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Daytona 2016- Lady Lamonster Style

Daytona 2016- Lady Lamonster Style

Mar 8th 2016

March 7

Hi guys and gals! Lamonster always brings you the technical side of our rides so I thought I'd give you another perspective so you can armchair travel right along with us. 

We didn't get much sleep the night before as we were extremely anxious to kick off our first ride of the season. Last year when we traveled to Daytona in March we were transporting 3 Spyders for RYDE It tv in addition to our rides so we took the truck and trailer. The roads were still snow covered and we had an impending ice storm nipping at our heels. This year Lamonster decided we were riding the bikes and my only concern was staying warm for the trip so we decided on some heated gear and cold weather gear for me. Apparently, the best insurance against cold weather in March is the purchase of heated gear for your trip. The temperatures were unseasonably nice in the low 70's and the gear remained stowed. We did get very windy conditions for the entire day and I was very pleased with how the F3T handled the steady winds and gusts. I will expound on that in another thread. 

We did get a very late start to the day because we had to drop off my dogs at the kennel. Then we arrived at Lamonster Garage where Lamont had to do some last minute changes to Triple Threat, his prized show bike, for reasons which apparently to him still aren't funny. I'll let him tell the story when he can talk about it. And then we were off headed down 65 South for the start of our trip. 

 I got to pick the route and I wanted to avoid Memphis and head more south and enter Florida from the panhandle. Now my meteorologist friend, Christopher T Coleman, advised against this and told me we should hightail east but I figured we had time until the looming storm hit LA. I should have listened. So we stopped for gasoline and breakfast in Harrison AR after going through some light rain and after consulting the radar we changed course. It kept us out of the rain and also got us out of of an almost direct headwind. We had a lovely drive through twists and turns and small towns in AR for a bucolic 4 hour ride to Memphis. 

The rest of the ride was your normal highway riding going point to point and making miles. One Harley rider rode with us for a bit, as bikes tend to group together for safety on the open road, and at a red light he pulled up to Lamont to tell him he loved Lamont's Triple Threat Spyder. Another sport bike lady rider was practically drooling over the 2016 F3 Limited Special Series in Triple Black, my ride. She was drilling Lamonster on all the usual questions and it was quite apparent she would be riding some Spyder model in the very near future. It's one thing to see these new Spyders in magazines and TV commercials. It's another thing to see them up close and personal and in actual road conditions. These two bikes together are real head turners. We had the usual assortment of genuine motorcycle admirers, gawkers, and looky-loos. In other words, a typical average day on a Spyder. 

I would love to write more how much I love this F3T Limited but the road calls and we have a long day ahead of us. Until then, ride safe, ride smart, and see you down the road.


March 8-9th

We had a long day of riding on day two from outside Birmingham Alabama to our final destination. Thankfully, the winds died down and we settled in for a long 600 mile plus day in the saddle. My iPhone (up on the dash) and my Zumo 590 GPS had a difference of opinion going through the city and I finally settled on the GPS. This led to putting us out on a really nice road that led to 75 South and we didn't have to go through the big city traffic. We went through some quaint old towns and I believe we had less super trucks to deal with. We did have red lights and speed zones but we liked enjoying our new path, perhaps the road less traveled.  

Really was an uneventful day and we hit Jacksonville near dark and continued the journey down 95 South in hard dark with extremely heavy traffic. I did see one deer and stayed mostly on the outermost left lane all the way to our hotel. As Lamont said, during the last 10 miles of our 1100 miles a Harley guy was toying in the next lane and we played cat and mouse and Black Bandit won. Endgame. 

We went to Corbin the next day to get Lamont all fixed up with the Smuggler trunk and saddle. Then we drove to the coast and visited the place where we got married last year. Lamont already wrote about it in detail. All I can say is he has kept true on his promise and he is the man my parents would have wanted for me. We are two peas in a pod and happy is good!

I spent part of this day playing with the new Sena 10C headset with built in camera. Lamont installed them. I never even looked at the Quick Start guide. Lamont told me it tells you what to do so me, being the button pusher I am, just started learning it on the fly. I could not wait to get back to the hotel to see how I did. I think for a first attempt and not knowing what I was doing, they turned out great. Please watch the videos and enjoy a ride in Florida. You can see Lamonster riding along and see and hear lots of other bikes. You can also hear the outstanding radio on the new F3 Limited. You will be amazed.

