96 2014 Daytona Bike Week

     I apologize!  I find myself doing that more these days.  I try and balance the text with pictures however this time it was impossible.  If its any consolation there were over 300 to choose from.

Fifth Ave at night.

   After our sunset view was blocked by the Naples cruise boat.  We parked on 5th Avenue and looked at the shops and restaurants.  Dinner at an outdoor café "Bellini on Fifth".  The waiter impressed us with his command of the Italian menu until we found out he was from Ohio.  He said he had worked at many expensive Italian restaurant's in San Francisco and picked up the dialect.   We inquired if we could split a meal, no one seemed to know, evidently they don't do that a lot in expensive restaurants.  Well we will be the first, we took his advice and ordered a dish with rigatoni.  Very tasty, we will have that again.  When we had finished, yup, all of it, he commented how it was refreshing to see someone clean up there plate.  When he worked in San Francisco he said people would order multiple entrées take a few bites and then leave them, made him sick to see the waste.  After dinner we continued looking at the shops and lights, a pleasant evening for a stroll.   One of the stores I took note of was Hinckley Yachts, we don't see that much back home. 
 March 2, 2014. We bid Naples farewell and started our trip back to Daytona Beach, we were going to meet our daughter Bandana's by Michelle to help with her booth at Bike week. 

Gary and Betty let us use the guard chickens for the night.

   We stopped at our pioneer friends Gary and Betty by Polk City.  Another fun evening with them, There seems to be a lot of laughter when we are around them.  Because of park rules I cannot disclose where we slept that evening, however we did set up our little camper.
  The next morning we took off for our rendezvous with Michelle at Nova Campground in Daytona.  Michelle had to drive for 17 hours straight to get in front of the blizzard that was heading East across the Midwest.  Traveling in her car this time, I think she had every square inch filled with supplies including her vendor tent.

By Disney world, even the
Power poles look like
the little fella.

  We stopped at a Roadside Tavern advertising  5 buck burgers and beer, soon someone had noticed Michelle's blinged out bandana she was wearing, with Ruthie and Michelle now selling Bandanas  I figured over the next two weeks I would probably forget how to talk.  Settled in our little camper we spent the next couple of days getting the permits necessary to sell in the City $600, sat up her booth, five hours, lots of work and detail, Michelle likes it perfect. 
We drove down Main street to get a look before the street gets jammed with motorcycles.   We seen Daytona start the transformation, large production stages and shelters, some looked more like buildings,  local merchants moved out of their stores and vendors moved in for the duration of bike week. 
     With the transients, homeless and opportunists that show up at large gatherings the area local merchants

Michelle (center) with friends

Complete makeover, $80,000 and 9 months!

suggested that we keep an eye on Michelle's booth after hours.   I decided to spend the nights in it, armed with an air mattress with a broken pump, electric blanket and hot chocolate  I crawled under the flap.  I was able to get a little air in the mattress before the battery gave out.  I though it would give me some cushion and gave it a try.  Not even close, kind of reminded me of a hot dog in a bun with me the hot dog resting on the cement and the bun up in the air.  Now lung power, it was close to eleven before I got the mattress blew up enough so that I had some cushion between myself and the side walk,.  Noise, voices screeching tires Harley exhaust and around 4am I believe garbage trucks,  I decided to get packed up and wait in the car for daylight.

David and "The Shack" We had the
Pleasure of meeting the family!

It didn't take me long to find a place that served hot chocolate to warm up with.  "The Shack" a pleasant little oasis on wheels with all kinds of good things.  When we finally got some warmer weather we were introduced to their smoothies.  Delicious and refreshing.  Their friend Mike from the "Jesus surfed apparel shop" helped out in the stand once in a while and took my picture when I filled up my frequent flyer card,  He called me Bandana's by Michelle's Dad.  Nice people, they helped make the rally an enjoyable time.  




Gives the term "flying Nun" a whole new meaning.

      Bike week preparation continues with food tents showing up to feed the hungry multitudes.  The large manufactures show up with their semi-trucks  and professional set up crew, this is their profession setting up for large gatherings and following the rally schedule for the year.
    I slept in the booth for two days until the promoter's security guard armed with a canine unit replaced me.


My replacement,
Security canine unit, "Harley"

   Daytona bike week was a spin off of motorcycle racing event held here in 1937, today as many as 500,000 motorcyclist's may attend.  It started out as mainly a guys trip and get together.  The ladies are now showing up in large number some as co-riders and many riding their own cycles.  With any large gathering their are some negative's,  I remember one year by the second day there were fifty Harleys stolen.   And this year there were fifty trauma admissions with four fatalities.

