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A One-Day Diary Of a 448-Mile Trip

By BUD WILKINSON

     What seemed like a fun idea at 5:30 a.m. when neighbor Bill Smith and I rode out of my driveway felt downright idiotic by the time I wobbled back into the garage at 11:30 p.m. and gratefully came to a stop.

     After 448 miles on the road, well, the butt was numb and the eyelids were so wilted that no amount of Botox could have lifted them. Maybe spending 18 hours on a day-trip to check out the 84^th anniversary of Laconia Motorcycle Week in New Hampshire last week wasn’t such a bright idea.

     Was it worth the seat time? Definitely. Would I do it again without spending the night? No way.

     Bill rides a 2002 Suzuki Bandit 1200 and has been going to Laconia for the past nine years. He meets friends from Massachusetts and they camp out for several nights. The fact that he had a five-week-old daughter and two-year-old son at home didn’t deter him this year. In fact, his wife gave him her blessing to go.

     “I go to get some good riding in, spend some time with my buddies. It’s the closest big rally that’s going on,” Smith said. “It’s fun. Anything can happen. Mostly things you can’t talk about at home.”

     The plan was to meet up with another friend, Carl Foster of Avon, who rides a 2001 BMW R 1100 RT. We’d take I-91 north to Brattleboro, Vermont, cross New Hampshire on Route 9 and hook up with I-93 north in Concord. Making Laconia by mid-morning would be easy.

     Carl overslept, though, and didn’t get to our rendezvous spot until 6:30 a.m., and then needed to gas up. Other gas stops, a breakfast break in Keene, N.H. and Carl’s desire to demystify the operation of a new GPS unit delayed us even more. It was nearly noon by the time that we arrived at Weirs Beach on Lake Winnipesaukee.

     Weirs Beach is the focal point of Laconia Motorcycle Week, which started June 9 and ran through Sunday. The road that runs alongside the lake is reserved for one-way bike traffic. Parking is on either side and there are two rows in the median. Spaces were hard to find by this time, which forced Carl and Bill to backtrack to a pay lot beside the beach.

     Having been separated, we used cell phones to pinpoint our positions and quickly regrouped to scope out the many motorcycles that were both parked and on parade. What immediately caught our attention was a new 2008 Can-Am Spyder, a three-wheeled roadster from BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products).

     Higgins Powersports of Barre, Mass. is one of a dozen newly minted Can-Am dealers across the country that will begin selling the Spyder in September, and owners Ron and Sue Higgins had brought one to Laconia to show it off.

     “It was unbelievable,” Sue said later when asked the reaction to the trike at Laconia. “The biggest surprise is that it appeals to all ages, all different people. A lot of guys when they see it want to make it their own and customize it.”

     Packing a 998cc, 106-horsepower, Rotax V-twin engine, the Spyder will sell for $14,999 in silver and $15,299 in yellow – if you can find one. Sue reported that the first production run has already sold out and the next batch won’t be available until March.

     Bikes continued to stream in as we strolled up the motorcycle catwalk. There were custom choppers, vintage bikes and stock cruisers of all makes and sizes. License plates from as far away as Arizona, Indiana and Ohio blended with those from the New England states, New Brunswick and Quebec.

    After lunch on the pier with the water of Lake Winnipesaukee lapping below us, we resumed our patrol, stopping to talk with Sgt. Steve Ford of the New Hampshire State Police. He recalled that Laconia Motorcycle Week used to be compacted into fewer days than the current nine-day event. “I think it’s better the way they have it now,” he said. He didn’t need to translate that the event is less rowdy than in the past.

Weirs Beach is the focal point of Laconia Motorcycle Week, and thousands of riders gather there daily.

     “Being a BMW rider, I was happy to see the diversity of the bikes that were there,” said Foster in looking back on our excursion. “I expected more of a ‘Harley crowd’ and it wasn’t that at all.”

     Smith, who stayed for four days and came home Sunday, agreed that Laconia Motorcycle Week isn’t as wild as in the past. “The last couple of years have been very quiet. Maybe your memory is always better than reality,” he said. He did note, “There were a lot more police this weekend. Sobriety checks everywhere.”

     Besides bikes to gawk at, there are also opportunities to shop. A tent village is filled with vendors, who offer all kinds of motorcycle apparel and accessories. Having eyeballed the merchandise, we returned to our bikes, took one last cruise down the strip and then put Weirs Beach in our rearview mirrors. Bill rode off to join his friends and Carl and I went in search of I-93 south as dozens upon dozens of other bikes continued to roll in.

     It was at gas station on Route 9 somewhere between Concord and Keene, however, that we came upon the most memorable vehicle of the day – a 1959 Corvette in unrestored, original condition. The owner told us that he bought it when he was 15 years old for $1,500, which was about what I’d have been willing to pay at that point for a more comfortable seat for my V-Rod.

      “It was worth going. The next time, I’d like to spend overnight and get a feel for the night activities,” Foster concluded.

     I would, too, but I’d also be just as happy with a quiet motel room and a soft pillow to put under my backside.

(Originally published June 23, 2007 in "The Republican-American")