Bike Week - Saturday, February 28, Part 2 Dixie Biker Kick Off Party at Trader Jack's Roadside

As we ended our last blog I was comin' down the hill to Trader Jack's Roadside and we saw lots and lots of chrome gleamin' and flashin' in the bright sunshine in the distance. Pup made a comment along the lines of "Holy shit! Look at all those bikes. No wonder Lisa called you guys!"
Trader Jack's has quite a bit of parking, about four acres, but normally the parking lot is filled, then folks park around the back fence line. The southside and out front, above, are normally where cars and trucks park. Not this fine day. The bikes took it all over. Wow.

I manuvered the truck through the parking on the southside and kinda backed in so I could start unloadin' all our party gear. Our son, Phillip, was gonna be on hand to help out but since we got there an hour before our scheduled time, I was on my own. But not to worry ... before I got the first crate up to the stage folks were offerin' to help out -- "Hey, bro. Good to see ya. Need a hand?" or "Hey, you're old - lemme help ya out!" and we had our stuff out an' ready to go in no time. But, as normally happens, the first thirty minutes or so we really can't get too much accomplished cuz folks come up, hug our necks, shake hands and shoot the shit. And that's totally fine with us. Without our readers and friends, we don't have a magazine. Pretty simple, huh?
This group below, a buncha hooligans outta Lake County including Bob, owner of Shea's and two former bar owners in the County, Jesse and Brett, hadda give us the ol' Dixie Biker Hello.

And also in the midst of me settin' up, friends Doug and Cheezestyx rode in (below) so I hadda take a picture right away or else I'd get caught up in all the hoopla and forget.

If you read the 'Before Bike Week' blog entry, you'll remember Cheezestyx is our hair Nazi. She's the one that chopped all my hair off. (But it's not her fault! Boots told her to "take it all the way to his coller. It'll grow back." after the chemo had destroyed my hair and left it all stringy and splotchy and in patches.) Anyhow, she hooked up Boots up for Bike Week, and when I came back to pick up Boots, Boots had her do me. And, before I forget ... Cheezestyx is our cover model for the April 2009 issue of DBI. Available the end of this month at your favorite advertiser.

So we're settin' up and this group is just hangin' out wonderin' what in the hell is that dude doin' workin' so hard when we're supposed to be partyin'?! Well, I hadda get out the beads and hats and toboggans and t-shirts and all the stuff we were gonna give away. Then I got to meet

Joe, below, who was the DJ and sound guy, and when the bands took breaks he played tunes and handled all the sound for our annoucements, our little games, wet t contest, vibrator races, etc. His girl, Jill, is our main waitress at Trader Jack's and she set up our tab and kept the cold ones comin' all evening. Thanks!

My 'personal' painter, Dennis Panzik, had his displays set up on the little outdoor stage and was doin' a pretty brisk business talking about paintin' bikes, jackets, helmets and what have you, but he wasn't havin' too many takers on the body paintin' deal.

No problem, bro. I'll make an announcement. I offered $20 to anyone that would like a little body art for the weekend and Dennis commenced with his talents. He was busy for a couple of hours after that.
I finally ran into Lisa in the midst of the mayhem and we kinda got things coordinated for the rest of the evening. "Good thing you had Quality Brands put a reefer beer truck fulluva Budweiser products on the property, huh?" I said in way of greeting as I hugged her neck. Man what a turn out!"
"Biy, you're not kidding!" she replied. "I've definitely hadda reload from them a couple of times already. This is so great! Thanks so much for all that you, Boots and Dixie Biker do for my place."
"Thanks ... but there's no need to thanks us," I said. "We love to come here and so do the bikers. It's them who are sayin' 'Thank you!' and letting you know they appreciate everything you've done for the past year and a half. You take care of them and they're gonna always take care of you."
"Thanks," she said, "but it's just so awesome and with everything that's been goin' on and stuff, I'll just get emotional so please just tell 'em thanks." Done.