Ruthie liked this Bagger, $150,000 anyone?

      Now that Michelle's bandana booth was ready for patrons we settled in for the event.  We have the perfect spot for viewing.   Practically every bike will come by this corner on their way across the bridge or they turn and go down Beach street.  Since you are already aware of the stock cycles you see every day on the highway, I decided to describe and show some of the extremes.

      Most of the bikes going by carry some modification to express the individuality of the owner.  With Harley Davidson the most prevalent the majority of them having loud to extremely annoying exhaust pipes.  On this

corner they seem to love to twist the throttle as they move down the block.   The trail bikes have an annoying little ring to them and the crouch rockets sound like a chain saw that is on the verge of blowing up.   Looking out I see a cross country bike, lots of ground clearance you can ride it down the highway or leave the road and travel a dirt path thru the woods, they usually have square metal carriers to carry their gear, one even went by with a extra tire, just in case.  A Gold

Wing  (I try and point them out to my neighbor.) goes by with a couple dressed alike.  Most of the riders are wearing black, lots of it and leather.  Some with vests sporting pins and badges from the rally's they have attended.  From just adding chrome or something shiny, we have the modifiers who with welders, tube benders and paint artistry, create some amazing machines,  one that went by had a 30 inch front wheel and when parked lowered itself to sit right on the ground.  The owner had passed on $150,000 to sell it.  If you buy the beauty beside it you have to sign a waiver that you aren't going to ride it.   The rally draws the extreme.  The first day I seen the token half naked fat guy on a Harley ride by,

Trivia, what do you call the pooch's eye protection?

his belly resting on his gas tank.  It was far to chilly to be riding like that, If it was fall he would be the one you see in the football grandstand using his frostbitten chest as a billboard to support his favorite team.  Fifty degrees feels a heck of  a lot colder than it does back home. (more hot chocolate please.)



Lots of riders carry little friends, some
Are large enough to occupy the rear seat.

A V-8 automobile engine.

Helmets:  half, full, closed face, flip shield.  Some painted to match the bike, airbrushed with beautiful scenes or perhaps a skull, they seem popular here.  Some call them event or rally helmets and glue some antlers, horns, fur, any thing to be unique.

Parrot?

One with antlers on his helmet had decorated his cycle to look like the rear of a deer it made quite a site with it's white tail in the air.   Spikes will work for anyone.  I still don't understand the little broom glued to the top.  Female helmets, lets add a suction cup blond pony tail or perhaps one on each side and instant pigtails.   Something

Hand made event helmet.

you are starting to see more helmet mounted camera's to record your trip especially if you ride alone.  Other wise it is the co-riders duty to record the trip.  One couple went by and she had her tablet recording the trip, didn't seem to convenient.       Guy riding a motorcycle with two ladies on with him.  Rider dressed like a banana, a hamburger.
Three wheels, the standard trike, the backwards one with two wheels in front and one trailing.  Engines, some are so quiet you aren't sure they are running, some are huge, boss hoss's are big this year, a large V8 engine on a cycle or trike, one was 385 horsepower and I heard a rumor of one that was 1000 horsepower, where will it end?
     The riders: they may be a professional and have responsibilities back home, but here they are a rebel. Lots of facial hair, mostly grey, interesting to see it split in the middle and blow back in the wind as they ride.  Handlebar mustaches, face masks protecting from wind and sun.  Some look like skeletons.  Hope they remember to take it off before going in the post office.  How about the large group sporting kilts. (keep your legs clear of the hot pipes or you'll be sorry)

     Rear seats: some plush recliners like the gold wing with a speaker on both sides and maybe add an armrest for comfort, some just a small cushion big enough to call a seat, and then the extreme.  I have heard the small ones described as wrapping a towel around a 2X4 and then sitting on it for an hour.  On the stretched out chopper types it may be just suction cupped to the rear fender so you can remove it for show. One I seen 

No comment!

was about the size of a bar of soap with the young lady hugging her driver to keep from being left behind.  I'm afraid some of the young ladies didn't pass the mom inspection before they went out for the evening, remember you are representing this family young lady.  Oh well, it makes a great show.

No dog sitter available?

