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Sun Your Buns Rally - Trip Diary.....

vectorprime27

New member
18th Annual Sun Your Buns Rally
Trip Diary ÔÇô Our 1st Sun Your Buns Rally

Friday

It appeared the weather would cooperate, so Cheryl and I decided to venture south to Venice to join the 18th annual Sun Your Buns Rally. I managed to escape the office by 1:00, and we were loaded and on the road about an hour later. The route I had chosen kept us off all the busy roads ÔÇô or so we thought! It was smooth sailing until we hit Lakeland. Somehow, we managed to get behind not one, two, or even three, but FOUR school buses. Once we cleared Lakeland, we were once again moving a good speed down 37, however I knew we would be setting the tent up in the dark this time. The route I took went through Wyaaka State Park. We paused for this photo of the sunset before heading off again.

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We finally arrived just after 6:00pmin the dark. Registration was a breeze, and we even managed to nab a hot dog and a cold beer before they were all gone. Once wed calmed the growl of our stomachs with a bit of food, we pulled into the campground to find a spot to pitch the tent. It turned out to be easier than I expected, as we found a nice spot in just a few minutes. It actually took more time to find the camping headband lights than it did to erect the tent. Another late arrival, Frank, pulled up and took the spot beside us. He impressed us by putting up his tent all by himself in the dark. Our neighbors, Jim and Lisa who were already set up came over and introduced themselves as we unpacked the bike.

Once we had everything unpacked, we discovered weÔÇÖd forgotten two very important items; bug spray and a flashlight. We had a small camp light with dead batteries (pretty much like not having a light at all!), and the headband work lights, but no flashlight. Of course, the camp store didnÔÇÖt carry either. We wandered over to catch the very end of a stunt movie, then grabbed some popcorn and enjoyed ÔÇ£The Wild OneÔÇØ which was being shown on a big canvas screen. The final movie for the night was something called ÔÇ£TorqueÔÇØ, but it didnÔÇÖt hold our interest. We finally crawled into our sleeping bags about 10:30 and were soon fast asleep.

Saturday

We awoke about 7:30 Saturday morning to great weather, with the sun climbing into the sky and the temperature in the mid 60ÔÇÖs. Cheryl and I made our way over to the coffee/tea/hot chocolate tent where we proceeded to wait (along with quite a few others) for the coffee to brew. We were all waiting for the green light on the coffee pots, but none came. Finally, after what seemed like an awful long time, we decided the green light must be broken so one brave soul filled his cup for a test. Guess the lights were broke as the coffee was hot and strong. While we were waiting, a beautiful red shouldered hawk flew into the tree above us, a sight we donÔÇÖt often get to see in downtown Orlando.

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While we were standing in line waiting for the coffee, another longer line formed waiting for breakfast. They had set up all you could eat omelets. Once we had our coffee, we switched lines to get some breakfast. Perhaps I was just hungry, but the guys cooked up one of the best omelets IÔÇÖve eaten in a long time. It was really great! IÔÇÖm sure some folks went back for seconds, but the omelet I had was as big as my plate and more than enough.
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After cleaning up and setting out some gear to charge, Cheryl and I decided to take a walk through some of the nature trails before it got too warm. Camp Venice is really nice, and along the way we found this guy sunning himself on a fallen tree trunk in the water. Its hard to tell from the photo, but the gator is about 6 feet long. He let me get pretty close without diving in, and this photo was shot from about 8  10 feet away.about as close as Ill get to a gator unless hes on my plate!

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Back at camp, I was admiring the trailer Jim and Lisa had pulled behind their bike. Lisa explained that Jim had put it together himself for less than $250.00. He did a great job, and it looked really nice. WeÔÇÖd packed our LT to the hilt, probably exceeding some recommendation somewhere, so IÔÇÖve been thinking of adding a trailer to the mix. JimÔÇÖs creation really gave me some great ideas!

