Bike Week 2008 - Daytona Beach, Florida

I'd been kicking around the idea of heading south to escape some of the crappy weather we'd been having here in the Midwest, and couldn't decide whether to fly down to the keys for some scuba diving or maybe head to Daytona for Bike Week, or both. My decision was quickly made for me when I received a phone call from Doug Mitchel, professional photographer and the world-famous author of numerous motorcycle books. Doug had sent me some awesome photos last year of a radical custom bike called the Switchblade, which made our September 2007 cover, and this time he was calling to tell me he'd done another photos shoot I may be interested in for an upcoming cover. He also told me he was headed to Bike Week and had some extra room available in his condo on the beach if I was interested in going. That's all I needed to hear, and I think I had already finished packing for the trip by the time I told Doug goodbye and hung up the phone. And, for the record, due to the inclement weather conditions, I opted to do something I normally despise. Yes, I am now an official 'Trailer Pussy!' After hooking my friend's trailer up to the Tahoe, which many of you know as the Exxon Valdez, I reluctantly pushed the Fat Boy up the ramp, tied it down and headed out of KC with my head hung low in shame, hoping nobody would see me hauling my bike on a trailer.

I spent the first night in Memphis, Tennessee and grabbed a bite to eat and a couple drinks on Beale Street. The next morning I was up and headed toward Atlanta, Georgia. Since I was going to be passing directly through Birmingham, Alabama where Lynn and Leigh live, who are our southern Cycle Connections team members, I gave them a call when I was getting close and was able to visit with Lynn for a while before continuing on. Leigh had a pool tournament that night, so unfortunately I missed visiting with him. After spending the night just south of Atlanta, which is also where Doug was staying, we headed south toward Daytona Beach, Florida. Doug was on a mission to get there early in time for some type of media event, but since I wasn't quite as chipper that morning, I decided to sleep in and head down a bit later. After arriving at our condo I unloaded my bike, pulled the trailer down the street to a 'Trailer Pussy' parking area and ditched my pull-behind two-wheeled flatbed of shame for the week.

One of my favorite hangouts when in Daytona is the Iron Horse Saloon, which is just a short ride up US 1. This place reminds me a lot of the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, which is laid out like a big fort you can ride into and park your bike. It has big wooden catwalks running overhead to help you keep from getting run over, which also serves as a great people watching perch. Once you've had your Iron Horse fix, you can walk across the highway (or ride if you're lazy) to Jackson Hole Saloon, the Broken Spoke Saloon, and Smiley's Tap, which are also a lot of fun.

Main Street is always a blast, which is where you'll find the Boot Hill Saloon; directly across from Boot Hill Cemetery (yes, there's actually an old cemetery on Main Street), Froggy's Saloon, Dirty Harry's, and too many other drinking establishments to list them all here. Boot Hill Saloon is still one of my favorite bars on the main drag, which is where my newest riding buddies Angela, Cheryl, Dave, and I ran into each other. Dave and his girlfriend Colleen, who I met the next day, were renting a room at Angela's condo, and after meeting them we all rode and hung out together quite a bit during the rest of the week. We've already talked about maybe hooking back up for Biketoberfest, or possibly meeting up in Key West to check out Fantasyfest and do some diving. What great people and life-long friends you can make by simply being in the right place at the right time!

While making my way up Main Street among all the freakin' cars and trucks they allowed to clog up the strip for some stupid reason, I was lucky enough to find a spot directly in front of Wise Guys Watering Hole, which was just wide enough to back the Fat Boy into. Since Wise Guys was the closest bar to where I parked I decided to have a cold one on their balcony and take a few shots of the continuous parade of bikes that make their way up and down the street day and night.

When attending rallies of this size I don't even think about trying to cover everything that's going on. Like any large event of this nature, you have to pick and choose what you want to do each day because there's no way in hell you're going to be able to see everything. One thing I never miss though is the Cabbage Patch's ever popular coleslaw wrestling that takes place on hump day each year. This place is always a blast and a great place to party, meet people, and do some major people watching…as if watching intoxicated scantily-clad girls wrestling around in slimy coleslaw isn't enough to keep your attention for a while. While there, I met Curtis 'Hoss' Marting who is a Senior Road Captain with the Orlando HOG chapter. He was there with his significant other, as was Roger Shores and his wife. I met several other really nice people while standing around baking in the sun waiting for the coleslaw to be shredded...one head of cabbage at a time...come on guys! Therefore, unless you gave me a business card or sent me an e-mail, your names may have unfortunately slipped from my memory due to the sun and each beverage I consumed. I hate walking around looking like a news reporter writing down everyone's names I take a photo of, so if you see your photo below and I didn't include your name, please forgive me. I also have a bad memory, plus I grew up in the 70s, so it's really nothing personal...OK?

The weather was great all week until the last couple days when it rained on and off all day and night. We were headed down to Gilly's Pub 44 in New Smyrna Beach one evening, but unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans for us that night. No sooner had we headed down S Atlantic Avenue when the rain began pounding us. We decided to pull into the parking lot of a little bar, which is where we met Brian LaBair and his wife from Columbus, Ohio. I found out that Brian is the operations manager for Vega Helmet and knows several of the same people I know in the KC area. Small world, huh? After hanging out in the bar for an hour or so, it was apparent the rain wasn't going to be letting up anytime soon so we opted for getting back on our bikes and heading to Dave's condo where Angela and her crew were partying and staying dry. We had a blast there and ended up spending the night. Thanks guys!

On Saturday morning, March 8, I said thanks and goodbye to Doug, loaded the Fat Boy back on the trailer and headed home. It was really hard to keep from heading on down to the keys, but since I had to get back and do some actual work on the magazine I made the long trek along the coast to New Orleans and headed north back to KC.

If you get nothing else out of this story and all these photos, I hope you walk away realizing that one of the best way to enjoy any motorcycle event is to socialize and just walk up to someone you don't know and say hi. I don't mean getting drunk and hitting on someone's girlfriend or wife, which will likely get your ass kicked, but get out there and mingle. Nothing drives me more crazy than when a group of people attend a rally and stick to themselves, never meeting new people. That's what it's all about, which is one of the best ways to make the most out of your trip. Even if you're a little shy and not a social butterfly, give it a try this year and I'm sure you'll be glad you did. Otherwise you might as well just stay home and watch it on the Discovery Channel.

Now can someone please tell me again why I'm still living here in the cold barren flatlands of the Midwest?

Story by Mike Schweder

Photos by Mike Schweder and Dave Harriman