On the first bike week Friday Mike Corbin and I motored over to Eustis, Florida, the site of the annual antique motorcycle parts, pieces, and bike swap meet put on by the local chapter of the Antique Motor Cycle Club of America.

Mike, his wife Bev, and I drove to the Central Florida town of Mt. Dora and dropped Bev at a quilting event as she is a avid quilter and with the price of fuel we’d kill two birds with one stone.

Located on a fairgrounds in some little nondescript burg about 50 miles west of New Smyrna Beach (which is south of Daytona Beach) the AMCA swap is an annual affair far enough away from the zoo in Daytona but close enough for the genuine types and far enough away to keep the curious voyeurs away. In other words, only the ones that belong there are there.

The local VFW ran the parking lot for a small fee we got parked in a crowded lot jammed with motorbikes with trailers, trucks, cars, and of course motorcycles. As we wandered up and down aisles filled with motorcycles, tables, box and crates filled with everything motorcycle, there were bikes and then there were bikes: BSAs, Triumphs, Indians, Service cars, Panheads, Knuckleheads, Shovelheads, Square-Fours, and Nortons, in every condition from barn find original rusted hulks, riders to 100 point restorations. There was even a XLCR Cafe with 86 total miles on the clock. In this era of the reemergence of the Cafe Racer it was great to see Willie G’s first attempt at motorcycle design. It was a failure in its day but a most sought after collector’s bike today. When new Harley dealers couldn’t give them away and now, oh well, excretion occurs.

Then it started to sprinkle and we hung out under a vendor’s tent until it ended. The skies were threatening so it was time to split and we headed back to the car. Mike called Bev and told her we were on our way. We picked her up at her deal and headed back towards Daytona when the skies opened up with a torrential downpour and it rained until we hit outside Daytona where the roads were dry and thousands of motorcycles were coming and going. Bike Week 2011 was happening.