MNO Blog – Motorcycles, News, Opinions

Historic Photos of Daytona Beach tells a story of a city that many of us in the motorcycle community visit at least once a year and begins literally from the beginning of the early settlement of the town back in 1875. The Daytona Beach of today brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors for major motorcycle and auto racing events. Most of us visit Daytona Beach during Bike Week and Biketoberfest while the city also attracts thousands of NASCAR auto racing fans for big races like the Daytona 500.

The photographic history of this book is interesting and it is narrated like a slide show by writer Harold D. Cardwell, Sr. who will take you through the journey of the early settlement day of the beach town started in the wilderness of Florida through the days of World War I. Hand picked black and white photographs that depict the beginning of auto racing and speed records set on the hardened sand of Daytona Beach are displayed showing us what lead up to what we now know as the Daytona International Speedway.

The book is set in four different periods of time and growth of Daytona Beach. Chapter one takes us from the wilderness to a town and covers the period of 1875 – 1906. Chapter two is comprised of pictures that show the towns history during the first world war and the time span of 1907 – 1918. Next in Chapter three historic photographs of Daytona Beach during the real estate boom, through the depression and into World War II 1919-1945. Chapter four is nicely put together showing the days of growth, tourism and Racing during 1946-1965.

As I looked through the book and read the photograph captions I found pictures of  landmarks that I still see today when I visit Daytona Beach. Surprisingly the old band shell where many of the motorcycle event concerts used to be held is close to what it was back then. The only difference was the concrete benches that used to be in place before the stage area. The book, Historic Photos of Daytona Beach is published by Turner Publishing Company comes in hard back with cover and is recommended reading.

Technorati Tags: daytona beach, history, photos, historic, archives, florida, books

Here is a tip for my local readers. Head on over to Wolfy’s river deck bar and grill in Sanford, Florida on Saturday February 2nd and hear The Mob. The Mob Band does classic rock and blues, you can hear a little taste of what this band sounds like at The Mob Band web site.

Technorati Tags: sanford florida, live music, entertainment, local news, florida

It is always sad to see some of the tragic articles that come across the news wire. But it really gets to me to see a person I knew leave us. I just read the news about tattoo artist Tony Plante on Karen’s Tattoos Blog, but reading the actual news story that was published in The Salem News, it looks like the accident happened last week. Tony evidently lost control of his motorcycle and died due to injuries from the accident.

I met Tony during Biketoberfest back in 2003 at the Cabbage Patch bar where he would usually have his tattoo studio set up. He was a real friendly person and we always said hello and talked for a while during each event every year. Tony told me that he had a house here in Florida, but still operated his tattoo studios up in Massachusetts. According to the news stories, he had recently got engaged to his girlfriend of six years. Tony was only 49 and had lost his leg to a motorcycle accident, but he loved to ride.

Rest In Peace My Friend

Technorati Tags: tattoo, tony plante, motorcycle news

Get ready to send in your pictures and reports live from Bike Week in 2008. I am getting the sites set up and ready to go for this annual Florida motorcycle event.

Daytona Bike Week Live has been set up and I am tweaking the site for mobile content and blogging. You can send me a note at my G mail account bikermobile@gmail.com and I will set you up as a contributor. Once you are set up, you will be able to send pictures directly to the blog using your cell phone. The web site address for the Bike Week live blog is www.daytonabikeweeklive.com and will be mainly for mobile photo blogging using cell phones and mobile devices.

Bike Week Blog is open, but still being constructed for multi users. This mobile blog will be set up for live blogging from Bike Week from your lap top or other mobile devices. I plan on having more content and news on this site while Daytona Bike Week Live will be mainly for pictures. Those of you who would like to participate and become a contributor on the Bike Week Blog can send me a note or reply to this post and I will set you up with an account. The web address for this site is www.bikeweekblog.com .

I will keep everyone updated on these two sites and look forward to sharing the experience of bike week live with everyone!

If you have not already made your bike week hotel reservations, it is not too late. You can still get some great deals here.

Technorati Tags: bike week, motorcycle news, blog, blogging, mobile, cell phones, photo blogs, travel, daytona beach, florida

(Viera, Florida) Billy Lane listened attentively as lawyers discussed whether his blood samples used as evidence in the pending DUI Manslaughter case should be allowed to be sent out of the state of Florida for further examination.

Billy Lane was in court today for a hearing still surrounding the blood work evidence. State attorney Tom Brown stated that he is concerned as to the credentials and credibility of Rocky Mountain Labs located in Colorado. Toxicologist, Dr. Lawrence Masten was not present to explain why he wants to use the lab, but defense attorney Gregory Eisenmenger stated that he could testify by telephone if needed.

