My trip to Port Dover on Friday 13th 2019. Before I begin, I would like to give you a little background into myself and my motorcycle journey so far.
Background!
I learned to ride when I was seventeen. I had my own car then still in high school, thanks to my hard working Mom. A friend approached me one day asking if he could borrow my car and I take his motorcycle. I said “That would be cool, except I don’t ride, never learned.” He says “Do you know how to drive stick? Can you ride a bicycle? I say “Sure.” He shows me the important parts clutch, shifter, throttle, choke, front brake and rear brake. “Here’s the keys, have fun!”
First Bike
Man, I was hooked. We swapped car for bike a lot over the next few years. After I got married, had a family i never seemed to have the time or money to get my license or my own bike. I was twenty nine when I got my own bike and license a used 1982 Honda CM450E. I had that bike for a few years but had to let it go for financial reasons.
Current Bike
It was the spring of 2016 when I got my present bike. I introduced you to Ronda in my welcome post. I go through this history to let you know that though I’ve been a fan of riding most of my life my, I have limited experience. I’ve never ridden in a group and I arrived at my first Port Dover Friday 13th by car.
Port Dover Friday September 13, 2019
Going to PD13 this year I intended on meeting up with a group at one of the local bike shops and riding into Port Dover with them. Being that i am an introvert. Of course I decided against the group ride. Yes I truly am a lone wolf.
Along the Way
The ride from St. Catharines to Port Dover is approximately an hour and a half. The ride there was perfect, I stopped for breakfast in a town called Dunnville. Where I meet a nice couple on their way to Dover as well. We had a nice conversation in the parking lot while I was finishing up my coffee. An introvert yes, antisocial no.
The young lady expressed an interested in hearing my bike start up. She had noticed the pipes my son had made for me and thought it would be loud. I’m happy to say Ronda did not disappoint her. Ronda is not as loud as when the pipes were first installed as I ordered some baffles online. Just enough to stop a casual poke with a nightstick lol.
Good Turn out!
I arrived in Port Dover with a long line of bikes around 50 – 100 ahead of me and about the same number behind me within 5 minutes. Parked everywhere there were literally thousands of bikes.
There was some talk online that the new rules not allowing bike clubs involved in criminal activities to sell merchandise at the rally would deter rider attendance. I’m guessing that attendance was only boycotted by 1% of riders that would normally attended. Another change this year, a two block portion of Main St. was blocked off from all traffic including motorcycles. If you happened to look in on the event cam you would see no bikes only pedestrians. In the comments some people even stated the lack of bikes visible in the feed proved that the new rules had caused the demise of PD13. Not true Canada’s largest motorcycle rally is alive and well.
Next Friday 13th
I am not sure if I’ll ride up for the next one. It really depends on the weather for December 13, 2019, but I won’t put the bike away for winter before then just in case it’s a good day for a ride. I’m sure there will still be good turn out. We of the North are not going to let a little cold stop us. Perhaps I’ll see you in Port Dover on December 13 for PD13 #66.
Conclusion
All in all it was a good ride both ways. The rally had a good vibe and lots of energy. The pirate dancers were fun to watch, the venders had lots of great gear at good prices and the food all smelled great.
Until next time keep the rubber side down!
Bulldog