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Haps Cycle was running the ÔÇ£torque contestÔÇØ, so I decided to see how IÔÇÖd do. Basically, you have to try to tighten four different bolts to different torques. They hide the digital readout on the torque wrench, so you have to do it be feel, guessing your way along. You get to see if you are too heavy or too light. Most guys are too heavy. Having stripped my share of bolts in the past, I now tend to be a bit light. I figure you can always tighten it more. Such was the case, as I was light on all four bolts. It was pretty eye-opening to most of the participants, me included, and a neat contest. I believe a woman won last year and was second this year.

Just before lunch, Cheryl and I climbed on the motorcycle to go pick up some AA batteries, bug spray, and cheap blow up air mattressall of which wed forgotten to bring. We also managed to get a nice 50 mile ride around the area. We got back about 3:00 or so, and I turned on the radio to get an update on the Florida game (Go Gators). They were also setting up for the Motorcycle Games. From what we could see, these games included a slow race, musical motorcycles which involved a driver and a passenger who had to hop off the bike when the horn sounded and dive into a pile of hay looking for an orange (Kim won), and closest to the cone ride in which the driver was blindfolded (really!) and had to stop as close to a cone as he could. Of course, as soon as most riders took off, spectators began screaming, Lake, lake, as if the blindfolded rider was heading for trouble. It caused at least one participant to pull up well short of the mark!

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The omelet guys showed up about 5:00 with all you could eat pizza. They had 7 ovens going full blast, trying to keep up with a bunch of hungry BMW riders (I donÔÇÖt think they could). Everyone managed to get a few slices of pizza, and a bit later it was popcorn and movie time again. The opening movie was the remainder of the Stunts Movie, then ÔÇ£Easy RiderÔÇØ, and the final feature of the night was ÔÇ£The WorldÔÇÖs Fastest IndianÔÇØ (great movie if you havenÔÇÖt seen it). After the movies, Cheryl and I crashed about 11:30.

Sunday

We woke up about 6:30, and began to gather things up and break down camp. The coffee was hot and ready this time (yes, the green lights were lit!), and as I finished filling my cup, about a dozen boxes of fresh donuts were pulled from a van and put on the table. Ahhfresh donuts.one of my weaknesses. After partaking of a fine pastry, we finished pulling down the tent and getting the bike packed. I am always amazed that all the stuff we bring (tent, sleeping bags, pads, stools, table, clothing, cooking gear, etc) somehow fits on or in the LT.with room for us too, no less!

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We said our goodbyes and pointed the bike homeward about 8:15 or so. There was a cold front forecast to be passing through bringing a slight chance for rain, but the sun found its way out and we rode all 178 miles home nice and dry. We got home about 11:40, and had the bike unloaded in time for lunch.

This was our first Sun Your Buns Rally, but it wonÔÇÖt be our last. There are some really great people in the Sunbeemer Club, and they know how to put on a Rally. While Cheryl and I are pretty new at this Rally stuff (Daytona, MOA, and this one are our only RallyÔÇÖs so far), we had a really great time. Next year weÔÇÖll probably participate in more events. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in organizing the event ÔÇô you did a great job. Ride safe everyone!
 
Why don't you just shoot me. See my thread below about Adventure BMW in Chesapeake. I never made it but will try again next year after reading your post.
 
I rode from Jacksonville down to Venice on Friday arriving about 1400 hrs. Check in was quick and easy and the tent was up in no time. The Sunbeemers have a great place to hold a Rally and go all out to please and entertain those that attend. Many different makes of motorcycles were present with quite a few interesting side car rigs. I will try to post some pictures later of the campsite and bikes. The weather was great during the Rally and the only rain I ran into was on the way home from just below Ocala to north of Rt 301's infamous speed traps in Waldo, Stark, and Hawthorn. I will return next year and would like to Congratulate and Thank the Sunbeemers for a job well done. Ride Safe :usa :usa
 
I missed it this year, but it is a neat rally in a very nice part of Florida to boot!! Hopefully I'll be there next time!!
 
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