Lane’s attorney argued that the state should have no ruling over where the blood work would be sent and claimed full responsibility for the evidence once it was under his control “If we lose it, it is on us” Eisenmenger said. Eisenmenger went on to say that he had researched deeply and was not able to find any other case where the state could dictate what lab should be used for an independent study.

Another issue that the state attorney’s office was unhappy with is that Lane’s defense wants both vials of blood for the testing. Attorney Tom Brown said, again we have no issues with the blood being tested, we just want the lab to show some credibility. Even the web site for the Rocky Mountain Labs should show some credentials and it does not, Brown went on to say. Brown also stated that the lab web site has many outgoing links to DUI defense law offices and schools. Eisenmenger injected that the FDLE ( Florida Department of Law Enforcement) web site has many outgoing links to law agencies so this is true with the lab as well(*).  State Attorney Samantha Barrett suggested that only one vial of the blood be sent out of state for testing at a time, to which Eisenmenger argued that this would only cause delays.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, Judge Allawas overruled the states objection to the evidence being sent out of state and said that she would allow the blood work to travel to Colorado. However, the Judge added that the state would be able to argue as to whether the study performed by the independent lab would be admissible if they feel they are not qualified.

Billy Lane still faces a trial for the criminal charges of DUI Manslaughter from the September 4th, 2006 fatal crash that caused the death of Sebastian Inlet Park ranger Gerald Morelock. Byron Morelock, the brother of Gerald Morelock was at today’s hearing. The charges could bring Billy Lane up to 15 years in prison. Next hearing date is set for pretrial confrence on March 5, 2008 at 9:00 am.

*I found this statement interesting, so I took a look at the outbound links for the two sites in comparison. The FDLE site has 10 outbound links, while the Rocky Mountain labs has 290. Using the web site SEO tools, I got the following results for the two sites mentioned.

Technorati Tags: DUI, billy lane, drunk driving, motorcycle news, melbourne, viera, florida, brevard county, celebrity news

(Viera, Florida) Billy Lane’s attorney appeared before Judge Allawas this morning at 9:00 and asked that time be set aside for his expert witness to testify in the ongoing DUI Manslaughter case against custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane.

Gregory Eisenmenger estimated that he would need one half hour of the courts time in order for Dr. Masten, his expert toxicologist witness to testify as to why he would need to use a lab that is such a great distance from Brevard County, Florida. Dr. Masten uses a lab that is located in Colorado and State Attorney’s office has objected to the blood work being transported this distance. The motions and testimony were originally scheduled to be heard back on November 6th of last year, however attorney Eisenmenger was engaged in the trial of Florida State Representative Robert Allen who had been arrested for soliciting a male undercover officer for sex in a Titusville park restroom. Judge Allawas excused Eisenmenger’s absence and set a new date for today.

The new date for the motions and testimony has been set for January 18th at 4:00 pm. Eisenmenger will also try to suppress the blood evidence during this hearing.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, drunk driving, DUI, celebrity, florida, melbourne, motorcycle news, trial, viera

The hospital medical records of Melbourne, Florida custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane will now be allowed to be used as evidence in the DUI Manslaughter case against him. Choppers Inc. owner Billy Lane is facing criminal charges resulting from the Labor Day weekend crash of 2006 that left Melbourne Beach resident Gerald Morelock dead. The victim, Gerald Morelock was killed when he was hit head on by the Dodge pickup that Lane was driving at the time. Witnesses claim that Lane was speeding and had crossed a double yellow line in an attempt to pass 3 vehicles on State Road A1A when the crash occurred.

Billy Lane and his passenger, Erin Derrick were both taken to Holmes Regional hospital in Melbourne after the crash with injuries, Lane and Derrick were treated and released. Prosecutors in the DUI Manslaughter trial had filed a motion with the court to obtain copies of Lane’s medical records to be examined and possibly used as evidence in the case.

Judge Meryl Allawas ruled in favor of the motion on Tuesday allowing Lane’s medical records to be used in the trial. The defense attorneys for Lane argued that the records should not be allowed and contend that they are private. Defense attorney, Greg Eisenmenger has filed a motion to suppress the blood work taken from Billy Lane after the crash. Eisenmenger’s Motion In Limine says the state failed to comply with Florida Department of Law Enforcement rule 11D-8.012(5). The motion says that he has discovered that blood was not properly handled by not being refrigerated as required by the FDLE code.

FDLE Code 11D-8.012(5) states: “Blood samples need not be refrigerated if submitted for analysis within seven (7) days of collection, or during transportation, examination or analysis. Blood samples must be otherwise refrigerated, except that refrigeration is not required subsequent to the initial analysis”.

The burden of proof will be on the State of Florida to demonstrate they have complied with the FDLE rules.  The defense also filed a motion for independent blood analysis, but Judge Allawas is not happy with the independent lab being located so far away and has not ruled on the motion yet. Independent toxicologist Lawrence Masten of Largo, Florida has been retained by the defense to analyze the blood work, but the lab he uses, Rocky Mountain Instrumental Labs is located in Ft. Collins, Colorado thousands of miles away.

