There are honestly so many disparate elements involved in staging an annual custom motorcycle show that organizers – or, in our case, dis-organizers- often overlook potential hazards. The main threat to running an outdoor motorcycle event like our Ride-In Custom Show has nothing to do with human error; the weather always has final say over how well the show will go.
We’ve had events where the team turned up at Sewickley’s War Memorial Park in the early hours to find ourselves facing a deluge of mud, storm debris and running water. Instead of beautifying the space we’ve rented for the day, we hustle like crazy just to get the area looking clean enough to actually use for our intended purpose. During our 2012 show held at Mid-Ohio during AMA Vintage days, the infield area around our massive tent was so waterlogged, we began referring to it as “Mud-Ohio.”
We’ve faced some crazy obstacles from overzealous local government bureaucrats who bristle at the thought of their posh little burgh being sullied for even a day by a bunch of greasy motorcycles and our stalwart team has faced down filthy porta-johns that looked as if they were installed at Woodstock for use by 500,000 beer-swilling hippies just the day before.
None of this can compare to staring endlessly at the heavens, wondering whether Mother nature has it in for us or not.
Lucky for everyone involved, this coming Saturday promises to bring the best weather we could have hoped for: not only will the skies be completely clear of precipitation, but the August humidity has also been gracious enough to take a short leave and temperatures will stay below the mid-80s. This means a carefree day of enjoying hundreds of customized cafe racers and retro rides without the fear of riding home in a torrential downpour. This sort of weather always tends to bring forth extra large crowds and some machines whose owners are careful never to let their paint and polished metal suffer a single raindrop (not that we blame them.) It’s not an illusion that folks tend to be happier and more in the mood to take their time and enjoy themselves when the weather cooperates and motorcyclists are definitely no exception.
So if you’ve been considering a journey to join us at what’s become the biggest and ONLY ride-in custom motorcycle show dedicated to retro flavored speedbikes, this is your chance to do so weather-free. Sine on!
