From the moment I landed in Daytona, the city has been arumble with the sound of Bike Week. There are bikes everywhere with people of all shapes, sizes, and sexes aboard them… About 1/5 of them are on the side of the road, illuminated be by a blanket of red and blue light as well… But I’m sure they were all doing something really dangerous… Like riding without eye protection, or swerving while leaving a stop light… Anyone who has talked with me about motorcycles has most likely heard my rant that Sturgis did not exactly hit the mark that I had hoped for when I swung through on my tri-coastal trip in ’04 so I didn’t expect too much coming into this one. To my surprise, though, I’m feeling much more excepting of the culture this time around. Maybe it’s my current mindset, the Vitamin D, or all of the players who are just happy to be out of the cold and on two wheels, but it seems much more palletable for the lone, thought consumed, antibiker this time around… That being said… It was a lot of the same old biker scene. Lots of people who are; standing next to their bike, parading their bike, watching someone parade their bike, watching someone sing, or watching someone almost get naked… And always while drinking… So basically good times.
I tried to hit all of the main spots in the area…
First was Main Street

Then the Iron Horse Saloon where we saw David Allen Coe

Next was the Cabbage Patch… Their claim to fame is coleslaw wrestling… I missed that spectacle, unfortunately…

For some added fun, Gordon threw me a Daytona 200 superbike ticket… That was a ton of fun watching from the infield!

He even brought his son Will.

I then rounded out the whole week with an outdoor St Patricks Day celebration on Beach Street.

It was a great time and I have to say, I really did enjoy the two big bars (Iron Horse and Cabbage Patch). They were both set up like mini festivals with food/merch vendors, ATMs, multiple stages, and tons of room to breathe and walk. At Iron Horse, there was even a pretty amazing “wall of death” show where they rode bikes on the side of circular wall… Best 5 bucks of entertainment I may have ever spent.
Any northern biker will surely enjoy themselves if they are so inclined as to find themselves in Daytona in mid March… Just be mindful of the law… I don’t think the local businesses are the only ones depending on tourism down here…