It was January 10, 2024, around 11:30 a.m.; I was sitting at my kitchen table, when my cell phone rang — It was Bill Edwards. “Hi Eric, we are just East of Lake Charles. The GPS shows we will be at the rendezvous point at 12:30.” On my way, I replied. I had a base layer on and my riding pants and quickly donned a sweater, riding jacket and pulled on my boots. I gave my wife a hug and kiss goodbye, put on my helmet and was on my bike and out of the garage in no time. The “rendezvous point” was pre-determined to be a Shell/Circle K station just off of Interstate 10 on the West bound side. It was about a 20-minute ride from my house given the lunch time traffic.
It was a beautiful day in Lafayette, Louisiana in the mid 50’s under clear skies. It had rained the day before, so the air was fresh and crisp as I rode toward the interstate and our meeting location. I arrived early and found a place to park that provided maximum visibility. Soon, I could see the yellow running lights of two motorcycles headed my way and pulling into the station. It was Bill Edwards and Mike Makowski — right on time. They topped-off their tanks and made a quick bathroom break and the three of us were back on the Interstate heading East. Another MOA Getaway Adventure had begun!
Within a few short miles East of Lafayette we were approaching the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is a pair of parallel bridges that carries Interest 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin. It is the third longest bridge in the United States and the second longest on the Interstate 10 system. The total length of the bridge is 18 miles, although some will say it is 20 miles, with only two exits: (1) Whiskey Bay and (2) Butte La Rose. Accidents occurring on the bridge can cause massive delays as emergency vehicles and tow trucks have to navigate through traffic stopped on the bridge with very little room to get out of the way. Luckily for us, traffic flowed smoothly and the crossing was uneventful.
The Atchafalaya Basin is the largest wetland and swamp in the United States and is best known for the cypress trees that grow in the swamp. Once prize logging and timber tracts, the trees are now protected and can be seen while crossing the Basin Bridge. The Atchafalaya Basin is unique in that it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The Basin is home to many different species of fish and wildlife including the Louisiana black bear. The Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1984 to protect endangered and declining species of wildlife, waterfowl, birds and alligators.
At the Eastern end of the Basin Bridge is Baton Rouge, Louisiana and another bridge that takes us over the Mississippi River followed by a left-hand exit onto Interstate 12 toward Hammond, Louisiana. Interstate 12 will take us North of Lake Pontchartrain through Hammond, Covington and Slidell before rejoining with Interstate 10 and crossing into Mississippi. Once into Mississippi the drivers got noticeably more aggressive. Maybe it was the time of day or maybe the weather but whatever the reason we had to increase our vigilance and defensive driving posture. We remained on Interstate 10 now through Biloxi to Moss Point, Mississippi our final destination for the day. Bill and Mike had been on the road for over twelve hours and had covered almost 700 miles.
It was now time to celebrate a very successful first day ride with a few adult beverages and a Mexican dinner at the restaurant across the street from the hotel. Tomorrow would be another long day but a departure from the Interstate onto the coastal roads of Florida.
The morning of January 11, 2024, in Moss Point, Mississippi greeted us with a deterioration in the weather. It was a very cool 46 degrees F, under cloudy skies with the promise of it warming to 65 degrees as we headed further East to Lake City, Florida for the Winter Rally. We planned to have a leisurely breakfast and get on the road by 0800. All went to plan and we were back on Interstate 10 heading East into the rising sun. Traffic was light and we made good time as we left the State of Mississippi behind and crossed into Alabama. Once into Alabama we veered North to the top of Mobile Bay and through the tunnel in Mobile. Exiting the tunnel we were atop a causeway, from which, the USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum, lay on permanent moorings in the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. There was no time to stop for a tour as we had close to 500 miles to cover on the day and much of that was going to be off the Interstate and onto coastal roads.
With visions of the USS Alabama still fresh on our mind we soon left Alabama and crossed into Florida. We took the Pensacola exit and headed South to Gulf Breeze. It was getting warmer now as the sun was now full in the sky and the wind off the Gulf added warmth to the atmosphere around us. At Gulf Breeze we picked up a two-lane coastal road designated as Florida highway 98 and began a slower more relaxed ride through the coastal towns of Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Panama City. The sand was white as processed sugar and the water a clear blue. There were lots of vacation and permanent homes, strip malls and coffee shops along the way. Oh, there were also a large number of retail cannabis shops as we went through each little seaside town. Just passed Panama City we encountered a long stretch of highway 98 that bordered Tyndall AFB. The 325th Fighter Wing was on full display and hard at work launching aircraft for some exercise over the Gulf. Highway 98 joined with 319 and we were bordering the Apalachicola National Forest. The road took a turn inward away from the coast and we were surrounded by flora and fauna of lush green palms and ferns. You wondered if someone planted these or if they just occurred naturally in this now rainforest environment. Through the rainforest we went and at some point found what is probably the only twisty road on the Florida coast as it meandered its way through a swampy section. I noticed for the first time that the elevation reading on my GPS had gone into the negative territory so we must have been below sea level. At Sopchoppy we left the coast behind and began a trek inland toward Perry where we joined highway 27 and made a beeline for Lake City, Florida. It was getting dark now and the 65-degree temperature had come and gone. My heated grips were once again turned on as the temperature had dropped to low 50’s. We made Lake City, Florida around about 1800 and went straight to the hotel. The hotel allowed us to park the bikes under a covered patio area, fully lighted and monitored by CCTV! Perfect parking spot!! Another day full of adventure and a great ride.
