et your motor runnin,’ head out on the highway” wafts out of the XM Radio station, filling the room, and my head, with visions of the open road, the wind in my face, and the cares and troubles and responsibilities of the everyday life behind me. The immortal words of Steppenwolf transform me from an ordinary, ho-hum, daily work hog into a leather wearin,’ Harley ridin’ free spirit hog “lookin’ for adventure in whatever comes our way”. This is the story of that transformation.

A couple of months earlier, my friend Ed Chalmers and I, a couple of Lowcountry boys, began some “out-loud” wishful thinkin’ about how we should just take some time off and ride our Harleys down to Daytona Beach for Bike Week. Just say the heck with everything and go ! The more we talked, and we see each other at work every day, the bolder we got. The bolder we got, the more reasons we found for going. The more reasons we found, ah, who needs an excuse anyway ! Well, as the date appeared ever closer, we realized the talk had somewhere morphed over from wishful thinkin’ to the “shuddup and drive” stage. If we were to do this, we actually had to start planning, make reservations, pack, you know, all that stuff you do when you really go away on vacation. That’s it ! We were going on a vacation !

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N ! Wow, hadn’t been there, or anything close to there for a lo-o-o-ng time. Ed and I decided that the last time either of us had been on a vacation, well, it was just too long ago to remember and we needed to fix that. This was going to be a no frills trip. Throw what you need in the saddle bags, or in my case, a small leather bag and hit the road. No plans, no itinerary. Just a little fun !

Since both Ed and I ride Harley Davidson motorcycles, Bike Week in Daytona was the most logical choice at the time. Oh, the hell with that, it is where we were going, the good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. We wanted to ride ! To get a little seat time. This was to be a vacation where the journey was more important than the destination. That’s what it’s all about, the ride. The wind in your face, the warmth of the sun above you, and whatever may come, ahead of you. If you’ve ever wondered why dogs hang their heads out the windows of moving cars, just ask a biker, they’ll tell ya ! Ride, ride, and ride some more, that was the plan.

So, Harleys loaded up, we began our “road trip” at the Squat and Gobble for a little breakfast. As we were finishing up, it suddenly dawns on me, here we are, a 50 somethin’ (me), and a 40 somethin’ (Ed), about to take our motorcycles on a trip that would end up being somewhere around 700 miles total. Would my old back, butt, and the rest of my ole’ bones make it !?

To make a long story short, everything went GREAT ! We rode down on a Tuesday and rode back on a Thursday. The weather was a little cool on the ride down, but all bundled up with blue jeans and leather we were warm. The weather stayed sunny and the sky was cloudless in Daytona. The Clarion Hotel in the St Augustine, beach area, where we stayed was far and above our expectations. We could not have picked a nicer place to stay. The jacuzzi was hot and revitalizing on cool nights after a long ride, room rates were reasonable, and there were good restaurants within walking distance. We were allowed to park our bikes right up front under the cover of the building and they even provided a box of rags for cleaning the bikes.
If you ride a motorcycle, you know what I’m talkin’ about, and if you don’t, well, you owe it to yourself to find out. Bike Week for these two ole’ “mild” hogs was all about the ride. We got to ride down A1A with the Atlantic Ocean to the left merely yards away, see a whole lotta chrome, custom paint, and leather. We got to see things we don’t usually see, (and some things I wish I hadn’t seen).We got to see a whole new side of life called vacation. The food was good; the hotel was good; the ride was good; and the weather was good. Life is good. It just doesn’t get any better than this! I don’t think either of us will wait quite so long again !

Bike Week has its origin in a motorcycle beach race, The Daytona 200, that took place on January 24, 1937. Ed Kretz, a California folk, won the race on his ‘Indian’.

Daytona Beach, is the place which is best known for connecting bikers (and of course car drivers, too), sun and beach.

Driving along the beach is a world-wide known tradition in sunny Florida. Recently added is also a ‘small’ auto and bike free beach zone.

The major annual event is the Biker Week in March - 10 days motor cycle - undiluted bike exhibitions, partying, racing, concerts and an estimated half a million bikers.

The Bike Week takes place every year in the first days of March.

Later in fall follows the second Biker “Eldorado”: the Biketoberfest, a weekend filled with parties - but the fun starts even a week before with many other events.

Another huge motor event that takes place in Daytona Beach: the NASCAR Speedway race: again beach parties, concerts and all of that in connection with the 4th of July celebrations.

Daytona has certainly more to offer than these events, but the Bike Week and the Biketoberfest are the ultimate reason for bikers to visit Daytona Beach.

Between Feb-Nov costs for driving on the beach is $5, maximum speed 10 mph.

The beach is 23 miles long from which 16 miles can be used by motor vehicles