Bike and Bar 2018

It’s one of New Smyrna Beach’s most unique traditions, and this year, we were among the thousands of participants stumbling and swerving through the NBS bars and streets on the festive 25th Anniversary of the initial tour.

By pure chance, we bumped into gregarious Bike and Bar master of ceremonies Denis O’Brien on Flagler Avenue on Friday night and learned a bit about one of our favorite NSB traditions.   It seems that Denis’s future wife and her friend started the tradition innocently enough when they headed out for a bit of bar-hopping on their bikes.  That was in 1993, and they had a blast. Since then, they’ve grown the crowd steadily over the ensuing decades.

I’m not sure when exactly it became a “thing,” but damn, it is quite the event nowadays.   This is our third year of participating, and the 2018 crowds seemed a little bit smaller than the prior years, but there were still several thousand intrepid bikers weaving their way through the city. It was actually a bit more relaxed, and maybe even more safe. Perhaps we’ve seen the event get right-sized here in its 26th incarnation.

With Denis behind the mic, the event kicked off at 11:00 at JB’s Fish Camp, which is near the Southern end of the island.  More importantly to me, it is 4.5 miles further South than Moe’s Lounge, which is in our neighborhood.  So, we chose to be efficient, save our energy and start at Moe’s.  It was a smart decision, saving us 30 minutes of work, and a few bucks, as Moe’s also turned out to be our cheapest stop.

From there, we hit seven bars, before calling it a day and heading back home down the Saxon Drive bike path. Here’s a free tip for an entrepreneurial spirit out there: We need someone with a pickup/bike trailer to offer rides home after the event in the future (I’d pay $10/bike for a lift home from any Tuber drivers in 2019).

Highlights from Bike and Bar 2018

• The Law: The NSB Police (and other local departments) were awesome.  They were focused on keeping the participants safe and out of trouble, and they seemed to be having a fun time with the crowd. Respect!
• The Bartenders: They were swamped and working their asses off, but generally were all in a great mood and providing killer service.
• The Deals: 6 beers at Moe’s for $14.  Imperial, the pride of Costa Rica, for $2/can at Chases. $$@.50 for a hot dog and chips at Sea Vista.
• The Attire: There were some great t-shirts (Heavy Pedal, Shifting Gears and Drinking Beers), and lots of fun outfits and hats, but mad props to the two Elvis’s – who were fully decked out in Elvis garb on a steamy, sweaty afternoon.
• The People: Everyone was beautiful… sweaty, smelly, stained and occasionally bloodied, but everyone was nice to each other, and in the many crowded, steamy stops, that was pretty damn impressive.  Nary an ass in site.
• Beachside Tavern set-up: I am not sure what was the most impressive facet of their parking lot set-up… two bartenders outside, extra bathrooms, plenty of shade???
• Live Music – Toni and Joe’s and Beachside Tavern had live music while we were there – awesomeness…

That’s a wrap for 2018. We will see you back in 2019 for the 27th edition, and just maybe, we’ll start out at JB’s, now all we need is a house at that end of the island…

Check out more photos here: Bike and Bar 2018