Rolling Thunder XXV on Memorial Day Weekend

I just realized that Memorial Day is coming and that there will be another Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C. on May 27, 2012. This is Rolling Thunder XXV [1] and [2]. I remembered the feeling I had at Rolling Thunder XVIII in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube.

Major Motorcycle Rallies for 2012

In the off season, many riders like to plan rides to various motorcycle rallies. I have just updated my motorcycle rally article and schedule for 2012 to assist you.

Motorcycle rallies (biker rallies) are simply gatherings of riders and motorcycles at specified times and places usually with attendant vendors, food, games, and other activities.

Motorcycle rallies or biker rallies may last from a day to more than a week. Some major motorcycle or biker rallies are built around organized professional motorcycle races.

Motorcycle rally attendance varied widely from a low of a couple of dozen riders or less to huge organized rallies with hundreds of thousands of riders.

My updated article, Motorcycle Rallies (Biker Rallies) - Major Rallies for Motorcycles, gives basic information about motorcycle rallies. The second page of this article contains my list of the top motorcycle rallies.

The picture shows me raising my arm after I parked my bike on Main Street at the 1993 Sturgis Rally. That was the year of the great Midwest floods.

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - August 8-14, 2011

Each year, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists head toward what many feel is the motorcycling mecca of the world, Sturgis, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota takes place this year August 8-14.

Check out my article on this great motorcycle rally. See if you can see me waving in the picture when I attended the 1993 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I really need to go back to this great rally. How about you?

Americade Motorcycle Rally - June 6-11, 2011

Americade is June 6-11. It's a big touring rally held the first full week of June each year in Lake George, NY. This year the headquarters has been moved from Roaring Brook Ranch to the Fort William Henry Resort, overlooking Lake George, on the hill above the Beach Road Parking Lot where Americade's daily MiniTours assemble. It's a little late to find a place to stay for the whole week but day trips can be fun too. This is the 29th annual Americade rally and probably the best organized family oriented rally you'll ever find.

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - August 9-15, 2010

Each year, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists head toward what many feel is the motorcycling mecca of the world, Sturgis, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota takes place this year August 9-15.

Check out my article on this great motorcycle rally. See if you can see me waving in the picture when I attended the 1993 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I really need to go back to this great rally. How about you?

Rolling Thunder XXIII on Memorial Day Weekend

I just realized that Memorial Day is coming and that there will be another Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C. on May 30, 2010. This is Rolling Thunder XXIII [1] and [2]. I remembered the feeling I had at Rolling Thunder XVIII in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube.

Daytona Bike Week - Get a Start on the Rally Season

The 69th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 26 - March 7, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone almost every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most in these uncertain economic times. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - August 3-9, 2009

Each year, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists head toward, what many feel, is the motorcycling mecca of the world, Sturgis, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota takes place this year August 3-9.

Check out my article on this great motorcycle rally. See if you can see me waving in the picture when I attended the 1993 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I really need to go back at least one more time.

Daytona Bike Week - Get a Start on the Rally Season

The 68th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 27 - March 8, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most in these uncertain economic times. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Major Motorcycle Rallies for 2009

In the off season, many riders like to plan rides to various motorcycle rallies. I have just updated my motorcycle rally article and schedule for 2009 to assist you.

Motorcycle rallies (biker rallies) are simply gatherings of riders and motorcycles at specified times and places usually with attendant vendors, food, games, and other activities.

Motorcycle rallies or biker rallies may last from a day to more than a week. Some major motorcycle or biker rallies are built around organized professional motorcycle races.

Motorcycle rally attendance varied widely from a low of a couple of dozen riders or less to huge organized rallies with hundreds of thousands of riders.

My updated article, Motorcycle Rallies (Biker Rallies) - Major Rallies for Motorcycles, gives basic information about motorcycle rallies. The second page of this article contains my list of the top motorcycle rallies.

The picture shows me raising my arm after I parked my bike on Main Street at the 1993 Sturgis Rally. That was the year of the great Midwest floods.

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - August 4-10, 2008

Each year, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists head toward, what many feel, is the motorcycling mecca of the world, Sturgis, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota takes place this year August 4-10.

Check out my article on this great motorcycle rally. See if you can see me waving in the picture when I attended the 1993 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Getting about time to go back at least one more time.

Americade 2008 - Days 12-14

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm going to describe Day 12, 13, and 14 together. The trip home was a scorcher. The temperatures were in the high 90s and Jane does not tolerate heat.

After the parade, we rode from Lake George to Saratoga Springs (35 miles) without too much discomfort. We found out that our daughter's long driveway was being repaved to fix a drainage problem. That meant we had to park the trikes on the street and carry our "stuff" up to the house. Later we were allowed to park the trikes near the house just before the new section that started at the garage. We covered the trikes with the full covers. Later that day the winds started and blew the cover on my trike completely off onto the ground. That had never happened before. I folded up the cover and used my lightweight black cover which had five tie-down spots and remained in place.

On Day 12, Sunday, we all went to see a movie, Kung Fu Panda, that the grand kids wanted to see. I thought the first 20 minutes was a bit boring but the action started up after that and it got funnier and funnier.

After that Jane and I took our grandson to buy his own birthday present. This was his 10th birthday. He picked out a Wii game.

When we got back to the house, we had supper and our grandson got to choose his favorite meal. We had cake afterwards and he blew out the candles.



