Modern Vespa

The signature ride for 7 Bridges Scooter Club (7BSC) in Jacksonville, Florida.

This will be their 8th consecutive year. 7BSC is inviting riders with 150cc or larger scooters (all makes & models welcomed) to ride over all of Jacksonville's major bridges in one outing. The ride will conclude with lunch at Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery http://www.7bridgesgrille.com/.

Edit: No Ferry ride this year and instead the Shands bridge has been added to the route.

For out of town riders (and locals too), this year's ride will include a reception dinner the evening before (Saturday, 16 January 2016) and a night ride to view the city of Jacksonville under the lights.

More details to follow...such as schedule with times, location of start, etc.

Recommended hotel near start of ride: LaQuinta Inn, 3199 Hartley Road by I-295 and it's about a mile from the start of the ride on Sunday morning.
King bed runs about $60 right now for Saturday, Jan 16th.
http://www.laquintajacksonvillemandarin.com/


If you are interested in attending, please notify us through our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/7-Bridges-Scooter-Club-131291406911353/ or if you don't use Facebook, you can email Russ Dixon at rwd11954@hotmail.com.

Photos from last year's ride: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.911078025599350.1073742067.131291406911353&type=3 and photos from the reception dinner & night ride the day prior: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.910628448977641.1073742066.131291406911353&type=3

For those that are unable to make it, you can still enjoy riding over the bridges from the comfort of your chair by viewing this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/5cX6Q7mfxoU

From Wikipedia: There are seven bridges over the Saint Johns River at Jacksonville. They include (starting from furthest downstream) the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge (Dames Point) (which carries Interstate 295 Eastern Beltway traffic), the John E. Mathews Bridge, the Isaiah D. Hart Bridge, the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge (Main Street), the St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge, the Fuller Warren Bridge (which carries I-95 traffic) and the Henry Holland Buckman Bridge (which carries I-295 North/South traffic). Also, next to the Acosta Bridge is a large jackknife railroad bridge built in the 1920s by Henry flagler's FEC railroad. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonville,_Florida

Recommended hotel near start of ride:

LaQuinta Inn
3199 Hartley Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32257

(904) 268-9999

Located by I-295 and it's about a mile from the start of the ride on Sunday morning.
King bed runs about $60 right now for Saturday, Jan 16th.

http://www.laquintajacksonvillemandarin.com/

Itching to ride? Wanna make some new friends? Come to Jacksonville, Florida and take a spin with us during our Annual Bridges Ride...

Posted by Russ Dixon on FB...

January 16-17, 2016

FINAL DETAILS (weather permitting)

Saturday, January 16

Meet at Bono's BBQ at 9820 San Jose Blvd. at 6:00 pm for dinner.
Afterwards, those interested in taking a ride to downtown Jacksonville to see the bridges under lights at night are welcome to come. Dinner and ride should be done by 9:00 pm.
We currently have 30 planned for dinner.

Sunday, January 17

ARRIVE WITH A FULL TANK OF GAS

Meet at Hardee's at 11191 San Jose Blvd. at 8:00 am for a quick breakfast.
At 8:45, we will gather in the parking lot and go over the ride details and assign all riders to a group of like-sized bikes.
We will depart Hardee's at 9:00 am. Every group has a ride leader who has done a dry run over the route and knows the way.

This is our scheduled route:
South on SR 13 to Shands Bridge (east to west)
North on US 17 to Buckman Bridge (west to east)
North on San Jose Blvd./Hendricks Ave. through San Marco to Fuller Warren Bridge (east to west)
North on Park Street/east on Forest Street/north on Riverside Avenue to Acosta Bridge (west to east)
Stop at Friendship Fountain (break for pictures)
North on Main Street across Main Street Bridge (south to north)
East on Forsyth Street to Hart Bridge (west to east)
Art Museum Drive exit to Speedway Gas Station (potty break)
East on Atlantic Blvd/north on University Blvd to Matthews Bridge (east to west)
North on Martin Luther King Parkway to Main Street
North on Main Street to Heckscher Drive
East on Heckscher Drive to Dames Point Bridge (north to south)
South on Southside Blvd. to Gate Parkway
East on Gate Parkway to Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery (next to Tinseltown Theater)
85 miles total - estimated time of ride: 3 hours

Ending Point
Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery; 9735 Gate Parkway North; we will begin arriving at 12:00 pm.
Lunch on the patio followed by awards
Everyone departs for home around 2:00 pm

Any questions? Contact Russ Dixon via Facebook or message him at Modern Vespa username rwd11954.

It was a good one! Started a bit wet and cold, but the day got better by the hour. Fine ride with a great group of scooter enthusiasts.
Think it is time for a nap.

This was the weekend of the annual 7 Bridges Ride, the signature ride of the 7 Bridges Scooter Club. It started Saturday night with dinner at Bono's BBO, followed by a visit to the river and fountain. Both great ideas by Russ. Sunday morning saw rain, fog, cold and wind. The ride was delayed until the rain cleared. With many smaller scooters and high wind, it was decided to drop the big bridges and make it a 5 bridges ride. But I offered to take any daredevils on the original route. We had many takers. I didn't count, but it was 12 to 15. We stayed together for the entire 85 miles and the ride was truly memorable, and fun. The wind wasn't as bad as it could have been and the skies cleared as the miles accumulated. I had a great time and, I believe, everyond else did as well. I am hoping for warm sun next year, but this one was fun too.