Custom motorcycle builder Billy Lane, shown above with defense attorney Gregory Eisenmenger has been present in court during the last few calendar calls. Eisenmenger has several motions to suppress the blood work yet to be heard by the court including the Motion To Limine (mentioned above) and another “motion to suppress the blood draw and resulting test”.

The motion to suppress the blood draw and resulting test was filed on September 28th, 2007 and states that the attending paramedic the night of the crash had detected the odor of alcoholic beverage in the cab of the vehicle and on the passenger. The same paramedic that provided that information did not detect any alcoholic beverage coming from the Defendant, Billy Lane. However, the paramedic did detect an obvious odor of alcoholic beverage from the passenger when he treated her. The female passenger in the truck on September 4, 2006 was 22 year old Erin Derrick of Rockledge, Florida.

The motion also states that registered nurse, Wayne Stewart, withdrew the blood from the Defendant as directed by Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Davis. Nurse Stewart testified that he did not detect the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Billy Lane at or before the blood draw.

the final paragraph of the motion reads: “Withdrawal of blood without consent is only permitted when an officer has knowledge of an accident involving death or serious bodily injury and some evidence that the suspect is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Troopers Taylor and Davis, even taking into account the information known to trooper Corbett (but not communicated to Davis or Taylor) did not have any evidence of the Defendant being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the blood draw, so the draw is illegal. Because the draw was illegal, the Defendant is likewise entitled to suppression of the blood test results.”

These motions are expected to be heard before the court on November 6, 2007 at 9:00 am. The actual trial of Billy Lane is not expected to start until early 2008. Lane could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted on the non capital murder charge of DUI Manslaughter.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, motorcycle news, DUI, manslaughter, drunk driving, court, celebrity justice, Melbourne, Florida, choppers inc

Back several years ago, Bruce Rossmeyer, owner of the local Daytona Harley-Davidson dealership decided to leave his present location on Beach Street in Daytona Beach and build a motorcycle mega-complex to be called Destination Daytona. This complex would not only be home to the world’s largest Harley motorcycle showroom, it would also anchor dozens of shops, restaurants, hotel and a condominium.

Construction of Destination Daytona fell behind and the opening day kept being moved forward in hopes of opening the doors during Bike Week or Biketoberfest. Here I am standing in front of the new dealership while still under construction.

The plans were clear as we toured the inside of the construction site near the escalator that goes up to the second floor showroom. Since this picture was taken, literally thousands of visitors have rode this escalator.

Today, Destination Daytona draws thousands of motorcycle enthusiast through the doors during the major events. The complex is still growing with new extensions and businesses being added on all the while.

Of course these photographs were taken just after the opening of Destination Daytona. Taking the time to get a picture like above during a motorcycle event would be nearly impossible.

J & P Cycles recently opened a brand new store at Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach and held a grand opening during Biketoberfest. The new J & P cycles store buzzed with visitors checking out the displays inside and out.

Arlen Ness Motorcycles moved their location from Beach Street to inside the Destination Daytona complex as well. Arlen Ness has made several guest appearances like when he cruised in during Bike Week last year. Corbin just opened the doors of their new store only a few minutes from this area. Add to all this the popular Ormond Beach biker hang outs like The Iron Horse, Broken Spoke, Battlegrounds and Boot Hill Saloon! The north side of the Daytona, Volusia County area has taken over what used to be concentrated to the Main Street and Beach Street park. Biketoberfest and Bike Week has expanded, but the new north area seems to have rapidly gained in popularity.

Now I believe that Main Street downtown Daytona Beach will always attract a certain amount of visitors and traffic. After all, it is still the place to see and be seen until the north side comes up with some sort of a strip that bikers can cruise and visitors can shop and grab some food and drink. But to me and many of the Main Street vendors, the crowd is thinning every year.

As I have mentioned a few times before though, I always stop by the Krystal Hamburger to grab a sack of burgers. We caught this limousine pulling through to get some food before heading back out on International Speedway Drive. I was glad to see that it was only the driver getting some hamburgers, or we may have been held up for hours!

One of the other main attractions during Biketoberfest and Bike Week will always be the world famous women’s coleslaw wrestling at the Cabbage Patch Bar in Samsula, Florida. The weather played a little bit of a factor again this year with partly cloudy skies and threats of thunder storms, but the clouds cleared and the coleslaw wrestling went on as scheduled.

This golf cart had a live streaming web cam mounted on it. There were 3 live web cameras set up at the cabbage patch during Biketoberfest so that the entire event could be watched at home on your computer. I talked with the man that was running this operation and found out some very interesting statistics on what it takes to handle a set up like this.

