Bike Week Roars

© Jerry "Friggs" Pryor

Leather riding gear was far more prevalent last week at Daytona Bike Week than the skin that is usually on prominent display. Cold weather that has inundated the Northeast in snow also sent its icy fingers to Florida, putting a damper on the festivities.

Jerry "Friggs" Pryor, our man on the scene, summed it up saying, "the state of the economy was evident by the number of 'Rooms Available' signs, the reasonable price of gas, and motorcycle parking down from $5 last year to $4 this year."

Still, although the "world's largest motorcycle event" may not have lived up to its reputation this year, Daytona Beach bore no resemblance to a ghost town. Crowds still thronged the streets and anyone hoping to find free parking on Main Street found they had better arrive early in the morning.

© Friggs PryorRacing was the order of the day over at Daytona International Speedway, with the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) contests a big draw, as well as the 69th Daytona 200 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike event.

Back in town, however, you would have to excuse many of the revelers for asking, "What? Does Bike Week include racing, too?" Never mind that the races were what created the event in the first place. Nowadays, for many, it's all party, party, party.

For some, of course, the partying gets a bit out of hand. Friggs offers this appraisal.

"As you approach Daytona Beach from just about any direction, you may well be as amazed as I was to see the number of motorcycles pulled over by the police. I have never been accused of being the 'sharpest tack in the drawer,' but it’s unclear to me why a person with apparently enough brain power to move most of their body parts would consciously drive carelessly in an area with a bazillion additional police officers on duty."

The cool weather definitely had an impact on attendance, although in some cases it was counter to what you might expect. Cecil and Marlene Miller live in Tavares, FL, about 65 miles southwest of Daytona Beach, and own a timeshare near Daytona.

"We tried to rent it out but it didn't rent," he explained, so they decided to come to Bike Week themselves for the first time.

Everything is relative, however, so for Gary and Clarence (no last names given) the weather was only sort of cold.

© Friggs Pryor"When we left Iowa last Friday it was 5 degrees below zero." Still, "It ain't as nice as we would have liked when we got down here."

Steven W. of Catskills, NY, concurred on weather conditions being relative, saying "There was four feet of snow when we left my house."

Bob and Lois Holland come down about every other year from the Cincinnati area and for them it's all about the vendors and demo rides.

"Each day we take an event, whatever's going on, we get out our brochure and make a schedule. Out at the race track they have demo rides – I love doing demo rides. You find something new, different, new models you may see going down the highway, and I just wonder how it is. You go to a dealer and they kind of frown at you. Out there (at the racetrack) they just let you go."

So weather or not, Bike Week roared into Daytona Beach and has now roared back out. And "roar" is definitely the operative word. Said Gary from Iowa, "I just think there are a lot of motorcycles here that need mufflers."