Third day on the F3 Limited. I've come to the conclusion this model is the "lovechild" of the RT and F3S. Here's a post I made on Facebook singing praises to the F3 Limited:

I just rode this F3T from Missouri to Daytona beach 1100 miles in two days. I love the air shock. Love the sound system. Love it's looks and all the looks it gets. Even the Harley riders are snapping necks looking at this baby. Beautiful combination of the ruggedness of the RT and the sportiness and fun of the F3. Honestly, I am in love.

I am late. Lamont is wondering where I am so goodbye for now. Until then, ride safe, ride smart, and see you down the road.


March 10-12th

I spent the next two days over at the Daytona International Speedway at the Can-Am Spyder tent helping Lamonster with his BRP Spyder ambassador duties. He has so many people coming up to meet him, talk to him or ask him “just a quick question” it’s good to be able to handle the overflow. I actually find some of the men seem to prefer to ask what they think may be dumb questions to a woman instead of embarrassing themselves in front of another man. Just my humble opinion but I’ve observed this many times. I think it’s time to give a little history of my riding experience through the years and why I feel I can help new potential Spyder owners or owners who want to make a switch in their model.

My older brother always had all types of motorcycles and I had ridden on the back but didn’t start riding my own until 1986 in my mid twenties. I knew how to operate a manual car but had never ridden a motorcycle. I learned the correct way through the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner course and passed my test with flying colors. Then it was time for the real test out on the road. I quickly progressed through Honda and Kawasaki various models in the well under 1000cc range. One model I really loved back then was the Honda SilverWing 500cc. I moved up to the Honda 6 cylinder CBX and 1985 Goldwing model without reverse. I even had a Harley Davidson for a short time. I ended up with a Honda Shadow American Classic Edition 1100cc in the mid 90’s and held on to that model until 2011 when I joined the wonderful world of Spyders! My first Spyder was the beautiful copper color RSS and I took much ribbing from my two wheeler friends for making the switch to three. But once I got used to it, I loved it. This one satisfied me until I wanted to ride the Pacific Coast Highway from top to bottom and I checked on renting motorcycles and long story short, I ended up buying the 2013 RT Limited touring model just so I could start long distance touring. I bought it in August and began a 6650 mile life changing journey on my Spyder from Texas to South Dakota, over to Seattle and then down the entire PCH and home. In one three week trip I had seen more of our beautiful USA than I had seen in 3 decades riding two wheel motorcycles. When I got back from that trip, there was no more ribbing from my friends about my Spyders. I started getting serious questions about my trip and the Spyder. I did keep my RSS for sporty fun but as soon as I test rode the new F3 Spyder at club in September 2014, I knew I had to sell it to make room for a new incredible F3.

So, I’m well versed in motorcycles and Spyder model ownership and I have fun changing gears in conversation and really listening to the prospective customer and pinpointing what they really need and would be happy riding. I believe the Spyder lineup has a model to fit just about every rider and their riding personality and style. And now with the F3T, so many to choose from and so little time. I had just ridden the F3 Limited 1100 miles in two days to get there and I couldn’t wait to share my opinions on it with anyone who asked. And many of the crowd were two wheel riders and this new F3T model IMHO is the crossover model which appeals to many motorcycle aficionados.

Here we are with old friends who visit every year. We will be seeing them again soon at Spyderfest in Springfield Missouri in late April.

Photo of us with LA and Michelle

Video of the Can Am Turbo

Saturday was the grand day of the Can-Am Spyder Owners Event. We had time to renew friendships and a lovely lunch was served. There was a trivia game for prizes on little known facts of the Spyder which was fun. Lamont wasn’t allowed to play, LOL. And then the main event - lining up to ride laps on the world famous Daytona Speedway racetrack for the Spring Dash. I took some video that day and some pictures, however, I believe the pro’s will be editing a version of their own so we will wait for that one. What a great day and a good time had by all.

Here’s a picture of an impromptu gathering of the Girls on Spyders represented there that day. Girls on Spyders is a group of approximately 2500 women around the globe who ride Spyders and enjoy the friendships of sisters in the wind.

Girls on Spyder photo at the VIP event

And then a group of four of us Spyders took a lovely ride down to Ponce Inlet for R and R after a busy day in the sun. Here is a video of us riding down the highway for our evening dinner at Hidden Treasure Rum Bar & Grill on Ponce Inlet. We were treated to a beautiful sunset to end a perfect day with lots of our Spyder friends.

Riding down to Ponce Inlet Saturday evening