Sandflea FFs Hooliganize the South or The Splendiferous Emphysema Tour

This trip began as a thread in the Sandbox. It was birthed by one guy's (Buzztail) brilliant idea to bring together a bunch of Florida Feckin' Fecks' for a week long trip exploring the Southern Dual Sport loop and blossomed into a group of Southern hooligans terrorizing back roads and small towns from the FL panhandle through AL and GA and back thanks to another Flatistanian's (DR Z) efforts to "organize" our unruly group . "Why the hell would you do this when the temps are in the upper 90's and there was a tropical depression looming on the horizon?" you may ask. Well.....Why not?!


Before I "get to it" I will give you a bit of info about myself. I have been riding dirt-bikes since I was 9 years old (I"m now 37) and have had my KLX300r for the last 9 years. Is this "9" thing some type of pattern pattern? No, just a strange coincidence. In that time I have never done a multi-day trip on my KLX. While I have done plenty of multi-day/multi-state rides on street bikes ,this type of dual sport ride would be a first for me ( and several others in our group) and for my trusty steed.

2 weeks before the trip I realized that my bike was...ummmm... not equipped for a week long ride......I needed to prep!!


So I bought these pieces of metal...


...and came up with this....


...and these....


...So that I could hang a set of throw-overs. Here's the setup on a shakedown run in the Everglades.




I also added a bit more light.



I also put on some fresh tires (Kenda K270s) and a new F&R sprocket combo that would give me a bit more top end (though not enough as I would soon find out! )

Thanks man. If you squint really hard the welds actually look nice.

So like Sanjoh said ,he and I had a long drive to meet the others up in the pan handle of FL.

Bikes all loaded and we were on our way.



On the way up we stopped to get a bite and some gas when we noticed that for a few dollars we could both get polished!! What a deal!! Then we found out that the person that "polishes" you also drives a big rig and their skills were a bit ....suspect. :huh



sanjoh and I get all set up just in time to catch a glimpse of kelly duke 2000 rolling in...



All setup and waiting for the "others" that would be spending the night within the solemn confines of the Fish Camp.




As it turns out there was a bit of poor planning on our parts. It seems that we scheduled our overnight stay at the fish camp on the same evening as the Great Southern Fire Ant Gathering. It's kind of like burning man but it's your ass that gets set on fire when the ants bite the hell out of you. Apparently Kelly duke 2000 stores bologna or caramel candies in his boots because within 20 minutes of his arrival he and I were dumping thousands of ants out of his riding boots!! :eek1


We were joined later that night by DR Z and Philip Kuntz. The alcoholic beverages flowed and great merriment ensued (okay, we acted like idiots until we passed out but hey, it's our ride report so we can make up whatever we want!!). After a good nights rest we were greeted to 80 degree temps and 100% humidity but the sunrise was gorgeous!!





We wait for Buzztail to show up and then we are off to meet a few more FFs at a diner for some eats before we finally RIDE!!! Take a good look at his tires ,chain and sprocket...(SPOILER ALERT!!) They will be a shadow of their former selves in a few days. Oh and YES,yes he did do a 1200+ mile multi day ride on an RFS bike!! Freakin' super heroes on this trip I tell yuh!

Breakfast was great! One of the things that I learned about myself on this trip is that I eat too much...WAY too much! But life is short so what the hell!



Ooooohhh... Look at all the bikes!!


And WE ARE RIDIN"!!

Some beautiful North FL scenery.


Another thing that I learned is that I miss "the way it was". See that lady on the 4 wheeler? Well, when we braced for her to kick us out of her front yard we were instead greeted with a "Do you need any water or food?" . I truly hate living in the city and the older I get the more I have come to realize why. Mam, I didn't catch your name but if you ever come across this random internet post I want you to know that people such as yourself are a big part of why I ride...I need a reminder from time to time.

This type of thing became commonplace while on this trip. The kindness of strangers was almost overwhelming at times.

More great scenery courtesy of mother nature and the beautiful land known as The South. That's Ineptizoid on the KLR (or Adeptizoid?)



Dot's for lunch somewhere on the Alabama/ Georgia border.


In case you were wondering what I look like, here's a Myspace style portrait....Are you sorry that you wondered?


The infamous railroad crossing where sanjoh *information deleted* .


Taking a rest and meeting up with Vico1. He's a great guy. Wish he could have joined us for the entire ride.



Another short break...There is a pattern developing here.
See that KLR with the big yellow bags? That's Barney's. For the next six days he would proceed to humble the hell out me with the way he rode that big ole bike.



Sunset in the hills. From here it would be a mad dash on the slab to get to our camping site...errr...ummmm... hotel and an end to day one.

Hey Oscar, good that you could join us here. Next year you can join us for the second annual SDSL ride on yer' new bike.

Thread title updated as per your request.

He doesn't have one. I'm a pretty big deal when it comes to Photoshop.

Alrighty....SooooOOOO...On to day two.


But first a little mood music!!


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