We headed out on a Thursday night and made it to Atlanta by morning.  We stopped by the Triumph office to say hello to everyone and got a tour of the facilities.  During the tour we got to see (and sit on)  the collection of Triumph movie motorcycles from the Terminator, Mission Impossible, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days movies.  When we were done visiting we ditched the cars and got on our bikes to head south to Daytona.

While riding we saw alot of other bikes making their way down to Daytona.  It was a great feeling being part of such a large motorcycling event and we weren't even there yet! Once we got there we could see why Daytona had become as large an event as it was - there was so much to do and see all in a warm climate with beautiful beaches.  It was an awesome place to be: a combination of bikes, babes, bikinis, beaches & beer! 

We did the mandatory parade down main street before hunting for a parking spot.  It cost just as much to park a bike as a car, but hey, that's to be expected!

The main drag was crowded and there was alot to see from Orange County Choppers to Froggy's bar to the infamous Barrel Riders.  You could easily spend a week just going up and down main street and stopping in all the little stores and bars along the way. And of course at the end of Main Street was the pier and beach where everyone stopped to cool off their feet from all of the walking!

That weekend Triumph held their first Daytona Raid.  There were RAT members there from England and all over the U.S.  Several people from the Chicago pack helped with registration and with presentation of the raffle prizes to the winners.

The evening took place at a restaurant built on a pier overlooking a lake.  Dinner was this awesome seafood platter where food was piled on so high that no one left hungry.

After dinner Dave coordinated a covert operation to salute Jim with silly string while he was doing his usual speech to thank everyone for coming.  Of course we were all there to take pictures!

We got back that Sunday night after driving straight back to Atlanta on the bikes and from there back to Chicago in our vehicles.  It was a nice long weekend and a first for us all, but we're planning to do it all again next year.