Pot O’ Luck: Stagecoach Cafe Lunch Ride

The Sand Dollar Motorcycle club ventured out to Stockton Alabama for lunch today. Seven Sandies rode 250 miles to lunch and back. The Pot O’ Luck ride was led by our newest Sandie, Ken C., who I met for the first time today.

We left good things donuts at 8 am and it was already 78.3°F (25°C). We headed north but didn’t venture down too many side roads. We had a long way to go, and there are only so many ways to get to Stockton Alabama in time for lunch.

Sandies take an early morning break from the heat.

Tommy kept us all talking together by sacrificing his Sena unit as the “router” for us and Ken’s Cardo. There was the usual joking and jammering on the way. The obligatory reminder to George that Goldwings don’t float as we passed the Bryant Bridge. Tommy pointed out after driving through a water puddle that his bike was dirty, he’ll have to go get a new one now. We were laughing along the way a lot. Talk about the heat, rain showers, puns, and craziness in the local news. We listened to Sam respond to George’s comms check a few dozen times. JoeJoe pointed out that his Navi will often tell him both; I guess he likes to use the road numbers, so we have no idea what he’s talking about. Much to our surprise, Sandy was on mesh today keeping us laughing.

We made it to the Stagecoach Café just before the sweltering heat forced another pit stop. We ate, and hung out inside just a bit to help wait out some of the heat. The chicken was delicious – as it always is. They had some desserts that were phenomenal too. It was strange to be there on a normal Sunday without all of the motorcycling crowding filling every possible dining space. It’s a quite little place, and the employees were working super hard to keep the drinks flowing, people fed, and keeping the place clean.

We walked out to 99°F (37°C) air slapping us in the face. We begrudgingly put back on our gear and loaded up to head back home. The heat just kept making sure you didn’t think of much else. In true Sandie fashion, delirium quickly set and the chatter over the radio was started right up. We were laughing as much as we were talking. Sandy was taunting me with her ice-cold water at every stop light. Then the group started picking on the stock horn on the Victory. Apparently, I missed the memo on the importance of volume, pitch, and depth of a device I never use.

We said our farewells to those living on the southern end of the county. Ken, Tommy, Sandy, and I rode on to Crestview. Ken peeled off, and the rest of us rode on into Niceville together. We never saw the cooling rain we were hoping for by the end of the ride. We each got about four large drops, but nothing that could lower the sweltering heat.

Ride safe and keep the shiny side up!

Upcoming Rides/Events:

1. July 13th Business Meeting (pushed a week out for the July 4th Weekend)

2. July 20th Breakfast Ride

3. July 26th Saturday Ride

4. August 3rd Business Meeting