Ride Diary

York Bike Night

I went up to York Bike Night last evening for the parade. (Sorry I missed you Bernie.) Harleys predominated in the parade, but there was a good mix of other bikes, some UJMs, a Triumph sportbike and a couple of BMWs. The local BMW dealer had a tent set up and I admired the BMW F650 thumper and the Aprilia single he had on display. He looked kinda lonely, though. I definitely was a little unusual in red Cordura in a sea of black leather. I won't even attempt a head count, but there were thousands of bikes and the weather was picture perfect.

The parade down the main drag was the highlight of the evening, complete with the blue haze of burnouts in front of the County Courthouse. There were a few parade riders sans helmet, and I saw a Kawasaki sportbike rider wearing a "salad bowl" helmet in honor of the occasion, I guess. Where I was standing there is a slight upgrade to view the parade, so the HD riders opened up the throttle a little for a deafening BRRRRRRRAP of straight pipes, punctuated by a occasional ZZZZZIP from a UJM sportbike. The parade moved right along at a good clip. Even saw a bike cop from the Marion County (Ind.) Sheriff's MC Drill Team do a "look Ma, no hands" while standing on the seat.

A nice diversion on a Friday night, some very pretty MD and PA early fall scenery on the way up, and a good shake down cruise in preparation for Crash Test Dummies next weekend. The route up MD 97 is enjoyable beyond the suburban fringe. It's a good event and well worth the trip if you're within a couple of hours from York. How 'bout it guys and gals, a NH Drill Team next year? :)