I wandered around shootin' the breeze with folks and enjoyin' the awesome Southern and Classic rock Southpaw was crankin' out. Hadda do it then cuz when they took their next break we were gonna hafta get a vibrator race or something else going.

And it didn't matter where you went, folks were just hangin' out, partyin', and doin' what we do. Shoot, we really didn't need to do anything to energize this party, I don't think. It was goin' awesome as it was.

I also wandered around takin' pictures and was just amazed at the folks that kept arriving. Every time two or three rode off to enjoy a little Florida sunshine and open road ridin' ...

Another group of five or six or ten or twenty would ride in to enjoy our Bike Week Kick Off Party ...

I ran into longtime readers John and Nay Nay outta Chiefland ...

and Al Coop and his lovely wife (below) from Fairhaven, Michigan. I hadda get a picture of them since I'd run a letter from him in the March issue of DBI.

He wrote: Monk, A year ago, one week before Bike Week, we were supposed to leave for Daytona and I got the flu and my wife got pneumonia and we were to sick to make the long drive down. I was jonesin' real bad for some sunshine and motorcycles and remembered Dixie Biker from previous years. So I went on-line at dixiebiker.com and read a bunch of past articles about Bike Week then I subscribed for a year's worth of the magazine. Well, that year is up so enclosed please find a check for another year. You guys do an awesome job every month. This year we plan to join you at Trader Jack's and hope to meet you and Boots and some of the others on the staff. See you in a couple of weeks.

I wrote him back and told him to make sure he introduced himself so I could thank him. He did, I got the picture and let him know that his comments are exactly what keeps us and our awesome staff working hard to put out a real deal, real people magazine each month. As we're fond of sayin', "Without y'all, we ain't shit." Thanks for the memories, Al. And thanks for takin' the time to introduce yourselves and come out and party with us.

Just after this I get a big ol' hug from behind, it felt real good lemme tell ya, and someone covered my eyes and said, "Guess who?" Seein' how there were a couple of soft pillows smushin' into my back, I knew it was a hot lady, but I didn't have a clue. Then I hear a voice say, "What's up, bro?" I recognized Ed, Fire and Iron MC, and, with eyes still covered, replied, "Hey bro ... my goodness. That must mean your lovely wife's got my back!" And she did. Dani, our March cover model, below with reader Boyce, was huggin' on me. Yes it was nice. No, sorry ya didn't get the hug. Good for me, sucky for you. Anyhow, they'd rode up with a whole mess of their bros and sisters in the Club and even had a little surprise for later on.

Dani and Ed introduced me to their friends down from Ohio, below. Dale and Ruth have been together for over 35 years and still have the passion for each other. Too cool "Shoot, Monk," Ed said. "This guy was ridin' Harleys before I hit puberty! And he's the one that got me into ridin' in the first place. Good folks." Well that's kinda obvious from the picture. So I wander a little more and run into this motley crew, below, outta Dunnellon. Bogart and Robyn always put together a ride and party time from their business -- Bogart's Smoke Shop -- and always bring lotsa excitement and atmosphere to our parties. Thanks!!

'Round about then Lisa musta woke up from her nap -- just kiddin' cuz she was runnin' around puttin' out fires all day an' makin' sure everyone and everyting was taken care of -- cuz she grabbed my arm and said, "Hey! It's bike week! Let's get 'em really rarin' to go." Hmmm ...
"Okay. Cool. How 'bout I give a Trader Jack's tee shirt to give away?"

"Of course. But what's that twinkle in your eye?"

"Lisa, you know better than to ask! You want some whoopin' and hollerin', you'll get it." While she went over to see Shorty who was runnin' her t-shirt sales tent and grab one, I asked Dani, "Hey, you wanna get the crowd goin'?"
She musta seen the little twinkle in my eye, too, cuz she asked, "Is it gonna be naughty? Knowin' you it must be."
"Nah, it ain't gonne be naughty. It's gonna be frickin' awesome. Lisa's gittin' you a Trader Jack's ladies tank and I figured I'd kinda ask you to change into it on stage. Whatcha think?!"

