"Do" Bike Week Like A Pro (2003)
Last year I put together some ideas to help the novice "Bike Week Attendee" get around the monstrous Daytona event with a little less stress and also maybe help save some engines from overheating. With several years (probably 30) of Daytona's under my belt, I have made all of the mistakes a Bike Week visitor can make and most of them twice. I have rehashed last years article and am sending it out again with some minor changes in response to the rave reviews from last year. I hope my overheated H-D engine and my hours of unnecessary sitting in traffic can help you avoid some of the pitfalls.
Bike week can be a wonderful experience. It can also cause hours of stress and sometimes puts a heavy strain on relationships between friends and/or significant others if not well planned. Being somewhat of a loner, I have made the annual pilgrimage to Daytona many times on my own or with my wife or one of my four daughters, without the benefit of an experienced tour guide. I've stayed in the wrong hotels, parked in the wrong alleys, and sat in traffic jams for hours. I have learned which streets to steer clear of, and which way to go to keep your bike cool and moving. I feel that after years of practice, I am as well equipped to motor around the chaos of 500,000 mildly impaired motorcycle enthusiasts as anyone else. With a little planning, you can avoid traffic jams, overheated bikes, and immature, pushy police officers with short pants that want to prove something. I've experienced all of the good and bad of bike week including stolen bikes, extended conversations with law enforcement, great meals, terrific entertainment, and world class people watching. I believe the biggest challenge in Daytona is how to avoid spending most of your time in traffic when you should be enjoying the festivities. Because of this fact of life, I'll spend a fair amount of words on the traffic issue. With my basic list of some do's and mostly don'ts, you can avoid those overcrowded, exhaust-fumed, leg-burning, extended stays in the center lane on International Speedway Drive.
How To Keep Moving in Traffic
Rule #1 "International Speedway Blvd is bad" Although International Speedway Blvd is the path of choice for most Bike Week visitors entering Daytona from I-95 or I-4, it is slow moving and most likely to overheat your two wheeled darling. Several better routes are available. My personal favorite to get to the Beach and Main Street area with little fuss is to travel North on LPGA Blvd. It’s just west of I-95 and from HWY 92 (International Speedway Drive) LPGA Blvd will take you north for a few miles, then east towards the beach to U.S. 1 (Ridgewood Blvd). When you reach US 1 you are only a few blocks north of Mason (SeaBreeze). Turn south (right) on Ridgewood and go about a mile to Mason. Go east (left) and you will cross the Halifax River on Sea Breeze to the barrier islands, aka "The Beach". Do this and you’ll save yourself at least 45 minutes in traffic delays. Remember to always enter Main Street from the ocean side. You will get to the heart of the activities in half the time if you go to the beach side and travel west on Main rather than east. Many V-Twins have fallen to the overheated blues of a short trip down Main Street from the West to East. Don't do it. East to West is always cooler.
Another great way to come in from I-4 is to go all the way to the east end of I-4, which becomes Hwy 400 or Beville Rd. This road will take you directly to US 1 (Ridgewood Ave.) From Ridgewood you can go north (left) towards Main Street, Daytona Harley, Beach Street, Iron Horse or you can go south (right) towards Millers, Gilley’s, Last Resort, or any of the other great biker bars in Port Orange and New Smyrna Beach.
Rule #2 "Stay off A1A" (On the Beach) Halifax Ave runs north and south, parallel to A1A and just east of the river, and is the only way to travel north and south on the beach side (barrier islands). Many times the city has posted (Local Traffic Only) signs on Halifax, but I have never been stopped while using this traffic-free street. Use discretion, keep your pipes quiet, act like a good citizen and you will save yourself lots of time by avoiding A1A. Don't worry too much about police officers in this area. They are busy on Main Street with the world class rowdies.
Rule #3 "US 1 (Ridgewood) is good"
Ridgewood Ave is almost always a good bet while traveling north and south from one area to the next on the mainland. Sometimes traffic backs up a little but overall, you're doing the best that you can do considering you have 500,000 of your closest biker buddies with the same hot spots on their minds. However, Nova Road and Clyde Morris Blvd are north/ south routes that have very little of the tourist biker traffic. With a little planning, you can avoid most of the delays, even on the busiest of Bike Week Weekends.
Can We Take The Kids?
Bike week has what seems like an endless list of one-of-a-kind biker haunts. Remember that some stops are somewhat "G-rated" and some are definitely adult type venues. The general rule is daytime on public streets like Main street and Beach Street are always G. At nighttime and especially at private venues like campgrounds, the clothing is always optional. If you’re bringing your kids or grandkids like I do, stick to Beach Street, Main Street, and maybe the bike shops during the day. When it gets dark, the kids should go to the room, period. After 9 PM the Wet T's come out and activities at the campgrounds or campground/bars like the Cabbage Patch, become a little rowdy. Many ladies take up the age-old traditional biker game of flashing. The Daytona Police department has little patience for this behavior on the public streets but the language and attitudes get more aggressive as the alcohol index rises. I'd rather keep the kids away from these potential potty mouths by "taking them to the house" at dark. Keep in mind that police officers will drag guilty flashers off to pay a $60.00 fine for the smallest infraction. Take that into account before you give that man of your dreams the smallest peek. Personally, I am very comfortable taking children to Bike Week as long as some good judgment dictates where and when we go.
Best Places To Eat?
I have a few favorites because I feel like eating is a large part of the biker journey. Remember, "Born to Ride and Ride to Eat". I like to put these "must stops" into categories. I have a "favorite stand-up meal venue", a favorite "Bar-B-Que meal", a "favorite "A-C sit in a real chair RUB meal", and a favorite "seafood sit-under a oak tree" meal.
