Ride Around Palma Sola Bay to Bradenton Beach

For Valentine's Day, I picked up my wife on the Scrambler and took her for a ride along Palma Sola Bay in Bradenton, and then across the Cortez Rd. bridge to Bradenton Beach. There we relaxed and ate at Rotten Ralphs, a quaint local restaurant on the Bradenton Beach City Pier.

Sailboat Docked on the Bay, Bradenton

View of Cortez Rd. Bridge, Bradenton

View from Rotten Ralphs and Bradenton City Pier

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Hold Me Tight

So I said, to this beautiful blonde standing before me, “Hold me tight and I'll give you a ride you won't forget.” Within minutes we were cutting through the wind, on two wheels, crossing bridge after bridge, bombarded with breathtaking views of the choppy bays and Gulf that reflected the hot orange, setting-sun. We were doing exactly what we do best, riding by the seat of our pants into another adventure, excitement that we create.

She did; she held me tight, wrapped around me in so much practical affection, as we zipped to our island destination. My lady prefers a placid ride, but with those pipes pulsating a powerful rhythm under her, she can't help but giggle, as I pull the throttle tighter, rev the pistons, and drive us forward with roller-coaster joyfulness. The Scrambler's note was raspy and strong; it's tires reached a special resonance on that windy night.

After a while, we came to our destination, an old wooden pier sitting in Tampa Bay. It's historic now, and the powers that be will do what they do with those things. It's being beautified, but the only beauty I needed was the one I brought with me and that which Nature provided, the water, wind, setting sun, and wild creatures – the manatee, the birds, and those happy drinkers dancing to Rocky-Top.

The sky turned dark, illuminated only by a few dozen stars and occasional lightning in the distance. We ate. We reflected. We Tweeted. Then we restarted our journey, this time returning to our grande domestic adventure – family life.

That's the story; except it's not a story. It's how things go, when things go great.

Some photos, taken with my cell phone.

A quick break at New Pass

My Scrambler, resting at Coquina Beach, bay-side

The lucky, wind-blown author and his beautiful mate

City Pier, Anna Maria

Sorbet at Sunset

This past weekend Jill and I celebrated our 16th anniversary by taking the Scrambler on an overnight trip to the Bradenton Beach – Anna Maria Island area. Our goal was to balance romance, adventure, and relaxation, but on the Scrambler romance and fun are always maximized.

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This was an ambitious trip. Ambitious because 1) it is definitely still summer here. 2) The Scrambler has no storage. Everything we took had to fit in one backpack - only a few extra shirts, shorts, and under-things. 3) We had three kids, ages seven and under, for which we had to find babysitters. In the end, it all worked out great.

Starting in central Sarasota, we traveled to our resort on Bradenton Beach. Over the next 24 hours we rode and walked all around the area, hitting notable hot spots, such as the Rod & Reel Pier, the Historic Anna Maria City Pier, the Cortez Bridge, Desoto National Memorial Park, Emerson Point Preserve, Snead Island, and the 8th Avenue bridge over the Manatee River. We covered 133 miles, enjoyed a beer on the pier, caught a movie, and, my favorite, ate raspberry sorbet at sunset on the beach.

Of course, everywhere we go people want to talk to us about the Scrambler. “Is it restored?” “Did you build it yourself?” “Man that looks just like one I had when I was a kid.” “They did a great job with that bike.” “Do those pipes get hot?” [ Not really. ]

Scramble to Myakka

Today Jill and I took the Scrambler out to Myakka River State Park. From Sarasota, this is a quick 20 minute ride east. There’s so much to do at the park that it would be impossible to describe in a year of blogging. For motorcyclists it provides a beautiful, slow canopy drive with lots of opportunities for wildlife viewing. From the road, you can see deer, alligators, pigs, wading birds, hawks, snakes, and more! You might enjoy a quick stop at the famed Canopy Walkway or an airboat ride ($$) on the upper lake.

Our entry fee was $4, but experience tells me that it varies depending on the time of day and who greets you. If it’s not the weekend, make sure you enter from State Road 72, the main, south entrance.


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The Scrambler is perfect for this kind of short, morning trip. We packed nothing but some cash, and in what seemed liked just a few minutes, we were there. We made a quick pit stop at the upper lake and headed to the north entrance/exit to the park. Along the way, we were surprised by a deer next to the road. It’s good to drive slow and easy here.

The roadway was occasionally surrounded by standing water, common this time of year. The smell of this water always reminds me of fun times at the park. These areas are also filled with wildflowers. Today large, pink-purple flowers were abundant.

From the north exit/entrance, you can continue north to State Road 70 to Myakka City or Arcadia. There are lots of easy, rural miles waiting there. Instead, we chose to head home and get some lunch.

If you live in the Sarasota, Bradenton area and you haven’t ridden through Myakka River State Park, well … you might be the only one of your kind. Plan the trip and have fun!

Gasparilla Beach Ride

This past Sunday, the wife and I got babysitters and took off for a ride to the Boca/Gasparilla area. From our house this is a half-day adventure, about 100 miles round-trip and as far as we like to travel on the Scrambler. We checked out the Range Marker (see picture) and hit the beach (after changing) for a while too.

The Scrambler is definitely better suited to around-forest or around-town rides than cruising on the highway. That’s when its greatest weakness becomes obvious – the seat. Especially when riding two-up, I end up moving forward on the seat, where it gets both harder and shallower. That just isn’t comfortable for my man parts.

The tires, which make the Scrambler so deft at handling parking lots, yards, construction sites, beach areas, and trails, are a bit of a burden at speed too. They howl on the highway, starting at 50 MPH.

When you can hear the engine, you’re also reminded that the bike could use a 6th gear. Couldn’t they all?

But the Scrambler is about simplicity and fun. It delivered. Smiles greeted us everywhere we went, and the old guy at the toll-bridge gushed, recounting he had a Triumph 50 years ago. Its super-handling allowed us to tour the island and swiftly traverse back-roads, all while enjoying its unique rumble.

The area is just beautiful. Right after Placida you hit the toll-bridge, $4. The next half mile is just stunning as you go over short, narrow bridges and small areas of land, directly over a pass from Gasparilla Sound to the Gulf of Mexico. On our trip, the water seemed to glow blue-green with transient stripes of white cut by passing boats. Unfortunately, there’s no parking here!

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This is a great area for a family vacation. The beaches are wide, and although a little shelly, white and clean. Unlike Sarasota, the beaches are desolate too – lots of privacy and quiet.

I forgot my camera, and had to use my Blackberry’s camera. Next time I’ll remember the real thing!

The one and only, Triumph Scrambler

I recently saw a review of the Triumph Scrambler in Motorcycle Classics magazine, where the authors just ripped the motorcycle to shreds. I’ve also seen lots of glowing reviews. I get the feeling this motorcycle is judged very quickly on first impressions and prior biases, good or bad. That made me decide to write about my Scrambler and the fun my wife and I have on it.

I bought my Scrambler in 2006. At the time, I had a Honda ACE, but I was looking for something with a little more room and fun. I really liked the Scrambler because it was tall, raw, and versatile. My wife fell in love with it too, and that never hurts.

A few years in, it’s my only bike now. I ride almost every week, but don’t put many miles on it. I mainly use it for dates and riding errands around Sarasota.

My Scrambler is basically stock, except that I replaced the original silencers with Triumph’s own off-road racing silencers. The bike has a great growl that brings almost as many compliments and admirers as the muscular, classic look. I’d like to get the skid plate too, as I’ve already ventured off-road; more on that later.

I’ll post some more photos and video very soon.