Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com
So, when did you put your motorcycle away for the winter? You say you haven’t yet, and probably won’t now that the first day of spring is only a month away? RIDE-CT.com hasn’t been out since Saturday when 80 miles was logged on both the BMW R100RT and the Honda CB750 Four. With the temperature due to hit the mid-50s today, what better time than to look ahead to some of the upcoming events and meets scheduled for the 2012 riding season? Here goes:
May 4-6 – MotoGiro East. An event for owners of small vintage bikes. Based at Jiminy Peak in Hancock, MA.
May 20 – Blessing of the Motorcycles. Holy water and exhaust fumes mix at the annual bike blessing at Lourdes in Litchfield shrine in Litchfield, CT. The blessing begins at 1:30 p.m. but riders gather in the parking lot much earlier. It’s a joyful event, as it should be.
June 3 – British Motorcycle Meet. The 34th annual sponsored by the BSA Owners Club of New England at the Elks Club in Auburn, MA.
June 5 – 9 – Americade. What began as a gathering of Gold Wing riders is now a huge blowout with hundreds of vendors and demo rides from manufacturers. Dating back to 1983, Americade attracts as many as 50,000 riders, most those who riding tourer, sport-tourer and cruiser motorcycles. Burnouts and loud pipes are frowned upon. The ride to and from Lake George, NY. is always a treat, too.
June 7-10 – Motomarathon. A four-day event that takes covers roughly 350 miles per day. Riders follow a prescribed route through all six New England states and must stop at checkpoints along the way. Begins and ends in Danbury, CT.
June 8-9 – Rhinebeck Grand National Meet. This vintage event at the Duchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY. draws riders from far and wide. The centerpiece is a motorcycle time line of some 400 bikes that go back to motorcycling’s early days. Great place to see unique bikes and buy used parts.
June 9-17 – Laconia Motorcycle Week. What happens in Laconia stays in Laconia. While tamer than it used to be, the yearly gathering in Laconia, NH does feature burnouts and loud exhausts. And music. And liquor. The event is celebrating its 89th year.
June 21-23 – Connecticut State H.O.G. Rally. Yankee Harley-Davidson in Bristol is the kickoff location for this year’s rally that wraps up in Norwich.
July 15 – Indian Day. The Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History hosts 
this single brand vintage show in its parking lot, which isn’t far from the factory in Springfield, MA. where Indians were once built. It’s a great two-fer event – a show outside and the museum display that traces Indian’s history inside.
Aug. 9-11 – The Massachusetts/Rhode Island State H.O.G. Rally in Boxborough, MA.
Aug. 19 – Brit Jam. The British Iron Association of Connecticut will hold this gathering for the 27th time at the Haddam Neck Fairgrounds. Always a fun outing, both for the bikes on display on the show ground and for the bikes that fill the parking lot.
Sept. 9 – Rice-O-Rama. The sixth annual all-Japanese meet moves southeast about 25 
miles to a new venue. The Singletary Rod and Gun Club in Oxford, MA will host Rice-O-Rama for the first time after the event outgrew its previous quarters in North Brookfield, MA. Co-organizer Dan Hayes reports some 2,500 riders attended last year. Vendors will be allowed in to begin setting up at noon on Sept. 8, which should also help ease traffic congestion.
Sept. 16 – IMOC. The Italian Motorcycle Owners Club rally at the Hamilton Rod and Gun Club in Sturbridge, MA. If my math is accurate, this will be the 29th time the event has been staged. Riders who arrive on Italian bikes get directed to the show field, while all other get dispatched to the dusty parking lot above.
Sept. 28 – Torrington Thunder. Downtown Torrington, CT gets blocked off for the 3rd annual Torrington Thunder bike show, which benefit’s the police department’s D.A.R.E. program. RIDE-CT.com plans to be there again with a display of some of the bikes that have appeared in the column.
These are just some of the events in the coming months. Start planning to attend now!
