Mostly Tropical Tattoo and Their Ol' Skool Chopper Show
Where in the hell was everyone? That's the question everyone was askin' after this year's Biketoberfest non-event. Well, it was still an event but Dixie Biker's reputation is for tellin' it like it is, so that's what we're gonna do. No spin, no hype. (Right - Looking West over the Main Street Bridge, Friday around 5 o'clock.)
Daytona Beach was dead! Empty. Vacancy signs on almost all hotels along A1A and Hwy 1. Shops, vendors, restaurants and bars all tellin' us business was way off. Shoot, we could hardly find full parking lots anywere, including Main Street.
Hmmm. . . Hurricane Wilma? Reminders of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Or is that maybe, just maybe, the bikers are gettin' Daytona's message to us for the past couple of years. In case you've not been here lately, that message is:
"Come on down and spend some serious money while we rip off vendors with high fees; have our police hassle you for minor bullshit things; and, oh, by the way, ride QUIET."
 They managed to drive Daytona Harley-Davidson fifteen miles north to Ormond Beach, maybe they've managed to drive us away, too.
Left - Hwy 1 at Fairview Ave. (Main Street) on Friday about 10 am. Lotsa bikers, huh? Plates are hard to read, but they were pretty cool. His said "Uptown" and hers said "Dntown"
Or maybe it's because Bikers don't come anymore. We ain't feelin' the love. We're not welcome anymore. Afterall, Harley-Davidson's "official" signs, posted on the poles around town and draped across the Ocean Center, do say, Welcome "Riders." Not bikers. Riders. Maybe the bikers were somewhere else.  We were. And now maybe they - the city of Daytona Beach - see how many "riders" will come out for Biketoberfest. Or maybe they got exactly what they want.
Right - A1A, Oceanshore Blvd. in Ormond by the Sea on Saturday around Noon.
Maybe the bikers are tired of the ridiculous hotel prices or the stupid parking fees (below, on Main Street) or the absolute rip-off beer and drink prices at many places: How 'bout $4 for a twelve-ounce can of lukewarm beer on Main Street? $8 sausges with onions and peppers? Six  bucks for a burger or to park a bike? $29.95 for an H-D T-shirt at the new dealership. Yep, you read that right - a friggin' t-shirt for thirty bucks. Or, how 'bout a Daytona "first" as far as I remember: a fee for a headline concert. It was worth it, I thought - $10 for ZZ Top is extremely reasonable, but that's the first time I remember someone chargin' for a Biketoberfest or Bike Week Concert. Well, a couple of years ago a promoter - Bikers Paradise - tried to charge at the New Smyrna Speedway and last year the Buffalo Chip tried to charge out at the Speedway, but both ventures musta crashed and burned cuz those were the only times they happened.  (Below right - Cruisin' over the Granada Bridge (Hwy 40) in Ormond Beach. Weather was nice and traffic was light.)
Anyhow the ZZ Top deal didn't happen either. Not cuz they couldn't sell tickets, but because the band canceled. Another no-show: The Razorbacks. That's too bad cuz they rock. Hurricanes kept 'em away, I reckon. Oh, one other casualty - The Motor Company packed up and left the Ocean Center on Friday morning. The 2nd day of Biketoberfest. Wow. Gotta get our stuff outta harm's way. I reckon I can understand that. Even though Wilma missed us, just some wind and rain, they probably made a prudent decision, especially after all the bullshit gloom and doom coverage the main-stream media force fed us during  Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Better safe than sorry, that's for sure. Hadda git 'em ol' semis filled with 2006 models back north outta possible paths of Hurricane Wilma.
Left - Erica helped me welcome our readers and visitors to the Ol' Skool Chopper Show at Tropical Tattoo on Hwy 1 in Ormond Beach on Thursday. Below - Traffic nightmare from hell at the new Destination Daytona Harley dealership. Maybe it'll get fixed as development progresses. The place is beautiful, that's for sure. But I don't know what to think about it yet. Definitely not your daddy's Harley-Davidson shop.
So. . . Daytona Beach was dead for much of the weekend, but I'll tell you what - Thursday at Tropical Tattoo in Ormond Beach was awesome! Just like it is every year. Thursdays are special:  Willie and Company put on the best damn Ol' Skool Chopper Show around. Better 'n the Boardwalk Show, better 'n the Easy Rider Show. Lotsa great home-built, "Just wanna ride" choppers and bobbers. Plus some awesome creations from professional builders. But, as always, the best part of the whole deal is the bikers. Not riders. Bikers. Y'all came out by the thousands and we had a super time hangin' with y'all. Thanks for comin'.
Willie and Company invited us to have the Dixie Biker Foundation come out  and handle the beer for the weekend and we were thankful for the opportunity. Kinda lost our ass on the whole deal cuz of a dead Friday and Saturday (we're left with huge quantities of alcholic inventory), but Thursday was great and we sure had a great time!
Left - On Hwy 1, Ormond Beach. Saw this dude cruisin' in his Beemer, with side-car and wife on board, and just hadda get the picture. Pretty cool restoration, machine gun and all.
That's pretty much the story of Biketoberfest '05 from my sometimes cynical viewpoint. We even had a total bust of a "See ya for Bike Week Party" at Trader Jack's Roadside on Sunday, October 23rd. It was gray and we had some rain squalls from approaching Wilma, about six bikes stopped by on their way home,  but since so many of y'all didn't even come to Biketoberfest this year, there weren't too many to stop in on the way home. No problem, though. We'll see you there for a Bike Week party, that's for sure! And Willie's asked to come back to Tropical Tattoo for the Ol' Skool Show so you can betcher ass we'll be there, too.
Right - Just chillin' on his homemade trike at the White Eagle, Hwy 1 in Korona, Flagler County. Below - Good friend Sue F. gets to meet Goth Girl at Tropical Tattoo. 
And, oh-by-the-way, if you've given up on Bike Week and Biketoberfest because of all the rip-offs, give it a try again. Only this time get outta the Main Street area and get to some of the back roads outside of town, away from the Ormond Strip and on the by-ways south, west and north of Daytona. You'll find lotsa places like like Tropical Tattoo and Trader Jack's Roadside - real-deal, year 'round biker hangouts that won't rip you off, that want your business, but most importantly, wanna see BIKERS out on the road doin' what we do.
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