The BMW Northeast Florida Winter Rally 2024, officially started on Friday January 12 and would run to January 14, 2024. The Rally was located at Camp Weed Place in Live Oak, Florida which was about a fifteen-minute drive from Lake City. The tag line for the Rally is “Florida’s coolest Rally” and it certainly lived up to its name on January 12. The temperature was barely above 50 degrees Fahrenheit with a 65% chance of rain. We decided to leave the bikes under the dry canopy and UBER to the Rally. It turned out that Camp Weed was a little bit further out and more remote that we first thought which would prove to be a bit problematic later on. At the Rally we were greeted in grand style as Bill Edwards was once a member of the sponsor club and knew just about everyone there. We checked in, got our welcome bag, and began looking around. There was a garage sale area, conference center where some 10 to 12 seminars were to be held, an AirHeads meeting area, BMW Training area and at least a dozen routes for solo rides. In addition to the solo routes there were Led rides on Friday and Saturday. The Winter Rally brochure was a beautiful full color 52-page pamphlet that described everything the weekend had on offer. This was the 50th year of the Rally and the organization and sponsorship was on full display. After checking in I went through the Garage Sale area primarily looking for heated gear at a good price. I was about five minutes too late as a lady ahead of me bought it all! I was not the only one caught in Florida without heated gear in the deteriorating weather. I was going to attend a seminar but got sidetracked, before I knew it, it was lunch time. I joined up with Bill and Mike and we headed over to the Chuckwagon for a sandwich. After lunch we spoke with a few vendors and then decided we would head back to the hotel. Calling an UBER proved to be an issue as there was little cell phone service and much less interest on UBER’s part to come out there to pick us up. Mike and I both tried but to no avail. I inquired at the Camp Weed Office about a local cab company, and they did give me a name, but they did not know if they would come out to Camp Weed nor if they would go to Lake City. Before I could give them a call, Mike informed me that they had found a ride with one of the Rally Organizers who were heading home and could drop us off at the hotel.
Over dinner that night we discussed the Arctic Blast bearing down on Texas and the need to get back home before the worst of it hit. Discretion being the larger part of valor, we decided to forgo the rest of the Rally and head back to Moss Point the next morning. We would take the interstate back to Moss Point, Mississippi overnight there and continue early Sunday morning in order to be home before the worst of the weather set in on Monday. We left Lake City under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-fifties and a WNW wind at 11 mph. A headwind to be sure as we were heading WNW toward Moss Point, Mississippi. The ride up the interstate was uneventful and we arrived in Moss Point around 1400. We got out of our riding gear and donned some street clothes and made Mass at a local Church by 1600. Another UBER ride but this time we were in town so it was no problem going or getting back to the hotel. That evening we again dined at the Mexican Food restaurant across the street and planned our departure the next morning.
We decided to be underway by 0600 as Bill and Mike were going to make the run all the way back home and it would be a twelve hour ride if all went well. It was 33 degrees Fahrenheit when we departed at 0600 sharp. I had a T-shirt, base layer long sleeve shirt, a sweater and my riding jacket fully zipped with no ventilation ports open. I also wore a pair of glove liners under my gloves and had the heated grips on high. It was dark, it was cold, but we were on a mission to get back before the Arctic blast kicked-in in full force. At first, I was comfortable but slowly but surely the cold found its way through layer upon layer until I was just plain chilled to the bone. The temperature gauge on my TFT showed a pretty little snowflake and continued to remind me that the outside air temperature was fluctuating between 33 and 35 as we rolled on. Of course, since we were averaging about 65 miles per hour, the feels like temperature was somewhere in the negative territory! I tried to think sunny and warm thoughts……
After about an hour or so the sun began to rise and eventually the temperature started to rise so by the time we got to Baton Rouge, Louisiana it was in the mid-forties. Once again, we managed to get through Baton Rouge, Louisiana and across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge without delay or incident. Just West of the Atchafalaya Basin, I was waving goodbye to Mike and Bill and exiting in Lafayette. I was home in another 30 minutes which was about noon on Sunday. Mike and Bill carried on and reportedly got back home around 1800 hours.
Another great adventure and fun rally was now in the books. I had never traveled along the coastal roads of Florida and found it to be amazing with diverse floral and fauna and wonderful little seaside towns. The sand was the purest white and the water a beautiful blue and very inviting. The roads were wonderful and well maintained. I have to thank Bill Edwards and Mike Makowski for allowing me to ride along with them. I also owe them a great deal of thanks for their wonderful hospitality, camaraderie and fearless leadership.
Until next time, ride safe
Eric