"Yee haw --- lesdoit!" Ed just grinned, got that "Oh what am I gonna get into now" look on his face and slowly shook his head.

I told Boots what was goin' on, got a hot microphone from Joe and introduced Lisa and Dani and Lissa Rochelle (our February Cover Model and the harmony singer with Southpaw (www.myspace.com/southpaw) to everyone there. And the Lisa was kinda embarrassed that I asked everyone to give her a shout out since she's an awesome hostess and is always takin' care of bikers. She doesn't need, or probably want, the limelight, but her and her awesome crew do a great job all year long for bikers. Free bbqs every Friday night, free bbq every second Sunday and they're always throwin' in free food, goodies etc. for any number of poker runs or benefits. Anyhow, I think she, and her staff, deserves a little recognition and based on teh sustained cheerin' and applaudin' from y'all, I reckon y'all agree with us.
Anyhow, I'd briefed Boots on what was happenin' and then turned the mike over to her to get the crowd pumped up. As most of y'all know I often call her "The Mouth of the South" and she certainly got folks goin' while Lisa, with help from Tara, helped Dani change outta her outfit and put on a Trader Jack's tank top in front of about 5,000 people.

That was pretty fun and got folks fired up, fer sur. Then Ed told me about a little surprise inside for one of his brothers in Fire & Iron MC - seems it was John's birthday and they'd made him a cake and everyone got together and sang "Happy Birthday" in the middle of a Bike Week kick off party. Bet he'll remember that one!

Southpaw played on the outside main stage until 7 o'clock and then, as the sun went down an awesome group of young guys from Stetson University, just down the road, set up their gear on the back deck stage. Oh, before I forget ... we'd been givin' stuff away, doin' vibrator races and other silly biker games but I don't have a whole lotta pictures cuz I was too busy conducting the dang games and such. If ya got any you wanna post, e-mail 'em to us and we'll do our best. I now some of the stuff got outta hand, but hey! when it's a bunch of happy bikers, it's just an awesome time!

Anyhow, this group of young guys formed a band called Run Rhino. While they're settin' up and then doin' their sound checks I bet seven different people came up to me and said, "Yo, Monk! What's up with these kids. They're young enuff to be my grand kids!" Or "Hey! I don't wanna hear no rap or punk or new age stuff. Are they gonna play what we wanna hear?" I just smiled and said, "Trust me on this one, okay?"

I still had folks askin' me what was up with these 'young' guys, so just before they were set to play, I told 'em I wanted to introduce them, did they have a problem with that. "Nah, of course not," they said in unison. So I grabbed a mike and related the story above to everyone and then asked, "Have you ever, and I mean ever, at anytime in the past ten years been to a Dixie Biker party and been disappointed with the music?" "HELL NO," the crowd yelled. "Then why in the hell are some of y'all doubtin' us now. Lisa knows what bikers like. We know what bikers want, so, if you're ready to get your asses kicked with some awesome Rock 'n Roll, give me a Bike Week HELL YEAH!" And they did. 'Bout blew the steel roof off the deck. Then I looked over my shoulder at the band and said real softly into the mic - "kick their asses, boys!" And they did ... They opened the set with a kick-ass cover of Jimi Hendrix's 'Fire' and it was all over from there ....

... folks were whoopin', hollerin', screamin' and dancin' their asses off. And when they went straight into Cheap Sunglasses then Red Hot Chili Peppers, and then a little Led Zepplin everyone was a believer. The dance floor was shakin' as they were rockin'. Take my word for it - these kids kick ass. You can check 'em out at http://www.myspace.com/runrhino or come back next Friday night for our Leather and Lace party at Trader Jack's and see 'em for yourself. You'll love 'em. And we'll get 'em in our rotation for any upcoming Dixie Biker parties, too.