     I don't know if it was the cool weather, the economy or just the times, the vendors didn't do well this year.  Some of the food vendors didn't earn enough to pay their set up fees and closed down early.  It was great being with Michelle in her booth, she works very hard.   It was an interesting couple of weeks although it seemed like a month.   Jim in the booth next door made it interesting as he was selling his "Cyclone blowers" , he had his personal cycle on display and used it to demo the blower to dry the cycle, wet it down, dry it off, repeat.  (an embarrassing note: Michelle told me later it took about 10 seconds to blow up an air mattress with a cyclone she took back to Minnesota with her.  I had a tent 

Ruthie moonlighting next door with Jim,
evidently the bike wash ladies were on a break.

full of them next door and I blew mine up the old fashioned way. Pity poor light headed me!)  When he was on some of his information gathering missions (some may call it gossip) Ruthie and Michelle pitched in to sell his blowers.  Some times when he was gone the passerby's would use his poor hapless demo blower in lewd ways.  All types of people here!  With time on our hands sometimes we might have gotten a little out of hand, I was accused of pole dancing and Jim tried to get Ruthie to take the bikini wearing wash girls place while they were on break.  A good neighbor we called him the social butterfly, before we left we all went to Caribbean Jacks to eat.   Nice spot we had dinner in swinging glider booths.     One night we took Michelle to the Ocean deck, we had bragged about the great rice dish, unfortunately they had changed the recipe.  It was still fun.  When we entered a lady started yelling across the restaurant "It's Bandanas by Michelle" over and over again.  It seems she had
purchased some of her bandanas in Texas and was excited to see her there.  It's fun traveling with a celebrity.  We had noticed several people that had sought out her booth just to see her, kind of fun.   However the best part at the restaurant was a dialect snafu.  Michelle had recently  had a beverage that had Rum Chata and root beer, she said it tasted just like a root beer float.  Okay we will have one.  Michelle to waitress "Do you have Rum Chata"?  (in what we have been told is our northern accent, although we swear we don't have one.) Waitress, in her deep Mississippi draw "No, we have Clam Chaa".  



Got the heat press going, might as well bling some Bandana's!

     We had a couple of visitors our selves, Harveyletsride from the motorcycle forum, a

Antique john Deere ice cream maker

friend of Charles and Joyce form Midland Georgia and Dale (the photographer) and Leigh Ann.  It was good to see all of them.   I walked around with Dale and Leigh Ann to show them the sights.  As usual his photography was amazing.  On our tour I pointed out the little motorcycle trailer that had lettered on it's rear "I go where I'm towed."  Cute!  We spent some time at the "Zack's Poppin Johnny Ice Cream" they had rigged an old John Deere "popping Johnny" to provide the power to churn home made ice cream into a delicious treat.  Later we went out to dinner with them.

  With vendors leaving early Michelle made a decision to wrap it up on Saturday so we could do something fun on Sunday before she went back to Minnesota.  We spent 5-6 hours packing and dismantling her wares.  The next morning Michelle rented a Harley and the three of us rode to St Augustine.   Michelle fell in love with the area immediately and pledged to return.  We met 

Even the money man
showed up, I think he was
interviewing for "Gecko"

Not ours, probably the reason for the
Noisy nights

two of her friends from the vendor circuit from Arizona at a bar and grill.  They had picked a great meeting place.  They had a local 3 piece band that rocked, one of their members played a washboard, that he had adorned with all sorts of musical accessories. 
 

Tammy, Larry and Michelle in St Augustine!

     The last night in Daytona, Michelle rode the Harley off to say good by to rally friends and we tried to find a sweet treat before we headed back to the campground.  We had given up on McDonalds, they sucked us in with their wonderful chocolate (of course) dipped cones and then they stopped carrying them.  Bummer!  We stopped at Burger king in Port Orange and I went in to check on treats.  When I came out a lady was standing next to the trike and a man was laying underneath the trike.  How does this happen?  I leave Ruthie alone for two minutes and strange things happen.  Turns out it was Fred on the ground trying to look at the trike suspension (guys do that) and Kathie.  When they found out where we had been camping they turned up their noses (in a nice way and I might add rightfully so) and told us about "Daytona beach carefree RV" where they were staying.  They were so excited about their experience they tried to get us to come over that night and look around, 

Uno

and besides there was a ice cream shop close to them.  However the long week in Michelle's booth had taken its toll and we took our little ice cream treat back to the campground and told them we would try and stop on the way out of town tomorrow..    The Next morning we packed up to leave the campground.  Due to the noise in the campground we were a little sleep deprived.  We had seen everything imaginable this week and I had pictures of the majority of it.  I had once thought I had a picture of vehicles with four, three and two wheels and then I seen our camping neighbor, my photo journal is complete, out came the unicycle.     Goodbye Daytona, it was fun, it was interesting, it was noisy, we met many nice people, we met a few on the edge (compared to where we are) There may have been a couple that had actually fallen off the edge.  Lots of memories,   Michelle is on her way back to Minnesota and we have a general idea where we are going.