Daytona Bike Week 2021 : The Super Spreader!?

SUPER SPREADER! Hahahaha.... just kidding. Riding in on day 2 getting gas in North Florida, some sheep told Brother Dick to be careful .. you know.. after everything that went on with Sturgis Bike Rally last year and the Covid 19 breakout? Huh? What... sorry folks... Fake News!

Our first trip to Daytona Bike Week was back in 2016. Trailer-ed out, had a blast .. but... thought we were 'done'. Then in 2019, We made the trip out with my cousin , the Farley's and DD. Had a blast ... but.. thought we were 'done' after this one. Then ... sometime last year Brother Dick brought it up and mama was like 'hell yeah!'.. wait .. I thought we were done? Well, I was able to secure the house we rented back in 2019 again, so ... it was game on. Number 3! Initially was just the Lossners and Dittels. Then DD was in. With a bedroom left open, the Kennedy's were back in after doing the rally in '16 with us. Initially, the plan is for all the guys to ride in and the ladies fly in, but as we got closer, the Kennedy's opted to trailer. All good; time and a place for it all.

Day 1: Thought this day would never get here! Brother Dick and I are headed out around 7 via Jackson, MS to connect up with DD, then 49 / 98 towards Pensacola. Similar to last time, I've secured an AirBnB at a low cost. This time, we've found a gal named Deb whom rents out the top floor of her home for less than $100; score! Three beds and a bathroom, all good. We roll up and knock on the door to a blank look; she's forgotten about our arrival. The rooms are avail but lets just say .. she wasn't ready for us. We unload the bikes, head out to dinner and she heads upstairs to change the sheets... too funny. After a few hours for some grub and beers at an Irish pub downtown, we head back to sip some cold ones on the front porch. Then, upstairs to call it a night DD and Brother Dick are rooming together in a small room with single beds. They whined about the lack of space, open window, cats on the roof.. .. I have no idea what the problem was. My big comfy bid with a large flat screen TV at the foot of it, was just fine. JS :) After a good nights sleep.... we load 'em up and head East across I-10. Everything is 'perfect' except I forgot something......

Day 2: Headed to Daytona Beach. We're rolling down I-10 on a beatufiul 'warm' morning (no leather needed!) when after over 100miles behind us... I start day dreaming about things I've packed for the trip. Going through a checklist of sorts,I'm thinking "OH F***!" and pull off at the next exit. Dick and DD and wondering WTF my problem is ... as I jump off and go to my rear leather bag DD says "forget your laptop?" .. Yep. Crap! Dick quickly points out I should call our AirBnB host and have her overnight it. But, there's a cost associated (yes, I'm cheap). Then there's a chance of it being damaged. And possibly stolen if we aren't at the house in Daytona when it arrives. So here it is a Wendesday, I can access all my work email from my phone (but unable to do some critical things sometimes needed).... so .. I'm debating. I've got two more work days. We roll back through Pensacola on Sunday. My out of office is turned on via email. After about ten minutes of stressing ... I say F*** it... I email Deb back in Pensacola, tell her what I've done and ask if she'll be around. With a Yes.... we press on. It'll turn out not to be a non-issue. Whew

Rolling down I-10 towards Jacksonville before heading south on I-95 is uneventful. We see a lot of bikes headed West leaving the Rally. They were there for the first half, we are rolling in for the second half. Hopefully the bastards didn't buy up all the shirts in the size I'll want? Around the time we head south, we pull in for fuel; we're doing this about every 125 miles or so. My bike is the worst, but DD's ain't much better; total pigs with the fuel. We've all got 116 Big Bore kits, but Dick is getting upwards of 40MPG and mine is closer to 30MPG. I'm running rich which explains some of it... but.. damned... that's more than a 20% difference. But gets us off the bikes sooner to stretch the legs. Anyhows, while Dick is paying for his gas the clerk asks him if we are headed to Bike Week. Then tells him "Be careful with the Virus, especially after what happened in Sturgis!". Dick pointed out he's already had it. Also just had the vaccine. If he'd told me that I'd have started laughing my ass off and called him a Sheep. Last August/Sep some leftie sheep wrote an article how the Sturgis event was a Super Spreader and Tens and tens of thousands got the virus from it, around the country .. around the world. It was proven to be fake news... but... didn't stop that narrative from being spread. Hence my title of this Blog Post. How long until this (Daytona) is advertised as the Second Super Spreader Bike Rally? Bahahaha.. idiots.

