Wrap-up of the 69th Annual Daytona Bike Week
insideBIKEWEEK's coverage of this years Daytona Bike Week was without doubt one of the most enjoyable that I have ever been part of. Yes, the weather was not what Floridian's are used to this time of year but very few people were complaining about the cool and windy days or the downright cold evenings. How could you complain in good conscience, especially if you compare the weather in Florida to that in other parts of the U. S., such as record snowfall in many areas? After all, cool weather is always a very real possibility in February and March, even in sunny Florida. Even so, Florida's winter and spring weather is consistently some of the best on the planet. As they say in Florida, it is the time of the year that they live there for. It seems that most visiting were very happy to be riding in dry and sunny conditions and enjoying the camaraderie of those we call biker brothers and sisters. Literally everyone I spoke with was upbeat and positive, not so much about the past or the future, but certainly about the present, the present being the time that they were enjoying at Bike Week in Daytona.
The vendors that supported the event also were putting on a brave face for a positive future but few that I spoke with see an end to the depressed economy being just around the corner. In any event, the vendors that I talked to were quite upbeat about the turn out over the last few days. The crowds were obviously smaller than in the past but I think they were higher than expected by most "experts". We all know that the economy has still got a vice grip type hold on discretionary spending which has forced many to forgo a visit to the southern most state in the U. S. this year. The heavy snows to the north caused others to change their plans to participate this year. Too bad for them because from my observations the people that were here had an exceptionally good time. Check out the insideBIKEWEEK DBW2010 People Photo Gallery to see it visually – smiles and laughter everywhere.
The food and drink purveyors did an exceptional job putting together their lineups for entertainment and activities to insure that those who were able to come visit had the best time possible. I had as good a time as ever at the different venues and that was because not only that the venues did a spot on job but the attitude of the people was much more friendly and laid back. It also seemed to me, and others verified my observations, that the police presence was also more laid back, more in the background. It's not that they weren't present as I saw a car hit a biker about a half block from where I was on Main Street and in the time it took me think "I need to run over there to see if anyone needs help" a police cruiser with lights flashing and sirens blaring blew by me before I could cross the intersection. Maybe the police also saw more reasonableness in the bikers this year. Perhaps, as we all reevaluate and reinvent ourselves, we have mellowed in recognition of and appreciation for what we do have rather than concentrating on what we don't have. Bad economic times force many, if not most, to be more humble and peaceable because they have to do with less. We tend to draw closer as a society when many are suffering. Glad to say that he experts were wrong when they predicted that as the economy continued to fail with more and more becoming unemployed due to downsizing and business failures as well as some losing their homes in foreclosure the crime rate would increase. Latest reports show that has not been the case. Humans are resilient the world over and will continue to be. Bike Week will also change and evolve. There is no option. Will it return to its former glory with high numbers of visitors? That's for the Chamber of Commerce to worry about. Will it be the Mecca for builders, manufacturers and suppliers to reach the biker masses? They must determine for themselves, "Where are our advertising and marketing dollars going to be most productive?" After all is considered, I think that they will discern that Daytona Bike Week is a must attend venue. Will it return to it's glory days as the event for social gathering of bikers. Based on what I saw at the 69th Annual Daytona Bike Week, it is the premier event for bikers. If you can only afford one biker gathering a year, Daytona Bikeweek has the others all beat.
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