Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
WQYK-FM 99.5 host Dave McKay is thrilled to again participate in the Harley-Davidson Remembrance Ride to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, 2001.
But he isn't thrilled with the complex route the city has set up for the nearly 4,500 bikers who will pay $20 to $40 apiece to participate. Proceeds go to the Gold Shield Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
Last year, it was simple. From the Harley-Davidson store at 6920 N Dale Mabry Highway, the bikers rumbled south along Dale Mabry to Gandy Boulevard, west on Gandy to Bayshore Boulevard and north on Bayshore to Platt Street and the St. Pete Times Forum.
But it is hard to tell what roared the loudest - the motorcycles or the influential South Tampa neighbors who were inconvenienced.
"It was great," McKay said. "We were able to print the route in the newspapers and advertise it on the radio. People knew, and they wanted to be out there with flags, even though it was raining. Even the girls from 2001 Odyssey and Shangri-La came out and waved to us.
"It's very heartfelt. It's a strong show of patriotism."
It rankles him to think the route fell apart because a Tampa Tribune columnist couldn't get through the crowd to his favorite pizzeria.
McKay's disappointment was not enough to quell the complaints delivered to city officials. Now the bikers' parade route, which begins at 7 p.m., will involve at least six different turns and stints on Interstate 275 and the Selmon Expressway. It will run on Bayshore only from Gandy to Bay-to-Bay before returning to the Selmon Expressway and concluding at the Times Forum.
Thanks to the Bayshore Patriots, the boulevard has become a symbolic thoroughfare to those wishing to salute the fallen. It's too bad the bikers are being denied, but perhaps ongoing construction on Bayshore is a factor.
Or maybe a bunch of whiners are to blame.
The good news is a free concert at the conclusion of the ride. McKay said country recording stars the Warren Brothers, who attended Oldsmar Christian, gave up a paid gig in Las Vegas to perform on the Times Forum plaza.
I don't know how to explain this to my wife, but I have to start staying out later.
If I'm going to occasionally write about Tampa's nightlife, there is no way to chronicle the scene when I'm "asked" to get home shortly after midnight.
Heck, even a 1 a.m. curfew is not going to work - not that I actually have a curfew. After all, I wear the pants in my house. I'm the man.
Well, I am.
Negotiations will begin soon and they are not going to involve her frying pan - this time.
After all, an early departure from Simeon Rice's bash at the XO Club in the St. Pete Times Forum forced me to miss all the players, including Rice.
I don't know what happened to young people because, back in the day, being fashionably late meant arriving at a party shortly after 10 p.m.
Now it means showing up around midnight. Or later.
I had a feeling the fun was just starting when I saw offensive tackle Roman Oben heading into the Times Forum as I was leaving. By 1 a.m., I'm told, a host of players had arrived including Rice, Warren Sapp, Dwight Smith, Shaun King, Ryan Nece and Brian Kelly. Also in attendance were NBA players Chauncey Billups and Jared Jeffries.
And I'm told they were actually socializing instead of hiding in the exclusive VIP area.
Still, I loved the idea of partying at the XO Club: posh surroundings, plenty of wait staff and some bumping music. It was a particularly neat experience for folks who hadn't visited the club for a Lightning game.
Complaints? Well, the drink prices ($7 for a Crown and Coke and grilled turkey and chicken appetizers) were steep with a $25 cover. But if I'm going to hang with the high rollers, I guess I gotta show up with a fatter wallet.
And a later curfew.
That's all I'm saying.
- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com