I have some personal bad news. I may not be able to make the "Get Together" tomorrow. Damn Murphy's Law. I have well water on my property and the pump went breaking the water seal inside the pipe earlier this morning, leaving us with no water. I am left having to wait on a 24 hour service to come and fix it. I 'may' not make it. They can't give me an exact ETA. I was looking forward to meeting all those who were to be there tomorrow at 12:00 PM. It's not definite but I just wanted those interested to know, just in case. I have the directions I'll see what I can do, maybe they will arrive in time. If not, I hope you all have a lot of fun. Ride safe.

 

I hope you can make it.
Getting things ready now.

 

i couldn't make it...we started Sat early with a loop ride and thought we'd be back to hit Dale's but we took longer than expected...you know how things work out...wound up spending most of the day at the horse...thanks again for the offer Dale and i'm going to try and make Ocala

 

Me too. I wanted so much to be there. It never fails. If there are any pic's, I think it would be cool to see a couple if anyone has some. As far as missing it, I suppose there's always March 2009, 5 months away. I hope it was a great gathering for all.

 

I made it, BUT Dale was right. he wanted to hit the road at 2pm and that is when I showed up. I talked to your wife, I think, Dale and she informed me that you guys had a good turnout. I got tied up with morning "stuff" and then got stuck in traffic on the way over.

Thanks again for having a gathering at your place and I will make sure my calendar is open for the next one.

 

The "fit hit the shan" for us too - sorry. Hope to see some of y'all during Bike week.

 

Any pics would be awesome! My wife and I drove up for Friday only.

Seat shopping ya know!!

If someone does decide to show pics, please start a new thread. This on is getting longggggggggggggggggggggggggggg!

 

Is it just me or were the crowds really thin this year?

 

felt that way to me also

 

Yes, absolutely right. From my observation, for atleast the last 5 years the motorcycle events for Daytona Beach have been declining in attendance substantially every year. This years events were no exception. The Orlando Harley Dealership has been drawing people away from Daytona for more than a few years now, with their concerts and events that even Bruce Rossmeyer wasn't doing only until he got his dealership up and going on U.S. 1 in Ormond Beach which is only recently. I don't believe it has anything to do with the economy or the price of gasoline, which is $2.73 a gallon in the Daytona Beach area right now. I've talked to other locals, shop owners and local bike clubs who say that the events have become boring and stale and it's just one big gathering of distributors trying to sell their wares to seperate you from your money, not much else. Everybody charges for everything at these events. The big beerfests of years ago are no longer. I think people have realized that loading up on beer and hopping on a motorcycle, you've got way too much to lose. It's better to plan a private gathering and a ride which is on a more personal level and more enjoyable for all. This is just my observation over the years of living here.