Bike Week ends quietly with cold, wet sendoff

Union Leader ^ | June 17 2002 | PAULA TRACY

[2Trievers]

LACONIA — Despite concern for potential violence, Motorcycle Week ended substantially quieter than in previous years, with a dramatic decline in arrests and fatal accidents.

Wet and cold weather made for smaller crowds and fewer day trippers, but business were reporting good profits from the week.

Rather than the 375,000 believed to have attended last year’s event, a record according to the American Motorcycle Association, this year about 250,000 to 270,000 are believed to have come to New Hampshire for the nine-day event.

State Police Lt. Harry Nadeau said only a third of the normal number of arrests were handled by his department while Laconia police made about 175 arrests over the week, down from about 250 last year.

It was the fourth consecutive year of declining arrest numbers.

Fatal accidents also were few, compared to last year when about nine died during the event.

One pedestrian died near the Weirs on Friday morning and a motorcyclist died in Henniker yesterday, state police said. The driver of the vehicle which struck the motorcyclist was charged with negligent homicide.

Concern for a violent confrontation between the Hells Angels and rival gangs had the National Guard at the ready, but they were never deployed, police said.

Members of the rival Outlaws did gather in the state but stayed far away from Weirs Beach.

More than 60 Angels gathered about 2 p.m. on Saturday outside the Weirs Beach Smokehouse and had binoculars trained on roadways coming into the area, but there was no trouble and the group dispersed after Nadeau said police gave the Hells Angels information that the Outlaws were “far away.”

“Because of the competence of New Hampshire State Police intelligence people and the communication we have established with various groups, we were able to understand what that was about and work with everybody to resolve it before it became a confrontation of any kind,” said Laconia Police Chief Bill Baker. “We are glad the week is over and glad to get back to the routine matters at hand.”

Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Rally and Race Association, the organization that promotes the event, said the numbers were down drastically from last year, but that did not necessarily mean the event was not a success for retailers, business owners and vendors.

“The first weekend this year was what last year’s last weekend was, not just in Laconia but throughout the state,” he said.

The weekend of June 8 and 9 was warm and sunny and thousands thronged to the region on motorcycles, while this weekend, which was cold and wet, was relatively quiet.

St. Clair said this past Saturday was the least busy he has ever seen the event on the last weekend. Yet those who were there were buying, merchants said.

“I think next year we can expect, weather not withstanding. . . an increased number because it will be the 80th year,” said St. Clair, and more people make it to big anniversary years.

He praised law enforcement for their hard work and cooperation with the crowds and said preparation is already under way for next year.

The event is scheduled for June 7-15, 2003.

[2Trievers]

Phew! Hope everyone had a good time! &;-)

[Illbay]

I rode my bike about 50 miles this weekend. It was pretty hot, but I just kept plenty of water on hand.

Oh, wait, you mean those PANTY-WASTE machines where any fat slob can be a "weekend hero" if the engine's big enough.

Never mind.

[2Trievers]

LOL ... I see you fit right into the Hell's Angels crowd ... no doubt you have a membership in good standing? LOL &;-)

[ShadowAce]

I rode my bike about 50 miles this weekend.

Wimp.

[txzman]

"Wimp" - LOL! Gotta admit since gettin' my Fat Boy, my bicycle has been sitting in the garage gathering dust. See ya in my rearview....

[pt17]

I rode my bike about 50 miles this weekend.

When you can do a thousand plus in a weekend, we'll know you're a rider.

[maxwell]

I rode my bike about 50 miles this weekend.

Bwahaha... Legs tired?

[July 4th]

Bikers always get a bad rap before big meetings like this. I remember several years ago when we had a Harley reunion in Milwaukee. 100,000 bikers showed up, and there were only 8 arrests.

[2Trievers]

Oooo .... ahh ... ouch! &;-)

[Illbay]

I don't think I can pedal that long.

[Illbay]

I'm trying to get ready for a 150-miler taking place next month. Losing about 25 pounds sure wouldn't hurt...

[mamelukesabre]

If you need to lose 25 pounds in a month, you might have waited too long to start training.

[mamelukesabre]

A thousand plus miles in two days on a motorcycle??? No thanks. THat's a sure way to get a real sore backside.

[Illbay]

Good point. Maybe lay off the cheese curls for the next few weeks?

[Rebelbase]

"A thousand plus miles in two days on a motorcycle??? "

This should help.

[mamelukesabre]

When I want to drop a few pounds, I have a very simple diet that works very well.

1. no alcohol(or nonalcoholic beer), it tends to stimulate my appetite and make me sluggish.
2. no baked goods(cookies, cake, pie, etc)
3. no fresh bread, this includes pizza crust, burger buns, fresh tortillas, etc. Only toast, stale bread, and saltines allowed.
4. no potatoes of any kind.
5. no milk, icecream, malts, or anthing with lots of milk in it. Milk makes you sluggish and your workouts are less effective
6. go easy on the pasta
7. no fruit drinks, sweetened beverages, soft drinks or sports drinks. They seem to make me sluggish and seem to cause a mild hangover-like feeling...almost like they are alcoholic.

Other than those 7 items, I eat as much as I want as often as I want, and the pounds still drop off. I even eat as much candy as I want. In fact, it seems like eating a chocolate bar a day actually speeds up the weightloss.

Good Luck.

[pt17]

A thousand plus miles in two days on a motorcycle??? No thanks. THat's a sure way to get a real sore backside

Yes, but an aftermarket back rest, a good seat, a good woman on behind, a good ride and a cold beer at the end of the day makes it all worthwhile.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I was there. It was an effing drag. No recon material within miles, and I had my camera and everything.

[anymouse]

That ain't chocolate that actually speeds up the weightloss. ;)

[mamelukesabre]

I don't know, I think it does. I didn't invent the idea. I borrowed it from the old school boxers. They had some ideas that were kindof superstitious. Like the "no sex" rule, or their obsession with wearing warm clothes to workout in and keeping their gyms heated very well, or their obsession with jumping rope. Some also ate a hershy's bar just before every workout. They beleived that doing so would cause you to drop a weight class.