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Bike Week 2006, the 65th Annual Rally in Daytona Beach, is now in everyone’s rearview mirror. And what a week  and event it was. Actually it was ten days, Friday, March 3 through Sunday, March 12, and it was ten of the most beautiful days I can ever remember for Bike Week. We’re talkin’ Biketoberfest weather instead of the normal rainy, chilly early March Bike Week weather we’re used to. Not a single drop of rain fell during the ten days, and temperatures were in the mid 80s Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Yee Haw - it was awesome. Monday night and Tuesday were a little nipplely, but that was the extent of the chill. We like that cuz it means the girls all wear a little less clothes and the motorcycle ridin’ is great. It might not be politically correct, but that’s all good as far as we’re concerned. Chix, bikes, sunshine and another little chapter in our life’s little book of memories. It don’t get no more better ‘n ‘at, y’all.
We hope you made some great memories for your “life book.” We sure did. We had some great times just hangin’ with y’all, and actually got some ridin’ in for a change. We kicked things off at Trader Jack’s Roadside in DeLand on Saturday, March 3, with our annual Dixie biker Illustrated Bike Week Kick-off Party and ended the week with our annual C ya Next Year Party, once again at Trader Jack’s, on Sunday, March 12. In between we did the Tropical Tattoo Ol’ Skool Chopper Show, a reader appreciation Bike Show
with Porkie’s BBQ (with a not-very-good turnout) and rode around to lotsa different venues to check out the various goings-on. All in all, except for rip-off, gouging prices for beer, food and goods at the “name” spots, it was a good ten days.
Another downer for the week was the increase in accidents and deaths this year. Fourteen people died in motorcycle accidents in Volusia and Flagler Counties during Bike Week. Overall, there were eighteen deaths throughout the area, a new record. Sixty-two people involved in motorcycle related accidents were admitted to Halifax Regional Medical Center and another thirty-one to Ormond Memorial. Unlike the friggin’ left wing, liberal biased, politically correct mainstream media, we have no friggin’ idea how many were wearing helmets. Nor do we care. They were adults and made their own decision to wear or not wear a helmet without government intervention. (Right - At Wiseguys Watering Hole, Main St., Monday, March 5. Left - Hwy 100, Putnam County, Friday, March 3.)
The media makes a huge deal over the “record” number of deaths, but we don’t understand why. Eighteen deaths is tragic, but on a per capita basis, it’s actually a pretty small number. Considering:
~ there were somewhere between three and four hundred thousand motorcycles concentrated in the Central Florida area for ten days;
~ there are hundreds of miles of road construction sites in the area;
~ many operating the bikes are new riders, or people from up north that haven’t ridden in a few months;
~ the copious  amounts of adult beverages consumed;
~ and the cagers pissed off cuz of the “damn bikers” causin’ traffic jams; and I think eighteen deaths is actually a low number. Shows bikers and l aw enforcement personnel were doin’ their jobs.
(Right - the lovely Cherlon, Beer Girl at Tropical Tattoo. If you live in Central Florida, you can see her in Apopka at Porkie's BBW Bike Night each Thursday.)
The first death of the week was someone who didn’t read our “Do’s and Don’t’s” advice column last month and in our Special Bike Week Edition. A couple were riding two-up, stopped as first in line at a red traffic light, and a car ran into them from behind. The operator was killed and his wife is still in the  hospital as we went to press. Other than making a left turn against traffic, this is the most dangerous situation for a biker.
If you’re stopped first in line at a traffic light, do NOT put your scoot in neutral and start combin’ your hair or smokin’ a cigaret or be stylin’ and actin’ ‘cool’ to have people check you out. Keep your hands on the grips, clutch engaged, bike in first gear and monitor your rear view mirrors until you have a couple of cars stopped behind you. You gotta be ready to launch somewhere if the asshole comin’ up behind you misjudges distance or doesn’t see your skinny silhouette in front of him. Chillin’ with the bike in neutral and hands someplace other than the clutch and throttle is definitely not cool. It’s dangerous.
The final death of the week was a fellow  headin’ home to Osceola County that police say failed to negotiate a curve in Brevard County on Hwy 524. He’d just bought the bike earlier in the day from Daytona Harley at Destination Daytona and only had 72 miles on the dial. Man-oh-man. How sad.
Now that we’ve gotten the bummer deals outta the way, it’s on to happier things.
(Left - Daytona Beach Shores, Sunday, March 4. You definitely don't wanna be speeding here.)
Our Dixie Biker Illustrated Kick Off Party at Trader Jack’s (parking lot below) was awesome. Over 5,000 people rode in throughout the day. At one point in the afternoon Mike, an owner, came up to me and Boots and said, “Monk, we’re gonna hafta tear down a friggin’ wall! We’ve run outta bike parking!” Lemme tell ya if ya ain’t been to Trader Jack’s - runnin’ outta bike parkin’ is hard to do. They’ve got ten damn acres! Cars were parked in the south part of the property, there looked to be plenty of room for bikes, but Man!, did we have a crowd! And we’ve had no negative feedback from y’all. Just great comments about hangin’ out, enjoyin’ each other, the baloney toss, the vibrator races, the buns  contest, the wet t-shirt contest, the great prices ($2.25 longnecks; $2.50 mixed drinks; $3.00 BBQ and restaurant dinners from five bucks.) the oil rasslin’ and the beginning of Bike Week. It was definitely an awesome way to kick it off. (Left - Nicole from Clear-water entertaining during the best buns contest.) You can see the picture gallery of that event here: Trader Jack's Roadside Kick Off Party. (Coming soon. I gotta figger this damn thing out and find some time to get all the pictures loaded up!)
