How to do it.
1st Plan for a Hotel Stay or a long ride unless
you live in Leesburg or somewhere close. I live in Tampa so driving there is an
hour and a half one way. Riding there in one day trying to see everything and
then driving back is a long ride. In order to do it right plan to stay Friday
night, or Saturday night, or both. Hotels fill up quick so look for one no
later than 30 days away. You could camp but if you’re in a tent plan for rain
and pack accordingly. I recommend hotels, since they will have a pool, showers
and parking for your bike.
I stayed at the Microtel outside of town and it had a roped
off area for your bike, free breakfast and a nice pool, plus they had a box of
rags right by the door to wipe down your bike in the morning or after the rain.
Very accommodating for bikers.
2nd don’t buy the first thing you see, shop
around, haggle and look for deals, cash rules and makes it easier to haggle.
Jewelry will be everywhere, leather will be everywhere and installers for LED
lights, pipes, handlebars etc… will be everywhere as well. Compare each and
then decide, try not to impulse shop. Gator Harley has a large setup at their
dealership as well, they also have some additional parts, pipes, and wheel guys
out there that are not at the downtown vendors, so this is another reason to
stay longer than one day.
3rd Be safe, don’t drink and ride, and make sure
you watch for others. As everyone knows cars never see you and this year was no
different. I had one lady pull right out in front of me on Main Street without
ever looking my way. I saw two accidents, one was a two up that hit a car that
pulled out in front of them, the other was a single bike go down after
attempting to avoid a mattress that was in the road.
4th See the different events, there are so many
bands and so many choices it is easy to find something you like. If you don’t
like a band or it is too crowded walk to another tent, or stage and you will
find something to your liking. Don’t forget some of the smaller bars have bands
in them as well. Also see the stunt and demo shows, they are entertaining.
Additionally the bike shows are pretty interesting, not as big as Daytona or
Sturgis but definitely worth checking out.
5th Food is everywhere, so is beer, and other
fair type food. Not everything is cheap but most of it is plenty to buy one and
share if you want to save a little $$. There are two main food areas and they
each have different stuff but from what I saw they had large portions at around
$10 a plate. If you don’t bring water in your saddle bags, then find one of the
shop owners or others that are selling water for $1 a bottle don’t buy from the
beer people they will want too much, unless it is $1 but most will want $2. If
you are drinking beer bring an insulated cup it will help keep your drink cool
and you can’t carry beer around without it being in a cup….If you’re in a bind
though and stuck with a bottle or can. Grab one of the free cozies from the
personal injury lawyers and cover it up.
I recommend finding a nice restaurant somewhere off Main
Street and you can have a good sit down meal, in the A/C and for a similar
price.
6th Find a good shaded spot during the day or
just a spot to sit along the road (Main Street) at night to watch the bikes
roll by, it will be a continuous parade of bikes all day and all night long so
you can see the 300,000 plus bikes all parked around town or just sit here long
enough and every one of them will drive by. Watch your ears for the sport bikes
with the rev limiters because they like to really crank their engines, also
look for all the LED’s on display because everyone will have theirs on.
7th Bring comfortable shoes/boots you will be
walking….a lot…..also bring a rain jacket because it probably will rain. Bring
a light jacket, because at night even around 65 degrees can be cold if you’re
sunburnt and have been in the sun all day and the wind is hitting you. If you
have a chair and can bring one that will help because benches and seating is
limited around town.
8th Don’t get wrapped around schedules, go with
the flow and you will have more fun and be in less of a hurry. Prepare to sit
in traffic when on Main Street, prepare for longer waits at restaurants,
prepare to be hot and sweaty, prepare for crowds.
Leesburg is a crowded centralized event that has
a little something for everyone. Look for the deals, check out the bikes and
have fun.