Well, we soon roll into Daytona to our AirBnb. It's pretty much exactly as we left it back in '19. Feels good to be home! Within an hour, Lucy and Holly roll in via Uber after flying in. Next up is Beaudreau and Nance trailering in. But, we soon get the bad news. The good news is they are only ten miles away; the bad news is the truck threw it's serpentine belt! Well, the good news to this mess is ... Beaudreau found a contractor working nearby whom hooked up the trailer, Nance jumped in and they came to the house and we got everything situated. A tow truck soon showed up and grabbed the truck to a nearby Pep Boys who had the truck ready the next morning and for a fair price. We thought for sure this would get expensive but not to be. I wish i'd gotten pictures because... I rolled up, Beaudreau jumped on and it was Nuts to Butts home and to get the truck the next day. I've got a selfie of us rolling down the road .. but missed the perfect shot! Damned it! LOL. Soon, we're all starving so we head to one of our Fav's a few blocks north of the Chaos ; Daytona Tap Room. Awesome Burgers, Awesome beers on Tap, and our waitress is excited when she sees our CVMA patches; her parents are in the El Paso 23-2 Chapter (Radar is her dad). She rocks and makes our night. Later, we park the bikes at the house and head to downtown Main street for a few drinks and entertainment and night one in Daytona is in the books!

Day 3: Thursday at the Rally. Got a good night's sleep in after two days of riding and a night on the town. This day will be one of my fav's. Late Morning the crazy HarelyNot's roll in on a 3 wheeler lil' Barbie Car. Nan is at the wheel, and Steve is smiling. After hanging out for an hour, we all decide to break for lunch. H'Not's depart to go get their Hemi' powered rental car to meet us at the destination. As we did back in '19, DD leads us South down A1A to "Down the "Hatch" which is off the beaten path and always awesome near the water/bay side. Brothers Alan (AKA The Wolf!) and Milt (in from NE) roll in to join us. Then the HarleyNot's roll in and we've got a full table/crowd. Awesome music in the background, perfect weather, great service, food and drinks... and ... FRIENDS! What a friggn' day. After a few hours we break ways and head back to the house for a quick Siesta (ssshhh.. may not have got much sleep but.. whoops..... never mind) .. but .. after awhile, we are all starving so head to Hog Heaven BBQ just a block off of north of Main Street. I'm not a huge fan of this place; guess TX BBQ has spoiled me too much. Few more drinks on Main Street, lil shopping ... back to the Casa .... The Harley'Nots rolled in upon our return and the craziness begins! Bourbon, wine , Tequila... you name it is poured enmasse. I have no idea what time the party was over. I pulled the plug well into the dark hours, and eventually the house calmed down. The next morning I'd find Nan's phone on the table. I heard a rumor ol H'Not was looking for that Hemi Charger they left behind. Guessing Uber was their friend... as it should be!

Day 4: Friday at the Rally. We roll down A1A to St Augustine. This is one of DD's fav's. I really like some of the joints on the way near the beaches. Soon all four bikes are rolling with a stop at Flagler Beach. Tortuga's isn't too busy so this is a score. After lunch and some cold ones, we head out. An hour later we're parked in downtown St Augustine and walking the streets of the cool downtown area with dozens and dozens of shops, restaurants; you name it. To me it's a maze but DD leads the way. We stumbled across a cool lil place (San Sebastian Winery) hidden away and find a cool outside are to enjoy the tap beers for the boys and Prosecos' for the ladies. Icing on the cake is when 3 ladies sit down near us and realize they've found party central. If we'd had 3 extra seats on the bikes, no doubt they'd come with us... LMAO . After that , you have to reverse course so we head back to Flagler Beach with a different stop at FINNs. This place is always packed! We head upstairs and thinking we're screwed on seating but in the corner of my eye off in the distance, beach side I see a guy signing his ticket paying the bill ... SCORE! Five minutes later we have a table for us all and enjoy the next few hours with views of the beach and music from a band kitty korrner from us. Still, sooner or later we have to head back. But we can't find Brother Dick. He told Holly he was headed to the pisser, but... I was just there. He was nowhere to be seen. So, we pay the bill, head to the bikes and wait. And wait. And Search. And Search. WTF? Guessing we' are in wait/search mode for up to 30 minutes, scouring the area multiple times. Only place we didn't' look was the Tattoo Shop where his bike was literally fifteen feet from the door. Then he pops out with a smile and his first ink. We bust his balls, he shows off his new ink .. .. and we're headed back. We're starving so we head directly to a fav' dinner joint; Daytona Taproom . The guys all ended up wolfing down 1/2 pound black Angus Hot Dogs, lotsa beer.. and ... well.. back to the Casa! Park them bikes, then .. few blocks later .. we are back on Main Street. Lots'a JD/Cokes, stop into Froggys and a few other crazy joints... and few hours later we are home in the backyard , feet propped up .. enjoying the dream.

