Colorful characters, custom machines power Biketoberfest opening day in Daytona Beach
DAYTONA BEACH — Nursing plastic cups of ice-cold draft beer, Bob and Stacey Darden staked out a prime people-watching spot early on Thursday’s opening day of Biketoberfest at a table outside the landmark Boot Hill Saloon on Main Street.
“It’s not our first one,” said Stacey, explaining that the couple has attended Biketoberfest and spring Bike Week events for more than two decades. In the beginning, the couple would travel from their home in Orlando, until they moved to Astor, along the St. Johns River, about seven years ago.
“Our two passions are boats and bikes,” said Bob, shouting above the molar-rattling rumble of exhaust pipes as a parade of Harley-Davidsons cruised past on Main Street.
This week, motorcycles rule at the 31st Annual Biketoberfest, a four-day event that runs through Sunday in Daytona Beach and throughout Volusia and Flagler counties.
Biketoberfest, the more compact offspring of the bigger Bike Week gathering in March, typically draws an estimated 100,000 visitors to Daytona Beach.
This year, they should be treated to ideal riding weather. Sunny skies are forecast through the weekend with daytime highs in the low 80s and nighttime lows in the 60s, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
Imagination behind custom motorcycles 'just amazing'
On opening day, the event again offered a tantalizing sensory overload: the roar of tailpipes, the aroma of grilled sausages melded with leather and exhaust fumes, the gleaming splendor of thousands of custom motorcycles.
After more than 20 years, the allure of the machinery on Main Street never gets old for the Dardens.
“We love to sit and watch the people and the bikes,” said Bob, an aircraft mechanic. “The imagination that goes into the work behind these bikes is just amazing.”
In the people-watching realm, the sea of leather biker apparel is accented by those who demonstrate a more ambitious fashion sense.
“I get a lot of looks, so that makes it fun,” said Scott Fitzgerald, 34, a security guard from Apopka attired in a spiffy white suit and slacks, accessorized by a pointy-eared fuzzy red helmet and matching sneakers.
The feline-themed ensemble is one of roughly half a dozen outfits that he brings out for Biketoberfest, an event he has attended for a decade. Others revolve around a pink pig, white bunny or blue shark, among other creatures.
“It’s a lot different than what you normally see,” he said.
Biketoberfest appeal? 'It's the people'
For another Biketoberfest veteran, the event is an opportunity to cross paths with like-minded gearheads from across the world.
Port Orange resident Sam Acquero, 74, a Main Street fixture on his collectible Victory High Ball, has attended every Bike Week since 1980 and every Biketoberfest since 1997.
“The main reason? It's the people I get to talk to,” he said. “I’ve talked to people from Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia. I love talking and I love people. I can yak with the best of them.”
Acquero is distinctive for his bushy salt-and-pepper beard that exudes a Jerry Garcia vibe, as well as the intricately carved mermaid pipe that he puffs, an item he regards with sacred devotion.
“I bought this pipe at my first Bike Week in 1980,” he said. “I only bring it out during Bike Week and Biketoberfest. Otherwise, it’s never touched. It’s locked in a safe in my house.”
On Thursday, Acquero was passing along his wisdom to several Biketoberfest newcomers, offering directions to must-see spots such as the scenic Ormond Loop and the array of vendors, music and food at Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach.
The first-timers included Cameron Peaster, 53, a commercial catfish farmer from Brooksville, Mississippi, who rode his new 2023 Harley-Davidson Breakout 618 miles to Daytona Beach for the event.
“This morning, I rode the scenic (Ormond) loop and that was gorgeous,” he said. “It’s absolutely beautiful riding out there.”
Man's best friend also loves a motorcycle
Nearby, one Biketoberfest veteran was sprawled out comfortably on a shady patch of sidewalk.
Xena is the well-traveled motorcycle-riding black lab owned by Kevin Munsey, 56, who rode from Tampa for the event. Strapped into a plush doggie bed behind Munsey in the saddle, Xena acted as co-pilot on her seventh trip to Biketoberfest, he said.
“She’s done 300,000 miles all together in eight years and has been in 49 states and five western provinces of Canada,” he said, adding that Xena’s travels are documented on her own Facebook page.
In addition to Biketoberfest, Xena also has been to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota seven times and to Daytona’s Bike Week eight times. Munsey and Xena have ridden the length of eight U.S. Highways, including the U.S. 1 and the preserved sections of famed Route 66.
“She’d rather do this than sit at home,” he said, “because I’m always riding.”
The prospect of meeting interesting characters, canine or human, is the main reason that longtime Biketoberfest and Bike Week fan Mike Snyder, 62, keeps returning from his home outside State College, Pennsylvania.
“That’s why I come here, to look at the people and try to figure them out,” he said. “They might look like a biker, but they might be a doctor or a lawyer. That’s the fascinating part about being down here. You can’t judge somebody just by looking at them.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona's Biketoberfest 2023 opens with colorful crowds, custom machines
