Daytona Beach Bike Week
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| Daytona Beach Bike Week | |
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Activity on Main Street, Bike Week 2008
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| Location(s) | Daytona Beach, Florida, USA |
| Inaugurated | 1937 |
| Attendance | 500,000 |
| Patron | Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce |
| Website | http://www.officialbikeweek.com/ |
Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida. Approximately 500,000 people make their way to the rally area for the 10-day event. The festivities include motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals. The event is usually held on the first full week of March and contends with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as the most popular motorcycle rally in the United States.
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[edit] History
The Daytona Beach Bike Week rally started as the Daytona 200 race on January 24, 1937. This first race was a 3.2 miles (5.1 km) beach and pavement course. It was won by Don "skunk" Feaster from Tacoma, Washington, riding a Norton motorcycle with an average speed of 73.34 mph (118.03 km/h).
This yearly race took a break from 1942 to 1947 due to World War II. During the years off, an unofficial event was still taking place commonly called Bike Week.
In 1947 the official race resumed and gained in popularity. The event was then promoted by the late William France Sr., co-founder of NASCAR.
There have been a number of deaths at the festival due to rider accidents.
| Year | Deaths | Notes |
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| 2000 | 15 [1] | Record at the time (only surpassed in 2006). |
| 2006 | 20 [2] | Highest recorded annual death toll. |
| 2007 | 8 [2] | |
| 2008 | 7 | [2] |
[edit] See also
- Bikes Blues and BBQ
- Black Hills Run
- Laconia Motorcycle Week
- Laughlin River Run
- Oyster Run
- Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
[edit] References
- ^ "Grim toll of record Bike Week rises to 19". Florida Highway Patrol. 2006-03-16. http://www.fhp.state.fl.us/misc/News/Related/2006/FHPnews032006w1.htm.
- ^ a b c "7th motorcyclist dies as Bike Week concludes in Daytona Beach". Sebastian Sun. 2008-03-10. http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/mar/10/7th-motorcyclist-dies-bike-week-concludes-daytona-/.
[edit] External links
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