Road Rules

By Danny Adler

Philly EDGE Correspondent

Lansdale’s Main Street was shining with chrome and smelled of leather, pulsating to the roar of gurgling engines and live cover bands blasting “Foxy Lady.”

It was the 11th annual Lansdale Bike Night; or, as many bikers call it, Sturgis East.  This is the night where the old-fashioned borough of fewer than 16,000 people transforms itself into a bustling meet-and-greet session of over 60,000 bikers and onlookers. 

The biker scene is a bit of a contradiction.  We are constantly reminded of the Hell’s Angels-Rolling Stones fiasco.  We always see the big-bad-biker type in movies and on TV.  But up and down Main Street, bikers from as far away as New York and South Carolina shaking hands and laughing and taking pictures at every corner were surrounded by a perimeter of neatly aligned, and incredibly shiny, motorcycles.  Somehow, in this coming together of tens of thousands of bikers, the mystique is nowhere to be seen.  It’s a gathering of people who share a common thread—an undying love for motorcycles.

First time cruiser

Larry Fate of Levittown is no stranger to riding.  He began as a kid; first as a BMX racer who overtime graduated to motocross bikes.  The 11^th annual Lansdale event was his first bike night, and instead of his childhood motocross bike, he was perched high upon an all black Harley Davidson.

“I bought this in February for my birthday,” Fate says.  After years of motocross racing, he bought himself a cruiser.

 “I always loved racing and I never wanted a Harley, never.  But after I took one for a spin I just had to get one.”

Fate, like most others, was there to look at other bikes and meet other bikers.  And show off his wheels, of course.  There was an overwhelming sense of camaraderie present as other bikers walked up to Fate, commenting on his bike and talking about their own—a celebration of life on two wheels, a celebration of freedom and individuality.

Further down the street, a crowd of police officers stood just beyond the Lansdale station train tracks.  They looked as though they were there for security reasons, their goal to dissuade conflicting factions from letting their tensions boil, to make sure bike night remained a family affair.  But to one side of them were two men in their 50s—with long gray beards and jackets emblazoned with MAVERICKS MONTCO. PA across their backs—handing out crayons and coloring books to children and their parents.  Forget TV, this is what being a biker is all about. 

 These cops didn’t seem to be there for security at all.  They, too, were there for the show, standing proudly behind a line of police bikes with bright white and blue paint.

 “To become a motorcycle cop is the dream job,” one officer said.

“It’s a coveted position in the force,” another says.  “People work for years to work up to this.”

“It’s the best job in the world,” a third cop says.  “Where else do you get paid to ride around on a Harley Davidson all day long?”

Riding with a purpose

Bill Reap, president of the Bucks County Motorcycle Association, jokes by saying, “You’ll never see a motorcycle at a psychiatrist’s office.”  It’s one of the things that most riders agree on—when you ride, your mind is free.

 “There’s too much to concentrate on when riding to be worrying about other things,” Reap says.  It’s this stress-relieving quality that makes motorcycles so appealing.           

Next Saturday (Sept. 30), Reap will be at the Bristol waterfront at 6 a.m., setting up the 7th annual Bristol BikeNite.  Although the event doesn’t officially start until 5 p.m., Reap expects bikes to come rolling through all day long. 

“These events are great because they give you a time and place and purpose for riding,” he says.  It’s also exciting for people to see others they haven’t seen in a long time.  Reap says bike nights are a reunion of sorts.

As Bristol’s largest event, Reap estimates this year’s turnout to be around 15,000 people with thousands of bikes present.  Most are bikers from all over Bucks and Montgomery counties, Philadelphia, and South Jersey, but the event draws plenty of curious locals as well.

Reap enjoys the camaraderie of these events—the bikers, the families wandering wide eyed.  But what he really loves is the opportunity to give back to his local community.             

“Anytime I get to involve motorcycles and helping out the community at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing.” Reap says.

Within the last three years, Bristol BikeNite has raised $6,000 for a hunger project sponsored by the Ancient Order of the Hibernians.  They also have raised money and donated funds to Bristol’s police department and Rescue Squad.

Reap says that riding motorcycles is all about the adrenaline rush.  It’s about feeling the wind and taking in the scenery.  One aspect of Bristol BikeNite that Reap says he’s extremely proud of is that Bristol’s waterfront park, nestled up against the Delaware River, provides riders and passersby with a wonderful backdrop to the event.  It’s an atmosphere that Reap says other bike nights lack. 

Bristol BikeNite will also include: a Miss Bristol BikeNite pageant, a bike contest with 100 of the area’s best motorcycles, live music, food, and vendors.

If You Go:

7TH ANNUAL BRISTOL BIKE NITE

September 30, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Mill Street, Bristol

Details: Bike show $10,

Info:  www.geocities.com/bcma1996  

215.880.9487

Also:

Chopper XPO 2006

September 29 through October 1

Atlantic City Convention Center

300,000 square feet of color and chrome, including a collection of antique Harley Davidson Motorcycles.

Hulk Hogan, Miami Ink and Vinnie Parco

www.accenter.com

1.800.214.0663