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POSTCARDS
FROM THE HEDGE'
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Bill Heald
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.....As I concoct this April column, I note a stark difference this year: there is no bright sunshine, no endless rumble of Harleys, no press room buzz at Daytona International Speedway, no scantily clad women on Main Street. OK, these things still exist, but they’re not in the vicinity of where I’m writing this column. Unlike what has been my tradition for several years, I am not attending Bike Week and the Daytona 200 down in Florida. I’m bummed by this fact, because I always have a great time during this annual trip and it’s a terrific opportunity to grab as many press bikes as I can for all the manufacturers are (or were) there in force. I also cover the AMA racing, and frequent some of my favorite eateries over the week. But this year, I am not engaging in these delightful activities. It seems to be a perfect storm of evil that has stopped me from heading south, and it is my hope that maybe next year will be different. But before we predict the future, let us focus on the present for a bit.
.....The reasons I’m not enjoying Daytona in person are twofold, and the first is no doubt familiar to pretty much everybody: money. I have to finance the trip myself (unlike the good old days when a magazine or two handled expenses), and this is an expensive proposition but ultimately worth it because I get paid for reviews and race coverage. However, this year something really set me off. I checked with four of the hotels I’ve stayed at in the past, and for the first time they actually had the unmitigated gall (I love that expression) to, months in advance, announce they would immediately charge my credit card for the entire stay. They actually had the U.G. (see above) to refer to this charge as a “deposit.” The universe that I inhabit (and the dictionary in this laptop) defines “deposit” as “a sum payable as a first installment on the purchase of something or as a pledge for a contract, the balance being payable later.” This does not mean the entire amount up front, with no refund if you cancel less than 30 days in advance of your stay.
.....The room rates are already bad enough, but considering I’m a customer that has a long history with some of these concerns this is a slap in the face. Did they honestly think such policies would help their bottom line, especially when so many patrons of Bike Week can’t afford to attend already? Idiots.
.....So, I took this draconian new policy as a bad sign; a portent in a series of portents that put the brakes on travel. The second in my twofold reason structure of why I’m not Down Under in a Floridian sense this year involves what’s happened to the AMA Superbike series, and the Daytona 200. As you may recall, in 2008 the AMA sold the Superbike racing series (and other racing programs) to the Daytona Motorsports Group, which is of course the folks who bring the world NASCAR. Many of us who have followed U.S. Superbike racing for years were concerned when this happened, and watched with trepidation as the 2009 season run by these folks transpired. Roger Edmondson, who has a long turbulent relationship with the AMA and motorcycle road racing, was put in charge.
.....After one year, the results of this odd pairing I’ll let you evaluate yourself. Suffice it to say, Edmondson is now no longer in charge, and Honda and Kawasaki are no longer directly involved with AMA Superbike racing at all. The big sponsors, big race gurus and most of the superstar riders are absent, and I mean no disrespect to current competitors (especially the up and comers) as they’re getting screwed the most. On top of the general economic climate, the alienation of several major manufacturers (due in part to some of the ludicrous changes the DMG has made to the series) has decreased their overall presence at Daytona, with fewer press bikes, events, etc. and this has taken a toll on a lot of vendors as well. The Big Race used to be Sunday afternoon, now its Friday night with 600s instead of Superbikes. To be fair, these changes started before DMG took over, but they’ve managed to just make a bad situation worse.
.....However, there could be change in the air. There’s a belief that the overall health of the industry will improve in 2010 (I’m actually quite optimistic about this), and I feel DMG will quite possibly make some major changes to help right the AMA Pro Racing ship. So, it is my hope that next year at this time I’ll be back down in the sun and riding the latest 2011 machinery.
Hope springs eternal, even if it gets rained out from time to time.
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