Chrome and crowds: Motorcycles take over Main Street as Daytona's Bike Week begins

DAYTONA BEACH — It wasn’t even 11 a.m. on Bike Week’s opening day, but Dan and Sue Phillips already had claimed a prime viewing spot for the parade of chrome and characters outside the Boot Hill Saloon on Main Street.

“I’ve had this spot for a long time,” said Dan, 70, referring to more than the two hours that the Daytona Beach couple already had spent that morning on the outside deck of the landmark watering hole.

“My first Bike Week was in 1978 and this is where I was,” he said.

Sue, his wife of 50 years, joined him for the first time two years later. For most of the years since, the couple traveled on their Harley-Davidsons from their home in Dayton, Ohio.

In 2006, inspired by the good times at Bike Week, the couple moved to Daytona Beach, followed by their two daughters and grandchildren. This year, they again returned to Main Street for the 83rd annual Bike Week celebration.

“We’ve been doing Bike Week a long time,” Sue said. “It’s fun to be here on the front row.”

'A big party, yes?' Bike Week newcomers explore Main Street

On opening day, Bike Week rumbled at full throttle on Main Street, the epicenter of the 10-day event that now attracts an estimated crowd of 300,000-400,000 motorcycle fans throughout a region that includes Volusia, Flagler, Brevard, Seminole, Orange, St. Johns and Duval counties.

The scene offered a familiar carnival for the senses that blended the tantalizing aromas of grilled sausages and burgers melded with the scent of leather and exhaust fumes, the sound of molar-rattling engines and the sight of gleaming chrome, custom paint jobs and colorful crowds.

An informal survey of license plates illustrated the event’s appeal: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, South Dakota, Ontario and Quebec, among others.

The throng also included more far-flung visitors, such as the boisterous group of roughly two dozen members of the Scamps Motorcycle Club from Woerden, a city in the Utrecht province of The Netherlands.

“If it ain’t Dutch, it ain’t much,” said Rob Kromwijk, 44, a welder informally nominated as the group’s spokesman as they nursed cold beers outside Dirty Harry’s Pub.

He and his friends also were early birds on opening day, arriving on Main Street before 7 a.m.

The group had traveled by air, leaving their motorcycles at home, but were excited to visit Bike Week and Daytona Beach for the first time, even if they weren’t sure what to expect.

“We’ll have to see what happens,” Kromwijk said, “but it ends in a big party, yes?”

In new twist, Ocean Center offers Bike Week events

All signs point to a big turnout for Bike Week this year, said Janet Kersey, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event.

In Daytona Beach, there will be new wrinkles that will offer diversions for Bike Week visitors that nudge them toward marquee thoroughfares of Beach Street and Main Street, Kersey said.

The event’s official welcome center is now in the courtyard on the northwest corner of Beach Street and International Speedway Boulevard, a move necessitated by construction activity at its former home at One Daytona, the retail, dining and entertainment complex across from Daytona International Speedway.

The welcome center’s presence hopefully will encourage Bike Week visitors to explore the newly completed Riverfront Esplanade as well as nearby local businesses, organizers hope.

On beachside, the Ocean Center will host three days of motocross action when AMA Arenacross Series racers navigate a course of jumps, berms and other challenges during competitions March 1, 8 and 9 in the convention center’s arena.

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It’s the first time in recent memory that the Ocean Center has hosted Bike Week-related activities.

Tickets for those sessions start at $17 at Ticketmaster.com. They also will be on sale on race days at the Ocean Center box office.

Merchants, vendors expect 'a great week'

On opening day, merchants and vendors also were optimistic about the 10-day event.

“We’ve been working around the clock, literally, getting ready for this,” said Laura Humphreys, vice president of family-owned Humphreys & Son Jewelers, a Main Street fixture since 1954.

“This business has seen a lot of Bike Weeks, so we’re happy to see that the tradition continues,” she said, adding that bikers in town for the event started arriving at the shop a week before opening day.

Humphreys & Son is again offering a limited-edition supply of 1,500 of the commemorative coins — which sell for $59.95 each — designed by licensed jeweler and gemologist Shawn Humphreys, son of the store’s matriarch, Helen Humphreys.

By opening day, roughly half of those coins already had been reserved.

Outside on Main Street, the outlook for the event also was upbeat at the Burger Boyz concession stand, where sausage, chicken kabobs and other treats were cooking on the grill.

“This is the traditional kick-off of our event season,” said Rosemarie Rakowski, a manager with the Lakeland-based vendor. “Daytona sets the pace for what’s to come at other rallies. If the turnout is good and the weather holds out, it should be a great week for all the vendors, not just us.”

Rain: An unwelcome Bike Week wild card?

Weather could be a question mark, reflected in cloudy skies on opening day that yielded misty rain around lunch time. Based on the extended forecast issued by the National Weather Service in Melbourne, rain chances range from 30-60% into next week.

More: Bike Week weather: Will you need rain gear for opening weekend in Daytona Beach?

The prospect of a few raindrops didn’t faze Chris Snyder, 62, a retired building inspector who left behind much less hospitable weather in Buffalo.

“It was snowing and 20 degrees when I left,” said Snyder, watching the scene across from the Full Moon Saloon. “It’s great to get out of Buffalo this time of year. This is a perfect spot. I would stand here all day and do this.”

Snyder is among the visitors who have made multiple trips to Bike Week.

History lesson: Daytona Beach's Bike Week: A history of beer, bikes, cole slaw and 'rowdyism'

Those returning fans are the best part of the event, said Johnny Sanchez, owner of John’s Rock ‘N Ride, another longtime Main Street business.

“To me, it’s like a homecoming,” he said. “These are people I only see once or twice a year. I look forward to seeing them, and they look forward to seeing me. They were customers, but now we’re one big family. Yeah, it’s just like a homecoming.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bike Week rumbles into opening weekend on Main Street in Daytona Beach