Some 385 feet of CAT 5 cable had to be run out from this RV that was parked in the lot next door camping area. The RV was used to power the unit as well as provide an office for the computers that served the live video feed.

Here you can see the trailer behind the RV that holds the cable when rolled in and the satellite dish for communications to the main live video server to the internet. If you missed the opportunity to view these feeds, I hope that they will be available next year so that you can check them out. You can see that a lot of work goes into setting up the live Biketoberfest web cams. All this was made possible by SVCLIVE web casting productions. This may all sound a little geek to you, but now you can see what it takes to bring live video from a motorcycle event to your home computer or laptop.

I will close this year’s thoughts about Biketoberfest with a few pictures that we took of interesting body decorations, Ink and Tattoo. Cindi snapped this picture of a motorcycle passenger who spent plenty of time with a tattoo artist decorating her body.

I saw this girl and her boyfriend walking around at the cabbage patch bar and asked her to pose for a shot of her very colorful ink work.

I think she had a tattoo.

I have heard many say that they prefer Biketoberfest over Bike Week because of the lessor amount of people. This year the even pretty much held true for that. The only real problem is the heavy traffic and small amount of parking available on the the north side, but I am sure they are working on a solution for that. Still, your best bet is to arrive early and plan ahead where you want to go. My apologies to all those who looked for us to be out on the loop this year, as we did not shoot out there. Sunday was our only open day and the weather said it was time to head home.

Technorati Tags: biketoberfest, daytona beach, destination daytona, florida, motorcycle events, motorcycle news, ormond beach, volusia county

Biketoberfest ended on Sunday, but was the annual Florida motorcycle event in Daytona Beach? Not by the looks of the light activity on the famed Main Street in downtown Daytona Beach. The many Daytona Beach hotels still displayed bright neon lights telling of vacancy. The mass media newspapers and television stations all ran the same headlines days before Biketoberfest began “Biketoberfest roars into town”.

But then again, if you decide to roar into town, you will get a ticket for the Daytona Beach noise violation ordinance. The city of Daytona Beach has spent a great deal of money to make sure visiting bikers know to keep quiet, while other recent laws and ordinances to remove the fun out of the event are in the making.

While topless protester Elizabeth Book of Ormond beach has battled the Daytona Beach nudity laws since bike week 2003 and won in appeal courts, Daytona Beach recently tried to add new ordinances banning nudity in establishments that sell alcohol such as Lollipops and the Pink Pony. The planned city ordinance included not only nudity, but also skimpy cover-up outfits, T backs and G strings.

 Welcome Bikers? With all the new attempts to remove the fest from Biketoberfest and other motorcycle events, the city of Daytona Beach will need to change their current signage that reads “we are glad you’re back to “please come back”!

Technorati Tags: biketoberfest, daytona beach, florida, loud pipes, motorcycle events, noise violation, nudity laws, volusia county

Biketoberfest Bands and Bars October 18-21:

Joe Santana and Motley Jackson can be seen at Boot Hill Saloon ( both locations), Thunder Gulch and Cabbage Patch Bar Check the band schedule here.

Rebel Son will be appearing at the Boot Hill both locations.

Iron Horse Saloon has no schedule posted, so just drop in and see what is happening! Be sure to check out the California Hell Riders on the Wall of Death while you are there.

Broken Spoke Saloon featured artist concert, see Bret Michaels ( Poison front man) on October 20th

Blackfoot will be performing live at the White Eagle Lounge in Korona on October 19

The Battlegrounds presents “The Monsters of Mock” mega tribute rock and roll band show! Two shows the 19^th and 20^th 3pm to 9pm 5 monster rock tribute bands will hit the stage sounding and looking like the real bands. Highway to Hell (AC/DC) Stones Throw (Rolling Stones) Physical Graffiti (Led Zeppelin) ZZ Not (ZZ Top) and Fleetwood Max (Fleetwood Mac) with two show dates this is one concert series you won’t want to miss.

Women’s Coleslaw Wrestling on Saturday 12:00 noon at The Cabbage Patch Bar Samsula, Florida. Cabbage Patch has added streaming video on the bar web site.

Pudding Wrestling at the No Name Saloon on Friday 10:00 am with other contest and live music during the weekend.

Saturday October 20^th drop on by the Daytona Lagoon water park to see some the finest looking custom motorcycles in the world at the Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show.

This entertainment list is not a complete listing of all the things to do during Biketoberfest, but I have put together some of the top places to listen to free live concerts and have fun. Of course, all events are subject to change and it is suggested that you check the web site links provided or call ahead to verify. This list may also be updated from time to time before my departure for Daytona late tomorrow, Friday. Check back for  more information.

Technorati Tags: biketoberfest, biketober, motorcycle events, bike shows, motorcycles, Daytona Beach, Florida, Ormond Beach, blog, concerts, live music, entertainment