If you were anywhere near town last Saturday, that “heavy metal thunder” you were hearing wasn’t coming from storm clouds. It was the return of Bike Fest in downtown Arcadia, and let me tell you, bikers and black leather was everywhere.
Oak Street, Polk Avenue, and DeSoto Avenue were lined with booth after booth for passersby to shop for all sorts of merchandise related to riding motorcycles, and the streets and sidewalks were quite crowded with mostly folks from out of town who flock to events such as this. All types of motorcycles were on display as well, and familiar music was within earshot in all directions.
It was a good boost in the arm for our community, as restaurants were slammed with business, and many visitors took time to shop in the various stores around town. All went well, other than the weather not cooperating mid-afternoon.
Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not the biker dude type, even if I do like to wear black clothes and do-rags on my noggin, and prefer biker boots with silver rings over the pointy cowboy ones. So I did feel a little out of place, but not uncomfortable. It went well — there were no fights, riots, disorderly/lewd behavior that some might think are associated with the well-known, much larger gatherings at places like Daytona and Sturgis.
To be clear, there’s always been a part of me that wanted to buy a motorcycle ever since I saw the cult classic movie “Easy Rider,” and go tooling off into the sunset with some buddies, with our “knees in the breeze,” as they say. But the smarter part of me knows that I’d be graveyard dead within a week, after haven been scraped off the highway in pieces. Sometimes it’s best to just let dreams be dreams.
My dad rode a Harley when I was quite young. He had a metal milk crate (remember those?) lashed behind the seat and he’d take me and my siblings for rides in it. One at a time, of course. If it was any real distance, I’d sit in front of him and enjoy the road. I didn’t get to have the experience of my hair flying all over the place because he kept my head shaved back then, but I’m sure I ate a few bugs along the way to get the biker experience. Great memories, and I still have his black leather kidney belt that’s covered with reflectors and silver studs.
I spent most of my time there at my buddy Linda Cassel’s booth, where she sold very cool top hats that she’d adorned with all sorts of Steampunk stuff. If you’re unfamiliar with that term, picture décor from one of those old Jules Vern books or movies. Her friend Cassie Bock was with her, selling beautiful handcrafted jewelry, and they enjoyed the day, too.
While the streets were filled with out-of-towners, I did see quite a few locals on hand, having a good time. Several food vendors helped feed the hundreds in attendance, selling everything from barbeque and hot dogs to banana pudding in waffle cones. Doesn’t that make your taste buds want some of that?
All went well until around 1:30 p.m., when the wind began to pick up and a sprinkling rain had everybody watching the sky. The rain seemed to pause for a couple of minutes, so we all dismissed it as being over with. And then it was suddenly back, and coming down quite forcefully. This had everybody hurrying for cover while vendors were trying to protect their merchandise and keep the wind from knocking over the booths. When I say booths, I mean mostly it was tarps on legs. Funeral tents is how they’re best described, I’d say.
So then folks began hurriedly packing their wares into vehicles and I helped Linda and Cassie get theirs loaded into a U-Haul truck so they could escape the storm. Motorcycles began cranking up and were making their way out of town in droves for the long ride home in the rain.
And so ended another fun event in our little town. I didn’t come home with a black leather jacket, a black biker T-shirt, or one of those black leather wallets with the chains that hook to your belt loops, but I did bring home some good memories. If the bike fest is held again next year and you feel like you were born to be wild, “get your motor running and head out on the highway,” and come check it out!
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November 17, 2020 at 07:32AM
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