DAYTONA BEACH Even with restrictions tied to the coronavirus pandemic, the allure of Bike Week remains strong as ever for Lee “Stretch” Kirby, who s been attending for more than 30 years.
“It’s getting out on the bike, hanging out, partying,” said Kirby, 55, of Ocala, who was holding court Saturday along Main Street with thousands of other bikers out for the closing weekend of the 80th annual event.
Adorned in well-worn leather and camo, accessorized by a shoulder-high walking stick topped with a miniature skull, Kirby was joined by his two dogs.
Lil Bit, a Chihuahua snuggled inside Kirby’s leather vest, was sporting his own fashion statement: stylish pink riding goggles. At Kirby’s feet, Lil Man, a pit-bull Dachshund mix, was a canine version of a low-rider, padding along close to the ground in a leather vest of his own.
Naked Cowboy Robert Burck returns after arrest to Bike Week in Daytona Beach news-journalonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news-journalonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Daytona Beach’s annual Bike Week has brought tens of thousands of motorcyclists to the city and its neighbors this weekend and few of them are wearing masks.
Burck was arrested by Daytona Beach police officers on Saturday afternoon near the 800 block of Main Street, where he had been posing for pictures with Bike Week visitors and bystanders. It’s a shtick that he has been presenting at Bike Week, virtually without incident, for 21 years, he said.
On Saturday, however, Burck was charged with violating the city s new ordinance on panhandling and resisting an officer without violence. In making the arrest, officers broke the headstock of the performer’s red, white and blue acoustic guitar.
The ordinance, among other things, make it illegal for anyone to panhandle within 10 feet of the door of any commercial business. But Burck insists he doesn t panhandle; rather, he s a street entertainer.
Tens of thousands of bikers from all over the US descend on Daytona Beach for Bike Week dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.