Florida's A1A in March with Ken

What does Florida have in March? Sunshine, Convertibles, Custom Motorcycles, Hot-Rods and Awesome Beaches!

   

Oh! Did I mention the weather? As in WARM weather, you know, without FREEZING and the “so-sick-of-it-by-now” Cold winter!  Did I mention Mallory and I are in northern Florida on the Atlantic Coast at a beautiful serene beach. By the way is aptly named in honor of one of the early big shots in Florida's sun drenched Atlantic coast history. Yeah, I'm  in the city of(albeit a small one) Flagler Beach, on Highway A1A.  Our front yard just happens to be on Flagler Beach, located just north of the two most legendary beaches in American Motorsports history. 
The great one,without question, Daytona Beach. Then nestled between Flagler and Daytona is Ormond, the other famous beach. Ormond among other notable claims, prides itself with the distinction of having provided the early racers and daredevils alike with a perfectly hard-packed sand surface to get-it-on and challenge all who dared on the “flying Mile” as it was known, to race one another side-bye-side in a straight-line duel.  These racers followed the Atlantic ocean from Ormond Beach to Ponce Inlet, several miles down the coast, well beyond Daytona. All this insane, death defying activity dating back many, many years, to the early 1920's.

   We are the guests of Mallory's brother Marc and his wife Susan as they have taken a condo for the month of March for a much needed break from the way-too-nasty winter of 2014/15. So, we're happy beach bums in a very famous racing community for a long week. So, let me bring you “cold cats “up to speed! We are enjoying every ray of sunshine and each pebble of pristine beach sand we can possibly absorb. It's just so beautiful I almost feel guilty describing it to you all, especially to those of you anchored in the north. Guilty, more so to those of you who've not yet had a chance to de-ice from what many are calling it to be  “the worst winter in decades” all across the northern  United States.

     Geez! I didn't mean to bring you dudes, down, sorry,  but I 'm just telling it like I see it! I was there. You see, I was there, in New England for Christmas and that was before it got “nastee-bad”, and then again in early March for my Grand Daughter Victoria's Sweet Sixteenth birthday bash, cold, cold, and more COLD! Happy to be outta' there.

     And being I'm a transplanted “from up north person”, I do have a lot of compassion for all of you cats up there, so let's continue on with my brand of treason and defection. As you may recall I'm a certifiable traitor, being that I now reside in northern California.  Having recently drove my 21 year old black Corvette to Phoenix twice in as many months, once for the Barrett-Jackson “big event”, and subsequently for an Insignia Automotive Group “meeting of the minds”  It's clear to us that 2015 could and hopefully will prove to be a real “Game Changer” of a year for the Insignia Automotive bunch!

    

Okay race fans, back to the beach for a bit of car talk now that I've thoroughly pissed everybody off ranting about my fabulous winter and spring cruising through the valley of the sun in my Vette.  So I could say that I spent a tortuous week in the heavens of stock car racing's back yard. Yep, I did say in the heavens of stock car racing, for you see, Daytona International Speedway is only 35 minutes down the road from Marc and Susan's condo and I'm here just a week after Daytona's Bike-Week.  Which by the way, can get pretty crazy if you've never experienced the bright chrome pleasure of being here in mid March. WILD is all I will say, and oh yeah, FUN too!  All this happening just mere weeks after half a million or so Diehard Race Junkies roared into Volusia County to party and cruise. Most of them cruising their very beautiful machines up and down Speedway Boulevard, adjacent to the the two and a half mile super speedway with the three-story thirty eight degree banking at each end encouraging speeds in excess of 200 MPH.  That's right, I said in excess of, make no mistake, this place is all about speed, and lots of it. You can get an “up-close” by taking the Daytona Speedway Tour, which I strongly recommend, and experience a real honest to goodness feel of the greatness of this Super Speedway.  It's insane, but to just see 'n' feel how majestic the track is. It is well worth the price of admission, to taste the distance all the way down the back straight-a-way after negotiating turn two, and flying down off that 38 degree banking all while keepin' her wound up for 3/4's of a mile before climbing up the banking, this time in turn three at upwards of 190MPH.  This place is ALL About SPEED! Flat-Out-Speed! There's absolutely no time for thinkers here, it's hammer down for 500 miles, responding to your instincts. Remember the motorcycle madness picks right up where the stock cars take the black and white cross checkers just a few weeks later. So, you ask, what about it?........ Right! Big Deal!

    

What about it indeed?  Well,  the thousands, and I do mean tens of thousands of visitors that literally flock to this fabled beach area year after year. They get a ring-side seat of all the combined insanity of really loud Vee Twins belching horsepower into the beach air that is Daytona and the Custom Cars of all makes and variations, including Muscle, Hot-Rod, Drag, Drift and Sport cars, they come here in droves.  They come to show and tell, to display their other bonding romance in life and to share it all with you ALL, and yours truly!!!

    

So, that's it for today all you Car-Freaks and Bikers, I look forward to sharing my thoughts, tales and stories with all of you again, soon! Until then, I'll keep on cruising up and down Bill France Blvd., reminding myself that it was the pure absolute vision of “Big Bill” to initially set the stage for what would eventually become Americas most exciting format in all of motorsports, the Daytona '500'.   His hastily assembled band of gear heads and “moonshine runners” came together to race as dare-devils on the legendary shifting, sandy shores of the town that is now recognized as the world wide center of stock car racing, Daytona Beach.  As I ride along in my rented Dodge Charger and buzz onto a side street I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic, the street sign reads Smokey Yunick Way.  Kinda gets your motor runnin', even if you are in a beach rental ride for the week.  It reminds me of some of the great performers of the by-gone “Early Years”such as the Petty's, Lee and Richard, Kyle and Adam, and the Flock brothers and the thrilling finish that included a fisticuffs between the great Cale Yarborough and Donnie and Bobby Allison on the back stretch alongside their simmering and wrecked race cars. I guess I could and would love to go on ranting and raving about the lore that is Daytona, another time maybe.  For now just try to keep it in your lane and be sure to always check your oil. Now, LET'S CRUISE! And LET'S RIDE!! and thanks again for hangin' with me, bring a buddy along next time, and, some sun block, it's freakin' hot here!