The warm temperatures ensured all the venues were well attended. The usual locations were somewhat diluted as vendor locations shuffled around, the most obvious being Beach Street just over the Main Street bridge from the Boot Hill Saloon. There was much more open area in the car dealership lots, giving evidence to the fact that the Speedway and Destination Daytona were the places to be and be seen. For the second straight year, the Speedway opened up the infield free of charge and hosted a second vendor area. This vendor area exposed riders to the sounds and sights of motorcycle racing inside the banked turns of the super speedway. Riders who may never have seen a closed course race were hanging on the fences with mouths wide open as race bikes practically leaned over parallel to the track surface. Towards the end of the week, a Master Builders Show in the infield showcased some of the best customs in town. In fact, there was a bike show somewhere every single day, whether it was at the track or in the parking lot of Willie's Tropical Tattoo shop in Ormond Beach, and there was no lack of participants or attendees.
Speaking of Ormond Beach, this is home to the greatest traffic mess in or near Daytona. What we're speaking of is Destination Daytona Harley-Davidson at the corner of US 1 and I-95. We heard horror stories of over an hour wait just to get into the parking lot, only to find that after you parked your bike you had to take a tram just to get where you can spend money. That is if there was some parking still available. Leaving was worse yet; they directed you north out of the parking lot, a few miles before you could execute a U-turn to head back toward town and when you got back to the intersection at the Harley shop there was even more traffic to wade through. We went out to Destination Daytona on Wednesday for the Builders' Breakfast event to benefit a local charity. We figured if we got there around seven in the morning we would be cool. Wrong. We still had to park at the very last parking area and catch the tram. But the breakfast was bitchin', all the builders were there and in a good mood, and the food wasn't bad, either. The riders who came for the autographs and the one-on-one pictures were thick, and the breakfast event carried over, actually infringing on lunchtime.
Having such a prime parking space out in the north forty, we decided to wander around the estate and check out the vendor booths and displays. Arlen Ness had his new building open with people pouring through from one end to the other, and as we looked around we got the feeling of being in a small village made up of motorcycle shops. The additional space above each shop held hotel rooms. We can only imagine the parking nightmare for those staying there on the property. Don't get us wrong, there is still plenty going on in Daytona; the Ocean Center is Harley headquarters, and is now open the entire week for cruising through all their latest models and accessories on display. One block south of the Ocean Center is the Main Street Parade, where motorcycle and people-watching is at its best. Last but not least is the abundance of food and drink, and plenty of places to eat, everything from fast food to diners to the top-of-the-line restaurants, often heavy on the seafood.
So there you have our spin on Bike Week 2007. The crowd was down a little, which really means that some people stayed home, which in turn means we didn't have to wait at restaurants to eat. Traffic in and around town wasn't bad, with the exception already noted. All in all, we had a great time and are ready for Biketoberfest in October. See you there.