The first Sunday through Wednesday, we didn’t have anything we “had” to do, so we just rode around checkin’ out places, people, bikes and things. Some observations:
~ Traffic at the new Destination Daytona, gettin’ to it and leavin’ it, was  horrendous. We recommend people take the pretty ride north up Beach Street, which becomes Old Dixie Highway(right), all the way to the White Eagle on Hwy 1 in Flagler County. Stop and enjoy this great place, then head south five miles on Hwy 1 to the new Harley Dealer if ya “just gotta see it.” No traffic problems on this route.
~ How come they made the bikers park on the dirt at Destination Daytona and let cars and vendors have the paved parking. That sucks. It ain’t lookin’ out for bikers. And how come a T-shirt costs $25.99? Jeez.
~ Traffic on the Ormond Strip (Hwy 1 about eight or nine miles north of Main Street) was terrible. And now the places located there are calling it the “New Main Street.” I guess that’s cuz the new Harley dealership is just two miles north and ya gotta pass by these places. They certainly had the prices to justify the name “Main Street.” Jeez. More below. There were lotsa bikes parked at the places we checked on along Hwy 1, but we  sure didn’t see many people. I don’t know where they were.
~ Prices on Main Street and the New Main Street were ridiculous. Bar maids were tellin’ us, anonymously, since they didn’t wanna lose their job in the future, that “No one’s tippin’ or spendin’ any money, Monk.” Well, no kiddin’. Beer, which was wholesalein’ for sixty-two cents a  can was priced at $3.50 - $4 at the “name” places (Right - at Dirty Harry's on Main Street. And they're not even longnecks. Jeez). Water - price at Sam’s Club for a case of 32 bottles is $4.72, less than fifteen cents a bottle - was $2 or $3 a bottle at the vendors or bars. That’s not “makin’ a profit.” That’s nothin’ more than a rip off. And ya know what? Bikers ain’t stupid. We ride out and find some-where else to hang out. Compare those prices to Porie’s BBQ beer girls at Tropical Tattoo for the Ol’ Skool Show on Thursday. Beers were $2 and soda and water were a buck. One chick made $800 in tips and the other made $700. And they sold a boatload of liquid refreshments. 
~ We rode to many spots outside of Daytona Beach proper and hung with lotsa bikers where prices were fair, the atmosphere was awesome and things were good. I think more bikers put on more miles than previous Bike Weeks. I guess the message we’ve been preachin’ for five or six years is sinkin’ in: Get out of Daytona Beach and check out the places that DO want our business.
~ Seminole Power Sports (below)in Sanford had an awesome Bike Week Kick Off Weekend with stunt teams, vendors, drag bikes, and Molly Hatchet. Don’t miss this event next year. 
~ Orlando Harley-Davidson once again had awesome entertainment; a $25,000 ride in Harley Bike Show; REO Speedwagon; Little Feat; Charlie Daniels; and Cheap Trick. All free. Vendors, food and drink, too. Check ‘em out during Biketoberfest or Bike Week next year.
~ Seminole Harley-Davidson (below - yes this is a real picture taken from I-4. The bar and shield looks like it's floatin' in the sky. Awesome job, guys.)moved to their new location in Sanford along I-4 and had a great spot to hang out and listen to local bands, enjoy each  other’s company with vendors, food, drink, etc.
~ Downtown DeLand held their 2nd Annual Bike Rally on the first Saturday and it was great. Friendly people, friendly prices, friendly vendors and good times. Put this on your calendar next year.
~ The best party of the week was, once again, at Tropical Tattoo for their Ol’ Skool Chopper Show on Thursday (right and below). Willie and Company were awesome, and we thank them for invitin’ us to participate. It was fun to MC the event with Willie, Marcus and Roadside Marty; hang with Rodent and Goth Girl; gittin’  to hug the hot-test chix in Daytona; and to see, up close and personal, the hottest, nastiest, baddest, coolest, kick-ass choppers, bobbers and other modified bikes in Daytona. This year they had over 100 entries in the show, and Dave Nichols and Mike Lichter from Easyriders Magazine showed up to cover the event. Maybe Easyriders is gettin’ back to basics again after losin’  touch with some of us “Ol’ Skool” bikers. Too much happened there to include here so we’re gonna run a separate article on the show - it'll be comin' soon.
~ Our Dixie Biker events were fun to do, we had a great time at ‘em and are gonna cover them in other articles (coming shortly and as we get articles from our great staff). We limited ourselves this year to three events and it worked out great. We love meeting our readers, listenin’ to your input, and ignorin’ your bitchin’ and moanin’. Heh heh heh - just kiddin'. We take what you see seriously - that's why you can't find the Dixie Biker Illustrated after the first week of the month, and the hotels call me up asking for more of our Special Editions for Bike Week. Shoot - we even had two  calls from IHOP and Waffle House askin' us to come and reload their racks. Left - Main Street at dusk, March 9th.
Anyhow, hangin’ with y’all is the best part of what we do. But instead of tryin’ to stay at one place all ten days, gettin’ out to three or four spots durin’ the week seemed to work out good. And it didn’t stress us out like in years past when we were located at one location and were responsible for contests, games, shows, etc. every day throughout the week.
Our great staff was out and about during Beek Week and we’ll get their stories posted as they come in and we have time to put ‘em on the website. If you have something you’d like to add about Bike Week, click the comment button below and post your own  thoughts, stories, etc. If ya wanna post some of your own pictures, we'll add that feature shortly. We just gotta find some time to do it!
Til next year, ride safe on the by-ways.
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