Motorcycles and Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th and it is estimated that 1000 bikers gathered in the small Lake Erie town of Port Dover for a unique celebration that began on a Friday the 13th in 1981. The weather in southern Ontario and upstate New York is cold and snowy today, so the crowd was small compared to the estimated 75,000 people who gathered there on May 13th, 2005.
Bikers have had a wild reputation and conjure images of outlaw bike gangs, drug dealers, violent men and tough women. But today’s biker is apt to be your doctor, lawyer or newscaster, or a well aged hippy reliving the glory of his youth. I took the photo of this portly biker in Niagara-on-the-Lake, his camera-toting partner and stuffed toys in the rear. He was part of a twenty minute long procession of bikers on a spring weekend excursion. As gas prices soar, the motorbike becomes an economic form of transportation. I was very surprised to find out that one of my co-workers, a gentle, quiet, conscientious woman in her 40’s, rides her motorcycle to work in good weather. The charge nurse the same unit, a mother of three teenagers, celebrated her anniversary with her husband with a motorcycle trip from Ontario to Florida at the end of September. Fortunately, they enjoyed fine weather for the entire two weeks they were away.
I felt brave and somewhat reckless when I went to town on the back of my brother’s motorcycle in Mexico this year. On the way back I let go and took this photo of the road and the side of the volcano where El Granjero’s home, school and hobby farm are situated. So, happy Friday the 13th , whether you are traveling by motorbike, or motorcar, or are relaxing at home at the end of your busy work week.