So the music's crankin', folks are dancin' and happy and I got another chance to take a break and shoot the shit with our readers. Ran into this group outta Keystone Heights (below), Hooker, Blueberry, Dr. Jon and Amy, and hadda get a picture of 'em sayin' "Hello" to y'all. Then Hooker and Dr. Jon helped me and my son, Phil, out with security during the Wet T contest - Thanks! - and Blueberry graced us with her lovely assets during the contest - double thanks!

Somewhere around 8 or so, when Run Rhino took their first break, we got the wet t contest in gear. Trader Jack's is a good thirty minute ride on country roads from Daytona so Lisa doesn't hold her contests late at night to keep y'all there drinkin' and spendin' money. She knows you'd probably like to hit the road before it gets too late so schedules stuff at reasonable times. Then, if ya wanna take off, that's cool. And if ya wanna hang out and keep partyin', that's cool, too. Like I said earlier - They know how to take care of bikers.

We always break our wet t contests down into two classes: stock and modified. That way ladies with what God gave 'em ain't overshadowed by those that have spent a few bucks to be, ahem, 'enhanced.' Gotta keep it fair, donchaknow? We ended up with seven lovely ladies in the stock class and no takers in the modified so just threw all the prize money in the fund for the stock class. Boots helped the ladies get their 'costumes' ready (above) and then it was time to get stupid and crazzzzzzy! One of the contestents, Arlene, below with husband, Bill, was ready to go before the contest even got underway so I hadda snap a picture before I got busy with announcements and stuff!

We also like to let the audience participate in our events, so they can purchase water to pour on the lady of thier choice. A couple of bucks and you too can enjoy the fun. Red Beard came up to me, gave me a twenty and said, "My son-in-law, Gary, (below) is in the Air Force and headin' to Afghanistan right after Bike Week. What can I get him for twenty bucks."

"Shoot, bring him up here and we'll see," I said.

I told the crowd the story of Gary and he ended up gettin' to wet all the ladies, several times over, cuz folks kept handin' Boots dollar bills and wantin' to thank Gary for servin' America. Oh-by-the-way: the money donated to pour the water all went into the ladie's prize fund. Not to us, not to Trader Jack's. It went to all the ladies who were providin' the entertainment. That's only fair, right?

I only got a few pictures during the contest, I'm sure our readers got a ton of 'em though, cuz I was handling the microphone and doin' the name announcements. Boots isn't good with names and I hadda contest to conduct! I did manage to get a few shots in between the annoucing chores, though.

And I had the tough job of payin' off the winners at the end - below. My son , while taking the picture, got smart assed with me -- certainly not for the first, nor last, time and said, "Damn, dad! You get to have all the fun!"

"Hey, c'mon!" I replied. "It's not easy! It's hard work and someone's gotta do it!" Just a little perk, I reckon.

But ya know what? It is hard work. But it's also very rewarding. All the hours of planning; the hours of figurin' out what y'all want; the hours of preparation to prepare for a huge crowd; the hours of worry hopin' the weather's great or this or that or whatever. Yep, it's hard and it is a lotta work, but what a blast. And it's all definitely worthwhile when what happened yesterday happens. We had a great time, and from all the comments we received, we know y'all hadda great time, too. And that's what Bike Week's all about. Forgettin' the day-to-day grind of daily livin', blowin' off the worries and hittin' the road to ride and hang out with great folks havin' a great time. We definitely had that. Thanks!

We hope to meet more of y'all at The Old School Show on Thursday at Tropical Tattoo, our Old Skool Biker Party at Deadwood Saloon on Thursday night or back at Trader Jack's Roadside next Friday, Saturday and Sunday for our other Bike Week Parties. Our calendar of events is here: http://dixiebiker.blogspot.com/2009/02/dixie-biker-bike-week-events.html if you're interested.

Be safe and enjoy the rest of Bike Week!