Atlanticade breaks the curse of rain
Published Monday June 29th, 2009
Great weather translates into largest turnout in third year of Metro Moncton's motorcycle festival
The curse of rainy weather appeared to be broken for the Atlanticade Motorcycle Festival over the weekend as hot sun and reasonably clear skies allowed motorcyclists from all over Canada to celebrate their passion.
More than 300 bikers joined in a long line at noon yesterday for the annual Parade of Iron Horses from the Tim Hortons 4-Ice Centre around the city and back to the Moncton Legion, creating an incredible spectacle as they roared across the Gunningsville Bridge from Riverview to Moncton.
Although final numbers weren't available yesterday, Atlanticade chairman Dale Hicks said about 1,200 motorcycles were registered for this year's festival, and many more riders simply showed up and didn't bother to register with the office at the 4-Ice Centre.
"I'd say there were 4,000 to 5,000 bikes in town over the event," Hicks said yesterday as the event wrapped up with a salute to veterans at the health centre next to the Moncton YMCA.
The salute to veterans was an emotional moment for many of the bikers and the old soldiers who were able to sit under the tents and watch the bikes go by.
"Some of these veterans are former DRs (dispatch riders). They watch the bikes go by and they hear the rumble of the engines and they feel like they are 18 again," said P.M. "Trapper" Cane, national president of the Canadian Army Veterans Motorcycle Association. Cane spent more than an hour yesterday shaking hands and visiting with veterans.
"We owe them the greatest debt and a handshake isn't nearly enough," said Cane, who walks with a cane and wears a black leather vest covered with medals, pins and patches that document his many years of service in Canada's military. A native of Cobourg, Ont., he enlisted in the 1970s and served with various units to become an airborne unit sniper and mountain warfare instructor. He was injured in a parachute accident that left him paralyzed. He came up with the idea for the veterans' motorcycle group while lying in a hospital bed and now travels across the country, logging over 100,000 kilometres in seven months. The veterans' group has 60 units across Canada.
The parade and tribute to veterans was a fitting wrap-up to the festival which, like the Bon Jovi concert at Magnetic Hill, was saved by good weather.
Hicks said Saturday night's downtown street party, with music by the GTOs, was attended by thousands of people and hundreds of motorcycles were parked along the closed-off Main Street. It was held at the same time as the Bon Jovi concert, which was attended by about 33,000 people. Even though the two events were being held simultaneously, there was no connection between the two. Hicks was angered a few months ago when the Bon Jovi concert was announced for the same weekend as the motorcycle festival and concerned that people would stay away because all the hotel rooms would be either occupied or overpriced.
Hicks said he had been approached by organizers of the music festival to co-ordinate the efforts so both could benefit, but the idea came too late when all the plans were set in place. He said he would be happy to work with promoters in the future and co-ordinate efforts. For example, the street party could be changed to Friday and perhaps special buses could be arranged to transport people from the motorcycle festival to the concert site for people who wanted to take in both events.
But festival organizers were happy that the weather brought in more bikers than perhaps expected, which helped boost the registration numbers. Hicks said the number of registered riders helps organizers attract more corporate sponsors and others interested in becoming part of the event. This year's Atlanticade was headquartered at the 4-Ice Centre which gave everyone a base of operations that has a licensed restaurant and ice surfaces for the trade show and motorcyle building competition.
At yesterday's breakfast, Atlanticade presented the long-distance rider award to Jim Anderson of Alberta, and the lifetime achievement award to Warren "Smokey" Schella of Moncton.
The Betty Bobber bike, built by students at MacNaughton High School was chosen the winner of the C103 Coolest Bike in Town contest. Frédéric "The Rat" Vaillancourt of St. Come, Quebec was the big winner of the biker buildoff contest.
Proceeds from various events will be donated to the Children's Wish Foundation.
As the festival wrapped up, bikers from all over Atlantic Canada shook hands and rode off in their separate directions, most promising to return again next year. The festival was well-documented by Glenn Roberts of Motorcycle Mojo Magazine and by Heather Ireland of Biker TV. Both have given the festival lots of coverage which spreads word of the Moncton festival to a national audience. Ireland spent several days shooting footage and interviews around the Atlanticade festival for use in an upcoming episode of the TV show, which will likely air next winter. Last year, Biker TV did two full episodes based on the Atlanticade festival.
n Alan Cochrane's Easy Writer column appears each day during the Atlanticade Motorcycle Festival. This year, he has been riding a 2009 Harley-Davidson XR 1200 courtesy of Toys For Big Boys on the Salisbury Road.
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