – End Of The Journey – Day 8 Part 8 – April 11, 2026

In this last video of Florida Loop 2026, I ride from Barnesville, Georgia to just outside of Fairburn, Georgia. By the time I arrived in Fairburn, the sun had set and it was now dark. I am still using an old GoPro Hero 5 Black, which does not record well in low light, so I ended the recording here.

Day 8 Part 8 Route
Bruce’s Odometer – End of Florida Loop 2026
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Florida Loop 2026 – Roberta, GA to Barnesville, GA

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 8 PART 7 VIDEO

Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 Part 7 – April 11, 2026

In this video I ride from Roberta, Georgia to Barnesville, Georgia on some of Georgia’s less traveled 2 lane highways.

Florida Loop 2026 – Perry, GA to Roberta, GA

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 8 PART 6 VIDEO

Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 Part 6 – April 11, 2026

In this video, I ride from Roberta, Georgia to Perry, Georgia.

Florida Loop 2026 – Jacksonville, GA to Perry, GA

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Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 Part 5 – April 11, 2026

In this video I ride from Jacksonville, Georgia to Perry, Georgia riding through some of the Southern Georgia scenery.

Music selection for this video is in honor of Rush kicking off their Fifty Something Tour in Los Angeles, California. I am looking forward to seeing them in Atlanta on November 25th, 2026.

Florida Loop 2026 – Homerville, GA to Jacksonville, GA

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 8 PART 4 VIDEO

Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 Part 4 – April 11, 2026

This video covers a portion of my Day 8 ride from Homerville, Georgia to Jacksonville, Georgia on US Highway 441.

Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 – Glen St Mary to John M Bethea State Forest

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 8 PART 2 VIDEO

Day 8 Part 2 – April 11th, 2026

Glen St Mary, Florida to John M Bethea State Forest, Florida

This video covers a portion of my Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 21 mile ride from Glen St Mary to John M Bethea State Forest on Florida State Route 2, just south of Georgia.

Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 – Palatka to Glen St Mary

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CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE FOR VIDEO OF FLORIDA LOOP 2026 DAY 8 PART 1

Day 8 Part 1 – April 11th, 2026

Palatka, Florida to Glen St Mary, Florida

This video covers a portion of my my Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 68 mile ride from Palatka, Florida to Glen St. Mary, Florida.

Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 – Final Day

Day 8 was the final day for Florida Loop 2026 starting in Palatka, Florida and ending at my home in Douglasville, Georgia (arriving shortly after sunset). The weather for day 8 was fantastic riding weather and the best weather I had during this trip. Also, the motorcycle riding on day 8 was great with low traffic volumes (until I entered the Atlanta Metropolitan Blob that is LOL) and the scenery was fantastic in several areas.

On Day 8 I also discovered that there are rural, low traffic and virtually people free areas of Georgia. I rolled into Georgia on GA Highway 94 just south of Fargo, Georgia in a heavily forested area and virtually almost no traffic, it was fantastic after many days of rain and at times heavy traffic in Florida.

There will be more Day 8 riding videos posted soon, along with my summary of Florida Loop 2026.

Florida Loop 2026 – Daytona Beach to Palatka

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Florida Loop 2026 Day 7 Part 6 – April 10th 2026

In this video I am departing Daytona Beach, Florida and headed to Palatka, Florida where I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Palatka, Florida for the night.

Day 7 Total Miles from Dupuis Campground to Palatka, Florida = 273 Slow Miles 🙂

Today’s Original Plan

The original plan for Day 7 was to ride from Dupuis Campground near Indiantown, Florida, ride east to the coast, and then ride north on Florida A1A to Daytona Beach. In Daytona Beach I would ride the Ormond Scenic Loop and then proceed to Ocean Pond Campground near Lake City, Florida in the Osceola Wildlife Management Area and camp for the night. While the weather was fantastic today for camping (a rare occurrence on this trip) I grossly underestimated the time it would take to ride north from Stuart, Florida to Daytona Beach.

While I accomplished most of my goals for the day from Palatka, Florida, Ocean Pond Campground would have been about another 1.5 ride in the dark in area and roads I am not familiar with. While I can and have ridden plenty at night, I prefer not to as the potential road hazards and wildlife risk increase exponentially, plus, you can’t see anything at night.

It had been a long day waking up at camp just before sunrise and instead decided to cut the route short for today and stay at the Holiday Inn Express and make up the 74 or so miles on Day 8.

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