Daytona Bike Week...Ride, Eat, Drink, Sleep!
Ride!
A1A, Ponte Vedra Beach thru St. Augustine, Flagler Beach, Daytona: For those heading south from Jacksonville. At I-95, jump onto rt #202, better known around here as "Butler Boulevard", & ride all ten miles east, and bear right where the 7 lane ends. That's A1A south. Stay on this road all the way to Daytona. You'll ride along the Atlantic Ocean, rivers, tributaries, backwater, and oyster encrusted marsh nearly all the way to Daytona. Makes the "loop" look like an alligator farm.
The Loop: A much shorter ride, encompassing saltwater marsh, ocean, and lots of other bikes, which in tandem with the mainly 35 mph speed limit, make this a cushy assignment for the man, who will nail you with a 200 buck ticket before you can get into fourth gear. Don't rip it up. A popular putt for those who prefer short stints in the saddle. Must ride for Daytona virgins.
Yee Haw.. Let's Get Out To the Country! There's a whole different world out away from the coast. Lots less cages, cops, cheaper brew, and country girls who still know we like 'em in Daisy Dukes. (times change slower in the south, ya know..?) Lots of great little bars, and a few bigger ones, like the Cheyenne Saloon, on rt 17 north, have their own little bike week festivities, if you catch our drift.. Take I-95 north to US 40 east, then rt 19 north thru the Ocala National Forest, (40 miles with no lites, no houses, few cages, fewer squad cars). When you get to Palatka, go over the St John's river, & hook a right onto US 17, back toward rt 40, and just past halfway, notice the Saloon for a righteous time. Get back on rt 40, or head all the way south to Deland before swinging to the left, back to Daytona.
Eat!
Fish Sandwich, $7.99: Married dudes, shut mamma up by shoving one of these huge suckers in her pie hole! Unless you're both way over 200 pounds, it's probably better to have the joint cut one in half & split it between the two of you. Bunnel four corners, "The Bantam", little drive in hole in the wall. Also has oyster, shirmp poboys too. For those who think a "Polish Boy" is the cat's meow, try one of these babies. Bunnel is on US 1, about ten miles north of Rossmeyer World.
Hungry? Broke? Yeah, us too. Any "Publix" supermarket will send you off with a fresh homemade sub. They're worth the extra buck fifty over subway. Again, split it with someone or you're gonna fall asleep on a picnic table.
DIY Eats? Nothing's better than a bushel of fresh oysters, about 30 bucks, or a 100-count bag of little neck clams. You're gonna pay up for 'em in Volusia county, so if you're headed down I-95, stop off at 12545 North Main Street, Jacksonville, at Houston's Meat Market, (904-757-1888), and pick up a bag or two of slimies. Their meat is also hard to beat! (ha..i had a program director who once said that on the air...he got away with it, but just barely.) Why pay someone 10 bucks a dozen for Oysters & a chunk of arugula, when you can get a whole bushel for twenty more? Caution: Get right back on I-95, or 9-a (I-295). Do not take Main thru Jax!
Drink: For those who prefer imbibing to sips of sarsaparilla, may we offer a fiscally responsible alternative to 10 buck beers at the local strip joints, (of which there are m-a-n-y!). Main Street has become home to two dollar bloody marys, three dollar margaritas at more than one bar. During Biketoberfest, the bars wouldn't provide a swizzle stick, so everyone drinking the bm's had something like three dozen little red spots on the front of their tees. Bring yer own straws! Beach Street has a little nondescript beer stand at the corner where the old Arlen Ness Chopper store used to be, right at the foot of the Main Street bridge. 2 buck brown bottles, 2.50 Coronas. Hope they're open this year. Wherever you tip the glass, please leave a buck or some change for the hard working bar girls. They have families to support, too. If you really want to go cheap, you know the drill: Get a 12 pack & ice it down either at the camp site, or in the sink at your hotel room.
