Today is the day we've been waiting for - for what seems like eternity....it's the official start of Biketoberfest® 2008! If last night was any indication of what's in store we'll be having a great weekend of fun and festivities! Today is just a beautiful day too, sunshine, blue sky's a little coolness in the air. On my way to work I saw a few bikers out and about and of course all the tents are up, the parking spaces have been prepared for bikes and the smell of food is waffing through the air. I swear I almost had a chocolate covered cheesecake for breakfast this morning it looked so good. Folks are smiling, drinking coffee, talking about last night and making their plans for what's ahead this weekend. As for me I plan on skipping on out of this office by noon (have to make sure everythings ok out there right?) and can't wait to report back on the day's events.

Oh and there's still plenty of time to head on over and have some fun yourself. We hear from our favorite forecaster (and country singer) Jim Van Fleet that it's going to be a ultra nice weekend. So head on out! Check the web site booking engine or PDF for hotels too. I browsed through it yesterday and there's still great rooms at great prices. Is it noon yet?....until later....

It just gets harder and harder to sit in my seat as we get close to the opening day of Biketoberfest®. The weather is absolutely stunning today! My office is right on the river next to the Orange Ave bridge which has these sweeping views of the river and the beachside. Today the water is sparkling like a million diamonds and there's this ever so slight cool breeze blowing the palm frons all around. We've even got occasional glimpses of Florida wild life like weird looking - long legged birds, and even dolphins playing. Every four or five minutes I also hear bikes rolling up and down- back and forth across the bridge and man does it make we want to jump out side or "run an errand". But as you can imagine, its also a time when people need answers, and things need to get done before the big day arrives.

This is our big week to get out all the posters, wallet cards and event pocket guides so they are easily available for you. It's also a time when phone calls are many, emails come from all over the world and folks all around the county are happy, working and excited with the anticipation of your visit. Just to make that point even more clear we've got a whole new team of local volunteers who will be out and about during the event thanking you, welcoming you, talking with you and giving you more free stuff so we can thank you some more.

That said, we hope you are on your way if not already here. We are looking forward to a great weekend here in Daytona Beach. If you get the chance, please take a ride over if you're close by or just go ahead and make that decision to get away from it all and do a road trip. Looks like mother nature is trying to help us out too. The weather truly is beautiful - ride safe - hope to see you here!

I can't beleive we're only a couple weeks away from this years event! Our whole staff has been feverishly working on keeping our web site information up to date so you'll know what we know - as soon as we know it! Everyday it seems more evetns, concerts and activities are added. This week we found out about fun new events. Brand new to the line up are activities in Cassadega - home of the famous Spiritualist Camp located on the west side of the County. This location has been featured on several TV shows and specials and is the unique home to some of the world's leading psychic's. If you love spiritual communications, physical phenomena and interesting facts and anecdotes about the world beyond than this will be a stop you'll surely want to add during your visit. Camp mediums will be offering readings, healing meditations, workshops on communicating with the so-call dead and historical walking tours. Now that is totally unexpected - but could be fun.

We've also got word on a new Harley Outlet (yep we said outlet) that will be opening its doors just in time for the event. The new location is at 777 Main Street just next door to Hot Action Leathers. Who couldn't resist a visit there to pick up some great Harley-Davidson merchandise at bargin prices!

We've got another wedding planner too who will be marrying people on the beach during the event. Now that's a souvenior (or a great way to remember your anniversary). Look for the listing on our Calendar of Events for details.


Add to that radio hosts, biker publications, vendors and more all calling and emailing to let us know there are on their way and looking forward to hanging around for a nice long, fun weekend with all of you. Our phones haven't stopped ringing with all the questions, comments and excitement you would expect right before a big event. There's even people here already who just couldn't wait!

Lots of businesses in our area want us to make sure everyone knows that they are really happy to welcome you to our destination and look forward to rolling out that red carpet just for you.

We did also hear of new legislation taking effect this October which heavily fines anyone caught with excessive speeds of 50MPH or more over posted speed limits, doing wheelies and vertically mounting and/or hiding license plates (now all must be installed horozontally). Locally our law enforcement says "if someone wants the attention, we'll give it to them". So be smart, ride safe.

We're also in the final stages of putting together our free promotional items to give away. We've got the popular 2008 Pocket Guides which list all the events and activities plus the 2009 posters, wallet cards and more. Please do stop by our Visitor Centers for your free supplies while they last.

Be sure to check back again as we get even closer to the event dates. Keep in touch with us and let us know what your thinking. We created this event for you so be sure to tell us what you like, want, need ,expect - you name it. It's your chance to create the event you want and our chance to tell you just how much we enjoy having you visit and participate with us.

Until next week........

Welcome to our brand new Biketoberfest® Blog! Woo-Hoo this is exciting for me because it's a whole new way of talking about our great Daytona Beach bike events from the inside out.

So let me officially welcome you and to tell you how excited I am to be a part of your online experience. My name is Janet Kersey and I am affectionately known as the "Birthmother of Biketoberfest" because it was my job to help create this bike festival for the Daytona Beach Area CVB. As you can imagine its a big task to gather together hundreds of business owners, government officials and residents and bring all the bike shows, vendors, races and activities together in one annual bike event. Lucky for us we have a great team here at the CVB who all work year round to get the details and information you are looking for together in one place, right here on www.Biketoberfest.org the ONLY official web site of this top rated US motorcycle rally.

So help me out here and Blog me will ya? If you want to know something about Biketoberfest® then this is the place. I'll be back each week too to talk about all the things we're doing behind the scenes to get ready for your visit.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Janet Kersey
aka - "Birthmother of Biketoberfest®"