Bike Week Advice for Daytona Virgins!

(AND THE REST OF US!)

The Hotel Advantage:

4,000 rooms for rent within a ten mile radius of Daytona make Volusia county a hotel rich area.  Persons of financial means don't worry much about shelling out a grand or two for a climate controlled room with a view of the ocean.  Free breakfast may be involved.  Out of town bikers tell us the convenience of pub crawling the few blocks it takes to reach Daytona Beach Main Street after dark without having to pause for the blue light cause, and blow a .085 is plenty of reason for shelling out big bucks and leaving the bike at the no tell hotel.  Some joints offer secured parking, most do not.  Are you the type who would never hit a campground, and you're explicitly expecting to hook up at bike week?  Valid reason #1, maintain a nearby crib.  Not expecting to hook up, consider Orlando, St Augustine, Deland, or better yet, the southern beaches of New Smyrna, Port Orange.  As a rule, the further from Daytona, the less expensive your bike week bin.  One caveat:  Never, ever "drop in" for a rate check.  Even if you're parked outside the front door, use your phone to obtain a quote.  Even better, employ hotel rate reduction web sites to lower the cost of your stay, and don't worry about the rooms being all sold out, unless you're only booking the last Saturday night.

The Campground Advantage:

Money. Not too fancy campgrounds offer a patch of your very own for as little as 10 bucks a night.  Moonshine c/g, north of Destination D gets good reviews.  Cackleberry's lot next to the Cabbage Patch, 20 minutes from Daytona is reasonably priced, right next to the cole slaw wrasslin' pit of dubious fame.  Daytona 200 clubhouse on rt 92 was a pleasant stay for us, mc's only, beautiful clubhouse if it rains on ya, about $30/nite. The VFW post in New Smyrna rocks for ten bucks a night.  We about had a stroke over a quote from the Speedway KOA, and one week enduring "gulag" style showers at the Flea Market c/g across the street was enough to make us say, no way, Col. Klink! Other options with which we are not totally familiar include "Rally quarters campground", "Bulow", "Crazy Horse", "Downtown Daytona C/G", plus the usual along the beach joints.

Advantage camp ground: 

 (1)  You sleep next to your bike. 

(2)  Return home with grocery money.

(3) If sheets are spotted, they're YOUR spots.     

Cash or Card?

 ABM sees our merchant/vendor friends in far flung places, and with most, we'll use a credit card when running low on cash, but not at a-l-l of them.  The nice part of paying cash for stuff is when you're broke, you'll know it.

Bottom line, "We spend all of our money on motorcycles, the rest we just waste".  In this vein, we just got an e-blast from JP Cycles on 10% off everything, and free shipping back to your digs.  Bolt on heaven.

Drinks and Dinner:   

Some hot shot Las Vegas Gambling executive gushed to a reporter that gaming paled in comparison to concert revenue.  Instead of giving away booze, they're charging ten bucks a drink, and we thought $7 buck beer was high?  Rocket science, it is not, that forty shots can likely be squeezed out of a quart of booze, and a 12 pack of expensive beer is still a buck a bottle.  Broke?  Save buzz time for the campground, live to party another day, license intact. Don't drink?  A burgeoning sober biker scene is emerging in both Daytona and Sturgis with secular organizations and church-oriented gatherings a common sight throughout bike weeks.

Gasoline's Too Expensive!

That's a myth.  Regular pump is 2 cents more than exactly one year ago.  If you made it here last spring, you can be here again.  

Refer to our story on non ethanol gas availability for better mileage.  Sunshine state's a perfect example of how citizen disgust overturned stupid, non researched unpopular laws.  Examples include our fight to get helmet laws off the books, overturning the ridiculous "vertical license plate" law with felony jail time and $10,000 fine, and now, we're repopulating service stations with pumps dispensing real gasoline.  Something going on in your state that you don't like?  Squeaky wheel gets the grease, so squeak, and don't let up.

 

What's up with the weather?    

 After one of Florida's warmest winters in memory, we've been on a weather roller coaster, with frost in and around parts of bike week territory now and then.  Expect average area temps in the 70's to kick things off, with a gradual buildup in warmth.  March in Florida ain't a bad deal at all.  Just don't expect 89 degrees here when it's freezing in Birmingham and Atlanta.  

Blame it on them!  Having said all of this, bring your sun block.