Sleep? Aw...do we have to? ABM's theory is, we came all this way to ride, party, & make new friends. Who needs sleep? Chances are good that at the end of each 18 hour day, you'll be exhausted, ready to crash, and not be too particular about where it happens. That's why we camp. That, and we're usually close to being broke anyway. If you have discretionary cash, hotels are the way to go. Try a discount vendor like www.hotels.com to find a discount rate on a decent room. Stay close to where you'll do most of your partying. That way, if you're drinking, you can hoof it back & forth to the room, while still staying out to bark at the full moon. Lock up your bike. A parking garage is a lot less secure than the overhang right in front of the desk clerk's office. I don't know about you, but personally, we sleep better when both of our bikes are parked within ten feet of where we're crashed out.
Dirt Cheap Campgrounds Where ABM's crashed:
(1) www.ababeflorida.com/bikeweek - Tents/$15/night, or Rv/$90/all week. About a half hour's ride in to Daytona on I-10. Volusia County Fairgrounds, near Deland.
(2) DaytonaCamping@Aol.com Bikes only, no cages. Tents/$30/night/up to 3 people. A little closer in than the abate site. Nice clubhouse. Watch tv, eats, activities, nice people.
...or... for a "little more"... race fans...
(3) Daytona Speedway: Only if you're a rabid race fan. Camp for free (with your $175 paid admission), in the "Orange" area, near the 31 degree banking. Don't plan on getting any sleep when the bikes are in trials. Call the speedway for tix.
Honorable Mention: Flea & Farmers Mkt camping, about 2 miles west of the speedway. Moonshine CG, slap on top of Destination Daytona. US 1/I-95.. Cop city. Thunder Gulch: North of Bunnel, where you can use the I-95 to avoid the above hassle. We're done with one.
ABM's blog and radio show has been rife with caustic comments regarding the very chilly winter we've had down here in the sunshine state, but that doesn't mean the air will feel cold to bikers from DC north, or west. Do us natives all a big favor: Don't come down here and complain that 65 degrees is cold wx. Remember, we know what it's like where ya come from! If it's in the 50's, head for some place out of the wind, like Main Street, or the Iron Horse Saloon up on US 1, the "Miracle Mile". (it's a miracle if ya don't get a ticket)
Check back often for DBW/69 updates, either here, or at www.twitter.com/abmrocks
A1A, Ponte Vedra Beach thru St. Augustine, Flagler Beach, Daytona: For those heading south from Jacksonville. At I-95, jump onto rt #202, better known around here as "Butler Boulevard", & ride all ten miles east, and bear right where the 7 lane ends. That's A1A south. Stay on this road all the way to Daytona. You'll ride along the Atlantic Ocean, rivers, tributaries, backwater, and oyster encrusted marsh nearly all the way to Daytona. Makes the "loop" look like an alligator farm.
The Loop: A much shorter ride, encompassing saltwater marsh, ocean, and lots of other bikes, which in tandem with the mainly 35 mph speed limit, make this a cushy assignment for the man, who will nail you with a 200 buck ticket before you can get into fourth gear. Don't rip it up. A popular putt for those who prefer short stints in the saddle. Must ride for Daytona virgins.
Yee Haw.. Let's Get Out To the Country! There's a whole different world out away from the coast. Lots less cages, cops, cheaper brew, and country girls who still know we like 'em in Daisy Dukes. (times change slower in the south, ya know..?) Lots of great little bars, and a few bigger ones, like the Cheyenne Saloon, on rt 17 north, have their own little bike week festivities, if you catch our drift.. Take I-95 north to US 40 east, then rt 19 north thru the Ocala National Forest, (40 miles with no lites, no houses, few cages, fewer squad cars). When you get to Palatka, go over the St John's river, & hook a right onto US 17, back toward rt 40, and just past halfway, notice the Saloon for a righteous time. Get back on rt 40, or head all the way south to Deland before swinging to the left, back to Daytona.
Eat!
Fish Sandwich, $7.99: Married dudes, shut mamma up by shoving one of these huge suckers in her pie hole! Unless you're both way over 200 pounds, it's probably better to have the joint cut one in half & split it between the two of you. Bunnel four corners, "The Bantam", little drive in hole in the wall. Also has oyster, shirmp poboys too. For those who think a "Polish Boy" is the cat's meow, try one of these babies. Bunnel is on US 1, about ten miles north of Rossmeyer World.
