Daytona Bike Fest is back and the roar of the bikes heading to Daytona Beach Florida can be heard from as far away as Upstate New York. This will be the 81st year of this time-honored Bike Week rally which started as the Daytona 200 race on January 24, 1937.
On January 24, 1937, the first race was a 3.2 miles (5.1 km) beach and pavement course. It was won by Ed Kretz from California riding an Indian motorcycle with an average speed of 73.34 mph (118.03 km/h). Perhaps it was the appeal of hard sand, warm winter days, and the excitement of that first motorcycle race on the beach, that made Daytona Beach the home of Bike Week. Maybe it was the spirited activities surrounding the event that have kept people keep coming back.
This yearly race took a break from 1942 to 1947 due to World War II and again in 2020 because of a global pandemic. During the years off, an unofficial event was still taking place commonly called Bike Week.
Approximately 500,000 people each year make their way to the rally area for the 10-day event. The festivities include motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals.
Bike Week, now marking its 81st year, a gathering for motorcycle race fans, a drunken party, a biker brawl, or a family vacation destination, Bike Week has been a lot of things over the years.
It’s our Mardi Gras, our Fantasy Fest, our Carnival. It’s a portable, 10-day street party of motorcycles of all kinds, eye-popping costumes, bikini-clad women, sidewalk vendors, parades, Clydesdales, beards, tattoos, and alcohol. Bikers and locals alike go to nonstop concerts and bike shows, go on long rides or just stay on Main Street for days watching it all go by.
This will be the 1st year Motorcycle Rider News is heading to Daytona Bike Fest and we wanted to share Thunder Roads Florida’s March 2022 issue so if you aren’t heading to Daytona in 2022, you will surely want to make a plan for next year.