My favorite stand-up meal venue is the Iron Horse Saloon on Ridgewood Ave. North (US1) in the Ormond area. The Iron Horse best displays what Bike Week is all about. Fun, loud music, food, motorcycles, and a great on-going party. The beef tips and potatoes next to the t-shirt booth is the best $5.00 meal in Daytona and a favorite among my family members. We always make at least one trip to the Iron Horse and never miss an opportunity to enjoy these wonderful beef tips. IMPORTANT TIP: Don't park under the decks at the Iron Horse unless you really don't give a hoot about your bike/paint job. The problem is that much of the party is on the overhead deck and the deck leaks. When you leave, you will have a beer/sand/spit/burn-out rubber basting on your bike that you will never forgive yourself for. Park at the Quickie Mart next door.
The best Bar-B-Que in Daytona is the Hog Haven next to the Ocean Center on A1A across from the Hilton. Great service, never much of a wait and all the sweet tea you could want. The view of the on-going parade outside is also pretty good. My favorite A\C Rub meal is at Gilley’s Pub 44 in New Smyrna Beach next to the Harley dealer. When we have had enough of the heat and the noise, I like to stop in at Gilleys for a cool break from the fumes. Even though you can go outside and have all of the biker music and vendors you could ask for, Gilleys offers a nice table complete with AC and a great burger that’s a cut above most of the biker-type cuisine. The food is good and hot, and the beverages always cold at Gilleys.
Finally my favorite Sea Food restaurant is near the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse on the south end of Daytona's barrier islands. At the Lighthouse Landing you can sit outside next to the river and enjoy the cool shade of a huge oak tree while watching the fishing boats cruise the beautiful Halifax River. The Grouper sandwich is always terrific and the casual attitude will make you think you're in the Florida Keys. The Lighthouse Landing is a little out of the way but worth the trip. The unique seafood shack atmosphere makes this a one-of-a-kind spot.
Good Hotel Deals in Daytona (NOT)
This is sort of an oxymoron. There is no such thing as a good hotel deal in Daytona during Bike Week. For years the local innkeepers have made a habit of over pricing rooms to the motorcyclists who chose to spend their time and money in Daytona. I have stayed everywhere from the Adams Mark at outrageous rates like $275 per night with a four or five night minimum, to some flea-bag hotel that was so disgusting I didn't take off my jeans in fear of some rare tropical flesh-eating disease for $140.00 per night. These guys have no conscience. For sure, the best bet is to stay outside of Daytona. When you travel west towards Deland, hotel prices get surprisingly affordable and available with only a 20-minute putt. Two years ago I rented a nice room at a remodeled Holiday Inn for only $90.00 a night. The beds were clean and the bike secure with only a short ride to escape robbery in the Daytona Scene. Similar savings are also available if you go north to Ormond Beach or south to New Smyrna. The key is to take a short ride and always look at the room before you agree to rent. Believe me, there are lots of fleabags where you don't want to stay in the Daytona area. Many hotels also provide a garden hose to clean the road grime from your scoot. Ask about it when you check in. Another tip, remember that the "loud biker traffic" never stops in Daytona during Bike Week so if you want to sleep a little, travel away from the main drags. Some of these guys never sleep and they will decide to do their Dyno run at 4AM outside your hotel window if you're not careful.
Bike Shows and Builders
Bike Week has some great Bike Shows during its 11 day run. I always like the Merchants show on the Beach Boardwalk. The Big Daddy Rat Show is also a great show in the water park across from the Ocean Center and scheduled to continue after the passing of its namesake last year. The best place to check out the Custom bikes from many of the premier builders is along Beach Street just north and east of the Harley-Davidson shop. You can visit with a who's who in the biker world from the likes of Arlen Ness and Dave Perowitz, to West Coast Choppers and Monster Garages' own Jesse James. The builders are accessible and very willing to talk about your dream custom in a relaxed fun atmosphere.
Don't Miss Main Street
Of all of the venues, parties, concerts, shows, races and huge events that go on at Daytona every March, I enjoy the parade down Main Street the most. It’s not an organized parade like Macys in New York, but a spontaneous styling, profiling, high fashion, celebration of the diversity of motors, and their owner’s style. Complete with all of usual Biker Suspects, clowns, custom bikes, drunks, music, beach wear, loud pipes and leather clad road warriors, Bike Week has become not just an event, but a spectacle the likes of which you may never see anywhere other than Daytona. A fun reminder of the free spirit that drives all bikers into this wonderful eclectic live and let live care free hobby/lifestyle. The most important stop on my Daytona tour two times a year is always a five or six hour stay on Main Street sitting on my Harley and simply taking it all in. Usually I do my parade watching on Friday evening of the final weekend. On this day, it seems to me that the excitement hits the high of the week as revelers anticipate the excitement of the final big weekend. Similar to the red carpet at the Oscars, attendees anxiously wait for the celebrities of the biker world to arrive "strutting their stuff" down the main street stage.
Those on the street bask in the glory of being part of the show while taking in the show at the same time. The bikes, the fun, the beautiful women, the gags, the costumes, the crowd and the tradition of meeting in the same place every year for a celebration of motorcycles makes Daytona the undisputed champion of biker events.
Daytona 200
Last, but certainly not least, is the Daytona 200 motorcycle race at the famous Daytona International Speedway. This event is what first brought bikers from around the world to this annual celebration. If you haven't experienced the race side of Bike Week, do yourself a favor. Go down to the Bel Aire shopping center on the beach about 8:00 AM on Sunday, join in the huge parade that will take you to the Speedway where you can enjoy one of most spectacular racing programs you'll ever see. It's sort of like Main Street, once you experience it; you will come back year after year for another "Daytona racing fix".
