Chloe Chidester
In Motion Staff Writer
Photo By Lance Rothwell / In Motion
Every year in March Daytona Beach celebrates Bike Week, an event catering specifically to motorcycle enthusiasts across the nation. The spectacle, which despite its name lasts longer than seven days and is perceived by locals with both enthusiasm and dislike. For Daytona State College students, it seems the reaction is split right down the middle.
Amanda Villa, a cosmetology major and single mother of two children describes Bike Week as being “good for money” and “lots of fun.” Villa works as a bartender for two locations, one of which is right in the middle of all the Bike Week hoopla.
Cacklebery Campground in Daytona is located on Tomoka Farms Road and is one of the raunchiest Bike Week pitstops for hardcore enthusiasts. Villa works at the campground for Bike Week and enjoys the experience immensely.
“Bikers are notoriously great tippers,” she says. “They’re loads of fun and are usually complete gentlemen, which a lot of people don’t think when they think ‘biker.’ Truth is, most bikers are better customers than vacationers. They come here for a week to spend money, basically and if they get great service, they will tip accordingly. I love working Bike Week.”
Villa’s second job is in Legend’s Sports Bar located in the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. Here, she has a group of bikers who request her service specifically every year.
“When those guys come in, I know I’m going to make money, whether anyone else tips me or not. They will give me $400 every time because they know me and they like me.”
Other DSC students aren’t of the same opinion as Villa. Aaron Todd, a radiography major, says that Bike Week is an enormous hassle for him.
“The traffic is insane every time,” says Todd. “I have to map my route to school on back roads and time myself so I don’t hit any biker traffic on my way to work. And the noise is just way too much. I can’t concentrate on my work when the bikers are around, so I have to put on noise canceling headphones just to read my textbooks. That hurts after a while!”
Todd works at a Kangaroo gas station on beachside Main Street, and he says that it is completely unenjoyable.
“Bikers are everywhere, making messes and being loud. I can’t concentrate on the people in the store when I’m constantly looking out the window to make sure nothing is going wrong. The music and the bikes and the people are all just so loud you can barely think. Every year when March rolls around, I think about asking my boss if I can have a week’s vacation. I never do, of course, I can’t afford it. But every year I count the days until Bike Week is over and everything’s quiet again.”
For students like Villa, Bike Week is like a welcomed, well-earned bonus once a year. For others like Todd, it may be best to stay as far away from International Speedway and Main Street as much as possible because Bike Week does not look like it will be seeing its end anytime soon.