Wednesday

Cold today. I know, I know. It’s probably colder where you are, right? But it’s about 15 degrees below the average here in the low 40’s in the morning. We hung out, and waited until after 10, when the temperature had climbed to a tropical 50, then we jumped on the bikes and headed downtown. We were going to go to the Ocean Center for the motorcycle show, but it was way too early. We ended up down on Beach Street and found a pair of gauntlets for Linda.

One of the places I wanted to see was the Iron Horse Saloon, about 15 miles north and inland from our hotel. We headed out, and found our way up Highway 1. The traffic slowed about a mile away from our goal, but they seem to have a Disney-esque way of handling the flow, and it didn’t take long to turn in and park. Linda’s trike seems to have a magical quality, because they directed us to park near the front, instead of sending us way back in the lot. Whatever, I’ll take it!

We swapped out our boots for sneakers and started walking in, past the vendors and food. I had to take this picture of this girl – 50 degrees, in shorts, and still smiling! We got a sample of the shrimp she was offering, and decided we’d go back for lunch.

Iron Horse is more what I expected Bike Week to be about – lots of rolling steel, all kinds of bikers, entertainment. We had a blast! After buying the obligatory souvenirs we sat down and listened to a couple of bawdy singers – they sang “I Want a Young, Stupid Nymphomaniac,” “Ugly Bar Face,” “She’s Your Ho,Ho,Ho Now, Charlie,” their Christmas song. After them a band performed old-time Rock and Roll. It was great!

We got our second patch for the vest, and returned to the shrimp girl for some delicious shrimp, then one more walk around, and back on the bikes. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was 5 o’clock.

I have to say (it may be again): The bikers that are here are not what I expected. When you go to the County fair (or the boardwalk), take a look at the people around you. You will probably find that most of the adults don’t look like they’re having a good time – no smiles, no laughter. At Iron Horse it seemed that everyone was having a great time, and enjoying themselves. No, it’s not the beer (not entirely). It’s just a completely different kind of crowd that accepts you for what you are. I’m pretty sure we’ll be coming back to Daytona, and when we do, we’ll be visiting the Iron Horse Saloon again.