Bikes...and Bikers

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:26:53 GMT

Well, I am woefully behind on this blog. Life in Orillia carries on, no matter whether you blog or not!

Sometime back in June or July (sorry, I've forgotten the date) Orillia experienced it's first "Bike Show'n'Shine" held in the parking area outside the Royal Canadian Legion. I made a trip down to the show to try and get in a few shots of the bikes, and maybe some of the bikers, but the appeal of those beauties (the bikes, not the bikers) was lost since they were all crowded into the very small parking area outside the Legion.

The event this year was hopefully only a harbinger of things to come - while there were quite a few bikes, this is an event that I'd like to see filling up the entire park area, with a thousand bikes or more.

I talked with a few of the owners that I knew - Murray (who rides an interesting converted bike - it's not a "trike") and Blue, who owns an amazing blue 1955 Harley. It has a lot of modifications - one I found interesting and photographed was the bottlecap from a Molson's Blue beer bottle.

Anyway, I managed a few photos of the general show, and took a series of Blue's bike (of which 3 are completed, but there's still 2 to complete, including the one of the bottlecap).

Orillia's Waterfront Events - Cottage & Boat Show

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:52:25 GMT

Early Friday morning (June 15th) - very early...just after dawn, in fact - Centennial Park at Orillia's waterfront was beginning to buzz. That early in the morning there's seldom very many people stirring; harboured boats generally sit quietly at moor on the glassy water, but on an event weekend, even the boaters are about early. Vendors and other participants in the Orillia Cottage and Boat Show were already beginning to set up booths; with coffee in hand they chatted each other awake, while others moved quietly from box to booth setting up their wares. A few wandered along the boardwalk to the showers, or jogged along the trail through Couchiching Beach Park.

The weekend-long event means crowds, noise and a lot of garbage left at the park when it's over, even though there are many garbage receptacles located throughout the entire waterfront area. The garbage isn't left by the vendors, but by the visitors to the event. It's a shame that the park areas aren't respected - there's no way to point fingers at any particular group. I've seen young people cleaning up garbage they didn't leave, so no - let's not jump on the backs of any one age group. Responsibility isn't always a factor of age.

At any rate, the events that take place at the waterfront are generally hailed as a great success, and this was no different.

Running alongside the Cottage & Boat Show was the first annual "Bike Show and Shine" sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion, which sits at the edge of Veteran's Park, adjacent to Centennial Park and Couchiching Beach Park. This was a one day event, beginning Saturday morning at 9:30. The last count that I heard was roughly 70 bikes registered, with proceeds from the registration supporting the Canadian troops and their families. While 70 motorcycles doesn't sound like much, for the first event of this kind in Orillia, they had a good turnout - next year will be better, with a longer lead-time for advertising - and the best advertising of all - word of mouth from the bikers themselves. Bikers are an interesting lot - they come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, all persuasions (political, religious, etc.), but they all have a love of the "open road", and of the bikes themselves. By far, the largest number of bikes were Harley Davidsons, which should not surprise anyone, but Honda's offerings came in a close second. There was also a beautiful Indian - don't see those out too often. Photos for the bike show will follow a little later.

Life in Orillia: Entertainment

Bikes...and Bikers

Orillia's Waterfront Events - Cottage & Boat Show