So yesterday the weather here was so-so. By mid-afternoon the rain came in and it was only kind of a cloudy bright morning. Not exactly the most gorgeous boating day, but the hubby and I were itching for a boat ride without any trouble, as we had on our shakedown cruise was a few weeks back. (You can check out our adventure on this post Not All Journeys are Smooth Sailing). So we went out early, the boat ran great, the dogs were at home, and since the water was calm and the boat traffic very low, we decided to take a trip across the lake (about 1 1/2 hours by boat) to Weirs Beach where the 93rd annual motorcycle rally was going on.
The rally has become a part of our mid-June even though we live about a 1/2 hour car drive away from Laconia. The bikers cruise all around this area. They don't really come down my road as its gravel and not a main thoroughfare, but you can hear them out on the state road which is about a mile away. I know at one time the rally was kind of a rough place to be, but bikers come in some many shapes and forms ( my husband has a bike license and dreams of his next toy, once he is done with all his boat collection I guess) that its always kind of a tourist attraction for us. Too see the bikes that is.
But neither of us had actually gone into the Weirs to see the heart of the rally while the rally was going on. So we went in by boat an took a little walk around yesterday. It was pretty interesting.
The place was packed.
Laconia is the oldest rally in the US, but not the biggest. I think that is Sturgis in South Dakota. ( I have actually been there years ago and they kept saying they were the biggest rally so that's where I get that info from.)
The Weirs Beach sign is vintage and a landmark.
And of course being a motorcycle rally there were all kinds of skulls.
I am keeping this post "clean" so I didn't add the photos of the ronchy patches for sale. I thought about buying one for the journal, but then my cheapness got the better of me. I do like the one on the right with the Weirs Beach sign though.
I thought there might be more custom bikes to admire though. I only saw 2.
There was this sixties style chopper and
this beautiful western style bike.
OK, time for a random motorcycle story.
Many many years ago we were at a friend's daughter's birthday party and barbecue ( the daughter was turning 3 or 4) and this motorcycle rides in with 2 people on it. It was motorcycle week then and our friends lived in Laconia. The couple gets off, mingles, chats, has lunch. We thought they were friends of the family. They stayed awhile, wished the girl a happy birthday, and then got on their bike and left. We were standing there when the wife asks her husband who they were, and he said, I thought they were people you knew.
OK, add that to when the girls used to flash their chests while riding, which I do remember because we used to go over and do the tourist watch the bikes go by thing back when I was in my 20s. Not right to the Weirs, but out on the outskirts by the airport. I still don't think with all the bikes I'd want to drive my car into the Weirs.
OK, this post is getting away from me, so I think it is time to wrap it up.
Yesterday we walked around, checked things out, got back in the boat and motored back. We stopped for a little lunch too (wait till T day for that) and then we got home and unloaded the boat. It was like 1 minute later and the rain started.
Did we have good timing or what?
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!
7 comments:
I did enjoy my (virtual) boat trip to the bike rally - definitely a first for me! Thanks for the vivid descriptions and all the great photographs. Your blogpost is a great example of how blogging and visiting our friends' blogs is such fun.
Like Sheila, I also enjoyed my virtual bike rally. I also believe Sturgis, SD is the biggest bike event in the entire nation every year. It's a full week and everyone with a Harley (and other bikes are welcome of course) goes. OK, maybe not everyone, but still, lots of people take their vacations around that time to attend and ride to the event. I have friends who go every year.
I can only imagine the raunchy biker patches. Like you, I like the one of Weirs Beach.
So glad your boat trip was uneventful (at least on the water, unlike before). It was fun walking around town with you, too. OK, I'm babbling, so will wish you a very happy short timer Monday.
For all my babbling, I forgot to tell you about the ICs. They are usually quite flimsy and may not hold up well under lots of layers of media. That's another reason I cut up used file folders. Those babies can take anything, and I mean ANYTHING!! I even have a couple of tissue boxes I've cut to size, which I will use when I figure out how to embellish them. So, don't buy new ICs because you won't get much better than what you have now.
What a fun post and loved the photos, I would love to have seen it! Sounds like a fantastic event. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Valerie
First, I like your banner very much. Interesting bikes, like the last 2 photos.
Just AMAZING! Wow! Thanks a lot for sharing all that cool photos! I wished I were there!
oxo Susi
Timing IS everything and what fun stories to go with your great photos Erika!
I like skulls...cool ones!
Biker party crashers LOL along with other saucy behaviors!
I got to ride on a chopper back in the day...it was a thrill.
Thanks for sharing.
oxo
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