Bike Week cleans up its image

OFF THE WIRE
 It’s June and the roads are black with motorcycles, so it must be Bike Week in New Hampshire. The festival is a must for some people and a must-avoid for others, but the fact is that it constitutes one of the state’s biggest public annual events, drawing several hundred thousands of visitors to the Lakes Region, many from out of state, and generating an estimated $100 million-plus in economic activity.

Laconia Motorcycle Week has been going on for close to 90 years — it’s the oldest of the three biggest motorcycle rallies in the nation (the others are in Sturgis, S.D. and Daytona Beach, Fla.) — but more impressive than its durability is its fairly recent emergence as a relatively peaceful and civilized festival in the eyes of the law. A decade ago, local police made on the order of 500 arrests during the 10-day event; that number was down to about 100 last year, according to Laconia Police Chief Chris Adams. Accident numbers were also off last year when, remarkably, no motorcycle-related fatalities in the city occurred.

Bike Week today has a respectability that might surprise people who have never attended it — and even some who did years ago when wet T shirt contests and the like were part of what passed for entertainment. This year’s festival includes a swap meet, rodeo and vintage motorcycle show, races, tours and the sorts of fundraising projects by nonprofit groups that one might find at family-oriented gatherings such as Keene’s Pumpkin Festival.
And, notably this year, Gov. John Lynch was presented with the Fritzie Baer Award for his strong support of the annual rally; the recognition is named after the founder of Bike Week, and was given to Lynch, who’s in his final term, because he’s the first governor to pay real attention to it.

The rally has history. Its origins go back to 1916 when about 150 motorcyclists gathered at Weirs Beach; that eventually led to the founding of Bike Week in 1923. In the interim, the image of bikers generally took a bad turn, thanks to associations with gangs that got the full Hollywood treatment, and periodic disturbances at motorcycle rallies helped convey a seamy side.

Times change. Chambers of Commerce have come to see the light, and mainstream concepts such as motorcycle tourism have gained acceptance. The economics of motorcycles in an era of rising gasoline prices has influenced the demographics of riders. Prejudices soften in the glow of economic reward. And, look, even the rains stopped to herald the arrival of bikes — a further demonstration of Bike Week’s magic.

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