Scarlett Homecoming Motorcycle Trip from DeLand, Florida to Douglasville, Georgia continues with my ride from Palatka, Florida to Grandin, Florida and finally the rural area near Green Cove Springs, Florida. Late in this video I encountered my first rain, which would be often throughout the remainder of the day.
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.
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
This video covers a portion of my my Florida Loop 2026 Day 8 68 mile ride from Palatka, Florida to Glen St. Mary, Florida.
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.
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 🙂
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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Wanderlust Lyfe 