Daytona Bike Week '05

What an adventure once again! My Daytona bike week cherry had been popped last year (see my Daytona '04 writeup here), so the amazing cultural soup that is bike week didn't taste quite as strange this year. Due to crappy weather early in the week, we cut our trip short- two days less than last year... and the difference showed on our odometers. Many of the themes that were apparent last year held true this year... bikers wear black... bikers come in all shapes, sizes and colors... love of the road trumps the brand name horse that you ride... biker babes love to show their junk... etc. Yes, I still believe that a large percentage of bike week participants aren't into bikes at all - they are there to observe or participate in the mass freak show on wheels!

Some noticeable differences this year?

Last year, "OCC" and "West Coast Choppers" crap was everywhere. You couldn't turn your head or open your eyes without seeing someone wearing one (or both) of the logos. This year, we witnessed only a couple people wearing OCC gear, and I saw only one guy wearing a WCC shirt. Wow. We even saw a shirt that said "I'd rather watch American Idol than American Chopper!" Harsh!
The assless chaps were rolling strong this year. Now we saw our share of those wonderful assless chaps last year, but they were everywhere you turned this year.
The "Rent-A-Babes" selling adult refreshments seemed to be of higher caliber this year. No, I wasn't drinking more this year.
Every memorable "Rent-A-Babe" from last year was working at exactly the same spot this year. Hell, look at the pictures and see for yourself! Conspiracy? Maybe.
For some reason there just seemed to be a mellower vibe this year. Last year there was a thick angst that hung in the air like tire smoke. Hell even at the rowdy Iron Horse things were mellow. I don't think we even saw a single "almost fight." Maybe with the war on terror bikers are seeing the bigger picture... that we're all on the same team here. Hell I don't know. Maybe the liquor was watered down more.
The ride from Daytona to Deland sucks late at night when it's 40 degrees out and you don't have all your gear. I've never had my nuts so tightly packed against my gas tank in my whole life. Brrrrrrr.
Choppers, choppers everywhere. Geeeeeeezus that's all there was. Friggin choppers. OK, a lot of them are really cool and obviously took a lot of work and creativity, but damn. We saw a lot of junk that was slapped together, chromed or airbrushed to the hilt and still amounted to nothing more than a polished turd. That scene is getting pretty stale now, or at least overdone, and even the mildly observant could sense it.

Well, enough rambling again... you just want to see the pictures anyway, right? Just a note before you click - there are a LOT of NWF (Not Work Friendly) pics in here - so if you're offended by boobs, assless chaps and other parts or will get into trouble, please DON'T click here!

Daytona '05 Pics