The 80th annual Daytona Beach Bike Week saw thousands of participants arrive from far-off places. Each had his or her unique brand of motorcycle. They ignored the threats of Coronavirus and came to attend the 10-day event. Any person who owns a motorcycle wants to show it off to others and boast about its performance. They come to let down their hair. Long-distance Travel is no problem for them. The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce organizes the event that attracts hundreds of thousands every year. An official says – “We know it's likely to be less just because of COVID concerns, as well as many still struggling to make ends meet due to loss of income from COVID.” She is Janet Kersey, the chamber's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Daily Mail UK says in such a situation, bars expect to do a profitable business. Therefore, the city struck a deal with its bars. Daytona Beach does not want to repeat the incident at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota last August. The bikers ignored coronavirus and came to attend the Sturgis 10-day motorcycle rally. The result was a tremendous spread of infection. Anyway, the bar owners of Daytona Beach appear to be satisfied with restricting the number of customers. One of them admitted to a section of the media – “I'm grateful to be open for Bike Week, grateful that the city allowed the vendors and the full Bike Week thing.” The bar will allow a limited number of customers inside its premises and services from outside.
Daytona Beach's annual Bike Week means the motorcycle
There is an avid fan of the motorcycle in Daytona Beach. He has been attending the annual event regularly, and this year it will be his 46th straight Bike Week. His son caught the infection at last year's event. At that time, the spreading of the coronavirus was in its initial stages.
This time he is taking precautions. He is staying outdoors and has avoided restaurants. At one of the souvenir stores, beer was selling more than facemasks. Very few wore the masks. Daily Mail UK adds youngsters flooded the beaches. Others went for the bars in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. They had come to enjoy. A news report of July 2017 says choosing a motorcycle over a car could be economical.
Motorcycle riders appeared unperturbed about the virus
One rider felt Daytona Beach's annual Bike Week allowed him to display his skills on the motorcycle. He jumped over a rising drawbridge in the city. It was dangerous. The Florida Health Department mentioned about many new cases of infection and even some deaths on Friday. Daily Mail UK points out that Dayton Beach's bike week follows the reopening plans launched by a few states. These include Texas, which witnessed over 42,000 deaths. Coronavirus devastated businesses and forced people to remain indoors as far as possible. The general advice was to avoid crowded places, maintain social distancing and ensure personal hygiene. It isn't easy to follow these guidelines when a person riding his motorcycle sees others and wants to show off his two-wheeler skills.
The motorcycles could boost business
According to Click Orlando, bikers from distant places have landed up in Daytona Beach with their motorcycles. These are the prized possessions of individuals, and they want to show them off to others of their tribe. Given the threat of coronavirus, the city leaders expect business owners to enforce necessary discipline. They are happy because the business is essential. The pandemic has robbed them of their earnings, and survival is at stake for some of them. Therefore, they hope to make some money during the week to break even. The earlier Biketoberfest did not happen because of the virus and the Bike Week comes to an end on March 14. They would have to make the best use of the reopening.
