Rallies & Events

Daytonas annual fall rally, Biketoberfest, gives motorcyclists a chance to extend the summer rally season by being held in October, when Florida starts to experience its best temperatures. Cooler weather and less crowds than Marchs Bike Week, Sturgis and Laconia rallies, are big draws for riders to head to Biketoberfest.

Choosing steel and torches over ribbons, Harley-Davidson “ignited” its presence for the grand opening of the new Harley-Davidson Rally Point and the official kick-off to the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

This year the inaugural Women’s Sportbike Rally West took place on the cusp of summer in Big Bear, California. With more than 30 female sportbike riders in attendance, some coming from as far as Utah and Ohio, this event catered to the women who love twisty roads and nimble bikes, but can’t make it to Deals Gap in North Carolina for the Women’s Sportbike Rally East, now in its tenth year.

From 1997 to 2003 I worked as a reporter for the Speedvision cable network, which evolved into Speed Channel, which eventually evolved into Fox Sports in 2013. Part of my job was traveling around the country covering motorcycle events. Check out this news segment I did covering the second annual Arizona Bike Week that aired on February 23, 1998.

Women make the majority of household purchasing decisions. That’s a fact widely understood among savvy marketing and advertising agencies including the marketing specialists at the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. At this year’s Bike Week, slated for March 6 to 15, organizers are reinforcing that notion with an advertising campaign that includes messaging for women riders.

More than 100,000 motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to roar into Daytona Beach, Florida, October 16-19, for the 22nd Annual Biketoberfest, making it one of the top 10 motorcycle rallies by attendance in the country.

The message of support for women in motorcycling was loud and clear at the Biker Belles celebration, an event organized by the Sturgis Buffalo Chip during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for its fourth year. Designed to bring together women in motorcycling as well as their families and friends, this symposium, ride and reception was well attended by both women and men alike.

I remember attending my first Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the mid-90s when a veteran rally goer told me he’d been attending for 18 years. I thought, “Wow, will I ever get to say that? Will I ever want to say that?” Well, I just attended my 18th Sturgis Rally. I can’t believe I’m saying that actually.