The thing I like about Bike Week is that for 10 days it's like living in an alternate universe. A world in which everything is built around the riding and appreciation of motorcycles. The culture organized itself into crime families and everyone wore double-breasted suits. Bike Week is what that planet would be like if a back issue of Easyriders magazine had been left behind instead. Getting thoroughly sick of a strange congested place and being glad to return to normal - and all without ever leaving home.
Most people have to travel for days and spend a great deal of money to experience the same thing.
I like it, too, because Bike Week reinforces Florida's image as a totally strange place where everyone dresses like a sideman in a rock 'n' roll band. It's not true, but I won't tell anyone from out of town. Mark Lane is a News-Journal columnist.