Our grandson got a lot of presents and he and his sister, in a remarkable spirit of cooperation, proceeded to work together to build a complicated structure.




On Day 13, Monday, we packed the trikes early and headed to Boonton, NJ to stay the night with our son. The heat was brutal!

We stopped for gas about 120 miles down I87. We also went inside and had a quick lunch and some cool drinks. We had 65 miles to go. The heat got unbearable after we got back on the road.

When we turned off at Boonton we got caught on a street with a fast cycle traffic light. It was letting about five vehicles through and to top that off, there was a crossing guard working both directions at the corner where we wanted to turn. We couldn't figure out why the crossing guard was even there. It was only 12:30. We found out later that the schools had been closed early because of the heat. Jane and I sat there for close to 20 minutes in the 95 degree heat inching along. Over the intercom Jane said, "I'm going to pass out if we don't get moving." When she says that, I know we are in for some troubling times.

We did finally get through that intersection and followed the GPS to our son's house.

We arrived and Jane slumped over the handlebars. I got her a drink of water out of my water bottle. She still wasn't moving very well. I went into the house and yelled for my son's wife. No response. We figured she wasn't home so we went in and made ourselves comfortable. We got some soda out of the refrigerator and some cookies to munch on. We sat at the kitchen table and rambled on for 15 minutes about politics and finally heard my son's wife yelling from far off in the house. I figured that she knew we were there and it would only be a minute or two before she popped in to the kitchen. But time passed.

After a while she did appear and seemed to have just been on the phone with our son. She had found out from him that we would be visiting. She hadn't known we were coming at all.

That evening we all went out to supper and afterwards we went to a place that has indoor batting cages. Our 11-year-old grandson would be practicing for an hour. I had never been to such a place where a machine throws balls at you at whatever speed you program in. Once when my son left the batting cage to speak to another coach, my 5-year-old grandson decided he would operate the machine while his 7-year-old brother batted. I saw the first pitch come sailing by and quickly informed my son what was going on. Both he and the owner of the place were quickly inside the cage to get the 5-year-old off the machine. That was close!

On Day 14, Tuesday, we packed up the trikes again and left Boonton for our destination. The temperature was near 95 degrees as we traveled the last 80 miles. I could tell that Jane wasn't doing well. We arrived home and she was pretty much out of it for the rest of that day and the next day too.

Today, Thursday, she was feeling much better. The heat is not a friend of Jane's. Maybe that's why we enjoy our Polar Bear Grand Tour riding so much in the winter.

Today, I spent most of the day opening our pool. It was a series of problems and right now it looks like I have every tool from my work bench out there.

We're back from Americade. We look forward to next year but hope that it will be cooler. The pool is open and running. Summer is approaching. Jane is feeling good again. That's always my objective.

I'll have one more installment of this blog to show you a set of pictures taken at Americade. I also promised you road tests for the three demo rides I took. That should be happening within the next week.

Pictures to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 10

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Friday there was a misty rain going on. The TV reported that the Albany area had been hit by severe storms and many people lost power. Not so here although the ground was wet and there were puddles galore.

We decided to take the trikes north to the Lone Bull again for breakfast. When we returned to the motel, our parking space was filled by an SUV. One thing you always try to do is get a room on the ground floor and a parking space just outside the door so you can keep your eye on your bike. When you can't, something seems to be wrong with the universe. The universe was all better at 3 p.m. when the SUV left and I quickly jockeyed the two trikes from their widely separated locations and back into that perfect space.

We reserved our room for next year. Yes, we will be returning for our 16th consecutive year.

We got a reservation at Mario's for 5:30 p.m. It's our favorite place and it's within walking distance. The remaining time was filled by me walking Canada Street again both before Mario's and after Mario's taking pictures and videos. Here they are.

Bikes coming up the hill to near the center of town.



Beach Road poured many walkers onto Canada Street.



Two Boss Hoss motorcycles traveling together.



A couple of sharp motorcycles.



Two trikes with canvas roofs.



And here is a video of these trikes in motion. (This video may load slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)

Get ready, get set, GO!



Here's an old Harley-Davidson with a 1938 NY plate. Some old bikes are better preserved than people of the same age.



This couple was just sitting on their bikes watching the street scene -- a popular pastime at Americade.



Parking confusion at Duffy's Tavern and Convenience store, just one block from our motel.



I found this limited edition Suzuki parked three doors down from my room.



There were very few places to sit down, relax, and just watch what was going on. These folks utilized the existing benches, stone walls, and even wooden partitions around flower beds to take a load off their backs, legs, hips, and even knee replacements. I even saw people with folding chairs lined up in front of stores and at curb side.



Also seen at Duffy's were two riding beer coolers using a bar stool for a seat.



I took a video straight across Canada Street as the light changed to green.

You can walk downhill a block toward the lake and get away from the sounds of motorcycles. Here's a video taken as I panned from the lake, past a concert, and up the hill to the motorcycle scene.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Rolling Thunder® XXI

Today on Memorial Day weekend 2008, I awoke to watch on TV the sights of motorcycles arriving in Washington, D.C. All part of Rolling Thunder XXI [1] and [2]. I remembered the feeling I had at Rolling Thunder XVIII in 2005. Here's an account of that rally including pictures:

I had the good fortune to attend Rolling Thunder over Memorial Day weekend in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube. The year of this video is not mentioned but it's either 2005 or 2006. It looks pretty much like the sights that we saw in 2005. Here's the video.