Hungry? Broke? Yeah, us too. Any "Publix" supermarket will send you off with a fresh homemade sub. They're worth the extra buck fifty over subway. Again, split it with someone or you're gonna fall asleep on a picnic table.
DIY Eats? Nothing's better than a bushel of fresh oysters, about 30 bucks, or a 100-count bag of little neck clams. You're gonna pay up for 'em in Volusia county, so if you're headed down I-95, stop off at 12545 North Main Street, Jacksonville, at Houston's Meat Market, (904-757-1888), and pick up a bag or two of slimies. Their meat is also hard to beat! (ha..i had a program director who once said that on the air...he got away with it, but just barely.) Why pay someone 10 bucks a dozen for Oysters & a chunk of arugula, when you can get a whole bushel for twenty more? Caution: Get right back on I-95, or 9-a (I-295). Do not take Main thru Jax!
Drink: For those who prefer imbibing to sips of sarsaparilla, may we offer a fiscally responsible alternative to 10 buck beers at the local strip joints, (of which there are m-a-n-y!). Main Street has become home to two dollar bloody marys, three dollar margaritas at more than one bar. During Biketoberfest, the bars wouldn't provide a swizzle stick, so everyone drinking the bm's had something like three dozen little red spots on the front of their tees. Bring yer own straws! Beach Street has a little nondescript beer stand at the corner where the old Arlen Ness Chopper store used to be, right at the foot of the Main Street bridge. 2 buck brown bottles, 2.50 Coronas. Hope they're open this year. Wherever you tip the glass, please leave a buck or some change for the hard working bar girls. They have families to support, too. If you really want to go cheap, you know the drill: Get a 12 pack & ice it down either at the camp site, or in the sink at your hotel room.
Sleep? Aw...do we have to? ABM's theory is, we came all this way to ride, party, & make new friends. Who needs sleep? Chances are good that at the end of each 18 hour day, you'll be exhausted, ready to crash, and not be too particular about where it happens. That's why we camp. That, and we're usually close to being broke anyway. If you have discretionary cash, hotels are the way to go. Try a discount vendor like www.hotels.com to find a discount rate on a decent room. Stay close to where you'll do most of your partying. That way, if you're drinking, you can hoof it back & forth to the room, while still staying out to bark at the full moon. Lock up your bike. A parking garage is a lot less secure than the overhang right in front of the desk clerk's office. I don't know about you, but personally, we sleep better when both of our bikes are parked within ten feet of where we're crashed out.
Dirt Cheap Campgrounds Where ABM's crashed:
(1) www.ababeflorida.com/bikeweek - Tents/$15/night, or Rv/$90/all week. About a half hour's ride in to Daytona on I-10. Volusia County Fairgrounds, near Deland.
(2) DaytonaCamping@Aol.com Bikes only, no cages. Tents/$30/night/up to 3 people. A little closer in than the abate site. Nice clubhouse. Watch tv, eats, activities, nice people.
...or... for a "little more"... race fans...
(3) Daytona Speedway: Only if you're a rabid race fan. Camp for free (with your $175 paid admission), in the "Orange" area, near the 31 degree banking. Don't plan on getting any sleep when the bikes are in trials. Call the speedway for tix.
Honorable Mention: Flea & Farmers Mkt camping, about 2 miles west of the speedway. Moonshine CG, slap on top of Destination Daytona. US 1/I-95.. Cop city. Thunder Gulch: North of Bunnel, where you can use the I-95 to avoid the above hassle. We're done with one.
ABM's blog and radio show has been rife with caustic comments regarding the very chilly winter we've had down here in the sunshine state, but that doesn't mean the air will feel cold to bikers from DC north, or west. Do us natives all a big favor: Don't come down here and complain that 65 degrees is cold wx. Remember, we know what it's like where ya come from! If it's in the 50's, head for some place out of the wind, like Main Street, or the Iron Horse Saloon up on US 1, the "Miracle Mile". (it's a miracle if ya don't get a ticket)
Check back often for DBW/69 updates, either here, or at www.twitter.com/abmrocks
posted by americanbikerminute at 4:14 AM
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