Day 5: Saturday at the Rally. Final 'day' of the Rally. We've opted out of heading to the Raceway, but headed out to the Dealership to visit Tony Bedell. He's been selling bikes there annually for years now, and it's a great gig for him. The Dealership must've rang the bell four times in the short period we were there, for several new Indian Motorcycle owners. Bikes everywhere, great stock in the store. Out back ... music and custom bikes everywhere lined up. Bar setup right in the middle of it. And, another beautiful day. Tony gives us the tour. Fills us in on the latest crazy shit going on from up North (Not even going there, but too bad we can't commit folks to a Sanitarium? js). After an hour or so, it's time to leave and we're headed North to the Iron Horse Bar and Saloon. Half hour later we roll in, traffic ain't too bad and park the bikes across the street. One of these days, I'm going to roll in there and park in at the Saloon, but getting 4 bikes in there sounded painful... so .. across the street. Quick walk across the main drag and we are entering the chaos of good times. Work our way up high, and we're soon looking down at the masses. After a few minutes we are in a common location, in the shade. I've met a fellow CVMA brother whom appears to be active duty. We're talking about the burn out pits below us... and after a half hour I see him down below on a sweet looking Road Glide... then ... Into the Burnout pit! Got it all on video.... I paused it multiple times... we were in a blind fog... but .. awesome run. Then.. .more people watching .. more cold ones.. and .. eventually its time to leave. We jump on the bikes and off to make our first of two, mistakes. We head North to the HD dealer which is a rally in itself. Except we end up in a long line from hell. We should have shot up the left and figured out a way to sneak in thru' traffic. Eventually, we roll in but the parking is ridiculous. Well, we have a discussion on one member our group want's nothing to do with all this .. so .. we head back.. onward to our next mistake. I've decided in my infinite wisdom, I want to roll down Main Street. Well, the next line we encounter is HUGE compared to the last... so .. we wait.. and wait and.. bake the bike's motors. Lesson learned is.. we should have headed west up a side street and rolled in parallel to main street and jumped in line... grrrr. Anyways... before I blow up the motor, we are finally headed down main street as part of the carnival / parade. Ten minutes later we're back at the house. Why the f***k did I need to wait in line for all that? Again .. lesson learned. Well, tonight is a night for drinks on the back porch. On the front porch. In the house. A late night for all .. .. which means lack of sleep ....

Day 6: I'm dragging ass. It's Sunday and time to roll. The three of us riding, get saddled up and out the door after loading of Beaudreau's trailer with all the extra gear we won't need. Before we hit the interstate, we find a Waffle House for grub.. then .. rolling North towards Jacksonville. DD is starting to drag ass... so at the first stop he grabs a 'five hour energy' as do I. And I grab a Monster Energy Drink... at the next stop, I grab another 'five hour energy' .. We're all all awake and rolling.... Soon we're rolling down Interstate 10 and come up on a dozen Pagans rolling down the left lane in a tight formation probably doing 80. I'm aware we shouldn't just roll past them .. but.. .. what to do? Where's my rule-book to review? Well, we slowly come up on their rear on the right and .. their tail-gunner keeps moving into our lane... gggrrrr. I'm the only one carrying, and there are twelve of these guys .... and I've got a visual how this may go down if I'm a dumb ass.. so .. we back off. Eventually, a vehicle comes up behind them and they all move to the right ... so .. we have a window. As we're passing them, I'm waiting for the block again but it doesn't happen... as I pass the leader up front whom I'm assuming may be their Prez' I give a respectful nod ... and ... we're by them. Back up to 85 and making time. Well, remember all them energy drinks? We're hauling ass on I-10 a few hours later still doing around 85 when ... it begins. Alcohol, lack of sleep, who knows what's in all those energy products, dehydration .. and ... I've got an existing AFIB Heart issue... and ... I hit a wall; almost literally. Lets just say I barely got the bike off the road. My two brothers take care of me but I eventually convince them I'm okay and we are rolling again. But, I'm not. Now the shit gits worse. I see we have a rest stop ahead so I push forward which almost became a mistake. When we finally rolled in, they had to help me off the bike and to a place to lay down. Yeah . that was a close one. Hour later, few bottles of water in me.. I'm starting to feel human. Just then, we spot Beaudreau's and Nance' pulling the trailer as they head into the rest stop. So, I've got a Plan B here.. put my bike in it and crawl in the truck. But... I'm hard headed and convinced we'll make it to Pensacola (I need to pick up that laptop I left!). Well, they hold back fifteen or twenty minutes after we leave in case they need to pick up my bike and my ass ... and .. we're off. Takes about twenty minutes or so .. but .. I eventually get my mojo back.. and .. we're soon rolling at full speed again. But we've lost a lot of time .. and .. I'm not sure if this will hit me again. My brothers are worried about me so they snag a couple of rooms for us at the Hampton Inn and we pull the plug. Grab a bite across the street at Cracker Barrel, crash early .. and ... we're almost home.

