I took a trip to Daytona this weekend to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the 69th Daytona Bike Week. I have not been here since 2004 and a lot has changed. While much of it looked the same on the surface, you start to notice differences as you spend more time there. Since it has been 6 years since I last visited Daytona Bike Week, I thought I would share my experiences and photos and even a couple short videos of Main Street with you.


The photo gallery is linked to a couple of times in the story, as well as the source link at the bottom.

Talking to various vendors on Main Street, business is down across the board and many of the locals count on Bike Week to make or break their year. It seemed crowded, but noticeably less than previous years. Some areas around the outskirts of Main Street had less booths then previous years. The area by the intercostal really seemed exactly like previous years, even without Arlen Ness. There were plenty of t-shirt vendors and motorcycle companies to browse. What seemed to be lacking from previous years is bike builders. Make no mistake, bike builders were there, it just seems like the “rock star” status has faded as the couple of known builders I met were not noticed by anyone. There were certainly less builders on hand. I was lucky enough to meet Cody Connelly from VForce Customs who you might remember as the young kid from Orange County Choppers. This is where you will find Cody and Vinnie Dimartino from the show in case you were wondering. I also got to say hello to Dave Perewitz, well known for his paint work, which I have admired for years. Both very nice people, but basically blended into the scene, whereas years back you would have to wait in line to meet them. See photo gallery here.



The biggest change is Bruce Rossmeyers Destination Daytona, a completely new 150 acre area in Ormond Beach, an exit north of Daytona and about a 10 mile drive. Bruce died in a tragic accident last July and the family is carrying on the business and dream. Because of traffic and a confusing entry to the facility including narrowing A1A to one lane just before the I95 underpass, it took me an hour and 15 minutes to get there. A truck stop is located at the entrance, so you end up trying to merge all the cars and motorcycles with tractor trailers trying to leave. It is just a really odd layout considering you had a blank sheet of paper to start with. An accident on my return made it an hour and a half to return to Main Street. Remind me to just take I95 next time. This area takes some getting used to. It is a both a destination and a destination in progress. Many businesses came with Bruce to this new area including Arlen Ness and J&P Cycles and Rat’s Hole to name a few. A hotel is located there and condominiums are next up. To me, it is not all that different from visiting other areas of Daytona with a ton of popup tents and trailers for vendors, buildings with many parts for sale, a center pavilion all put into a pretty compact area to reduce walking. I like it, but something is off a bit compared to Main Street. Maybe it is all the concrete and pavers, maybe it is just packaged a little TOO well? A large video screen had images of Bruce playing but I thought his name and face should be played up much more. Even a recent look at their website made it hard to find any information about Bruce, a famous face to most bikers. I missed the character of the old buildings on Main Street, so I decided to go back.



Main Street was fairly quiet earlier in the day, but come late afternoon it was so packed you could barely walk. The bars also seemed to be doing a brisk business. I could easily park my car or motorcycle within a block of Main Street in many places. I quickly was reminded why I love this area of Bike Week. This is THE place to see motorcycles, babes, freaks and who knows what? You can literally stand here for hours and watch the bikes and character. As you can see in the images, there were babes with snakes and body paint, unique bikes of all shapes and sizes, Spider Man (whatever), a guy with an alligator you could ride and even the Naked Cowboy. This was also where I randomly bumped into Dave Perewitz as I was watching a wet t-shirt contest. Go figure. I think you could walk Main Street up and down and back again repeatedly and be deluged with something different every time. I recommend it. I did make it over by the Daytona Speedway when I spotted Eddie Trottas trailer but it was getting late in the day and many vendors were closing. I really wanted to check out Eddie Trottas bikes and maybe meet him as I have admired his bikes for years. I am considering a return trip to do so. But, all was not lost, I was able to drive into the infield of the Daytona Speedway and marvel at its large size and the steepness of the banks. I found the security and police at Daytona Speedway to be very helpful and friendly, so don’t forget to visit this area!
Since we currently do not have an embedded photo gallery while PedalToTheMetal is in beta, I uploaded these pictures so you can enjoy the photos I took quickly and advertisement free. You can visit it here.


Source: Daytona Bike Week 2010: Bikes, babes and what not

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