Day 7: Final Leg back to Texas. We've got rain in our path so we decide to go the 'long way' home, I-10 to I-49 and split off at Shreveport. Adds about an hour but we'll stay dry and stay out of the monsoon just ahead of us if we go towards Jackson, MS. As we leave we do slam into a 5 minute shower. We're looking for a place to pull over to so we can don our rain gear but up ahead I see 'light'... .. and soon we're out of it. Ten minutes later were' back up to 85 and drying off. But, in the corner of my eye I see a red flicker a few times on my dash. Turns out it's the oil lamp. WTF? I'm thinking ... oil pump bad? Cracked block? Bad seals? Well after we get it pulled over in a Rest Area, I verify its low on oil and I attribute that to the HOT ride on Saturday where we baked the motors in the lines. So, we pull into a gas station, grab some Synthetic oil, add a 1/2 quart and back on the road. That light hasn't come on since (guessing I need this oil changed ASAP!). Well.. you know the routine.. back up to 85 and.. son of a bitch! A van in our left lane doing a notch faster than us and about 75' ahead has metal come flying over it's roof... looks like several 2x2 metal posts that are connected and they go bouncing past us... that'll get the sphincter cinched up! Whew! This is about the craziest road trip I've been on in awhile.. what the hell else is going to happen? Well, we finally hit the Louisiana state line, find a bite to eat .... pull into a Churches Chicken for some grub .. but.. the dining room is closed due to Covid. WTF? Haven't they gotten the news that this is all BS? Apparently not. Well, we all 3 walk in , get yelled at because too many of us in there.... .. finally get an order and eat our grub outside. We're laughing how backwards Louisiana still is with the Virus .. guess I haven't been paying much attention as of late. Well, its helmets off and we're back on the road. DD asks me about the helmet law .. I'm like "nope .. we didn't wear them across I-20 last week .. no issues!" . He gives me that 'really?' look .. .. and ..we're all off without lids. About 30 minutes later, in the mix of traffic doing about 80 I see lights in my mirror.... crap. So, I slide over and the officer pulls up next to me motioning me over... After I get over on the shoulder and Dick and DD behind him ... I'm pulling out my license and looking for registration when he walks up to me and says with hand gestures " You KNOW WHY I pulled you over right??" .. I'm debating on how to get out of the speeding ticket when he says "HELMETS! you ain't wearing your HELMETS! I can see you all have them!" Well, I explain I thought it was a non helmet law state.. and ... we spend the next 10-15 minuets on the roadside, the four of us BSing and having a good time. No ticket, just a kick in our butt. Well, my butt. I threw myself to the wolves and told him I was to blame. Bottom line.. cool cop. Well, lids back on and off we go. What the hell else can go wrong? Glad you asked ... We are past Baton Rouge and approaching the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. I see a gas station off to the right, but looks like we've got enough fuel. I see DD pointing at his tank. Dick rolls up on me and I tell him we're good to go... as soon as we get on the bridge, my low fuel light comes on .. WTF. Well, on the Indians, you normally have a gallon or so left .. so, I wasn't worried. I should have been because it turns out DD was lower on fuel than I was. Well, after a half hour across the bridge I'm getting NERVOUS. Thank god we all made it across without running out. Soon as we get across, I see a gas station. Whew. DD and I go on and on about how close and nerve racking that was... then .. back on the road. Now, I guess it was the 'excitement' of it all, but I missed the I-49 exit North. Never saw anything that resembled another Interstate. Well, we blew right through Lafeyette and I must have been in lala land and just glad we didn't run out of gas? Thirty minutes go by .. and hour goes by .. and I see signs that say Lake Charles, but no Lafayette. I'm thinking this is weird and feels wrong but roll another thirty minutes before I pull over. Now I've got two buddies asking me why we didn't take I-49. They BOTH had GPS running (I didn't) and keep waiting for me to ... do something. LOL. Now, I'm feeling pretty stupid for missing that turn . .but... have to admit .... I couldn't help but ask "WHY didn't anyone roll up and question me?" Response was "thought you knew what you were doing?" Whoops ... LOL. Still, gotta wonder what they were doing? Hey .. it can't be ALL be my fault? .. right? :) Well, a quick look at the map on the phone and we grab HWY 165 and head towards Shreveport. As I look at a map typing this, I took us exactly 60 minutes out of the way .. and cost us another 20 minutes or so because we were now on a slower road, not Interstate. Whoops? Finally we hit Shreveport and it's time to split up. Dick and I are headed west and DD north towards Arkansas. We've got several more hours to go... the sun is coming down.. as well as the temps. We've been in the lower 80s.. .. now the mid 70s .. It will be 59 deg when I pull up to the house. The good news is .. no more more crazy shit on the road. Just putting miles under ourselves getting home. Before it's too late, we're all home ..... Safe n' Sound. Another amazing road trip .. in the books, and 2400 on the odometer.