This year, Friday the 13th appeared on the calendar three times - in February, March and right now in November - the 60th such event. My sister happens to live in Port Dover and I was visiting her for a few days in March. Below are some photos depicting a few of the scenes and some of the characters who add to the charm of PD13.
Shop windows were all decked out for this busy event.
As one might expect, it was a cold and rather blustery day on the northern shore of Lake Erie in March.
Some bikes were parked.
Others rolled along through Main Street while people strolled in between them to cross the roads.
Indoors and out, vendors were busy making sales.
The girl behind this cheerful smile sold me one of the black jerseys to commemorate the day.
All lined up in a row.
It sure wasn't as crowded as it gets during the warmer summer months but considering the cold, and that there had just been a Friday the 13th four weeks earlier, the turnout wasn't bad.
There was a whole lot of leather everywhere you looked.
Nobody seemed to mind being caught on camera.
I'm sure that some were even intent upon being photographed. Check out the shoulder poodle.
Many of these faces would really stand out in a crowd if it weren't for the fact that this crowd was full of these characters.
Some of these guys have been attending PD13 for many years.
You could buy pretty much any motorcycle-related accessory here.
Although I don't think that's where he got his little riding buddy - The A&W Root Bear.
And this brings us to "the end" of Friday the 13th in Port Dover. Next PD13 is in May, 2016 - the only one of the year.Eventually, I'll share some other photos I took around town. Until then, have a look at this video from when Rick Mercer featured Port Dover on his show in October 2013. You'll get a better idea of the crowds which were still small compared to summertime.
47 comments:
Looks like a fun event and nice you got a teeshirt. One of our sons has a beautiful Harley.
Makes me want to go polish my chrome.
A fine Friday the 13th tradition. Today is actually an Odd one: 11/13/15 -- and I just heard about the chaos in Paris. I wonder if they chose this day on purpose. :-(
Love the bikes, the tradition, the cast of characters. Great job!
Thanks for 'brangin`' us along!
ALOHA, Friend
ComfortSpiral
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Bikers over all are a pretty fine lot! I speak from experience because my husband and I were among them.
Beautiful photos, Hilary....as always. Love to come here and read your blog and enjoy your photographic skills.
Hugs to you,
Jackie
I'll bet you had fun at this event. Your photos really catch the atmosphere of the day. Now were you only taking photos or did you have your bike thee and did you get a ride? It's one of your classic posts where you go for a little walk.
Love the colorful lady with the shoulder poodle. She's either wearing some unusual gloves, or she's got some serious arthritis in her hands.
I'm glad you timed your visit to coincide with this so we could get a glimpse. But I sure hope that poodle doesn't ride on the shoulder while the shoulder is attached to a body riding on a motorcycle!!
Very interesting, and real nice photos. You captured the mood-spot on.
I would fit in with this group except motorcycles scare the crap out of me.
You had to have so much fun. Loved the images.
What lovely motorbikes! Looks like a fun time.
My recollection is that march was flippin' COLD and you have to think that motorcycling then was a challenge :)
How beautiful are they, motor bikers, lots of them. Excellent images Hilary.
That's it, I gotta get me a shoulder poodle. My sometimes shoulder cat just isn't as cool. :-) Thank you for the fun adventure, reminds me of Laconia NH in the summer.
Love motorcycles, although i'm scared to death of them and can't bring myself to get on one. Love the pictures!
Must be nice, great environment and photos. Greetings!
Great photos Hilary!
The brotherhood/sisterhood of bikers is certainly strong and charismatic. They do scare me just a little as the day wanes, though.
How interesting. Great photos of the gathering. We have a couple of motorcycle rallies that we have attended and really enjoyed, closer to NM.
What a lot of fun. Thanks f0r the video too.
My father's minister is a motorbiker too. He goes down there every Friday the 13th, unless there's some absolute ministerial need like a congregation member on a deathbed.
These photos remind me of the yearly biker meet in my home town of Ventura, California. I miss that; it was always a lot of fun.
You've already gotten snow!
There's a week-long Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota every year the first week in August. Also a normally small town that grows by hundreds of thousands that week. I couldn't help but think of it when I saw your pictures. :) Loved the news report, too!
looks like fun if you are into motorcycles.
Hi, dear Hilary! This is my first day back online in four days and I didn't want to miss this exciting post. I enjoyed watching the video and learning how PD13 started with a small group of bikers who threw a party on a Friday the 13th and mushroomed into an event that draws more than a hundred thousand motorcycle enthusiasts from all over North America. When I saw your picture of all the cycles lined up side by side it reminded me of the scene in Pee-wee's Big Adventure in which Pee-Wee Herman accidentally bumped a Harley outside a biker bar. It tipped over and a whole line of bikes toppled like dominoes. :)
Thank you for bringing us the story of this fun event and a batch of great pictures, dear friend Hilary!
I think the most surprising thing for me is to see the age of some of the participants! Is it nostalgia or are they still riding motorcycles even in MARCH?
You really caught some amazing characters in those pictures. You always take really good pictures but these are amazing.
We also have this type of thing happen in England.
Maggie x
Most enjoyable visit.
Always fun to watch the excitement and the dedication of the fans. You caught some great moments here.
Hilary, I thought you'd do a selfie in a full set of leathers at the end! Love the frilly lady with the poodle. Some of these guys look a little worse for wear. (Don't tell the Hell's Angels I said that...)
bad boys still have appeal at any age. :)
awesome faces .. well captured .. and i wish i had know, i would have asked you to get Ray a t-shirt!
Oh I am so glad you included the Rick Mercer Port Dover video. I remember this RMR show a couple of years ago, great fun! he is my hero, he will try just about anything. Those biker dudes are pretty scary on their own, but in a mob, they just look like biker dudes having fun with their biker buddies. I think I may have to become a biker babe, I'd so much love to go to this event. Take me with you next May!
What a great assortment of characters.
Bikers! I feel vicariously bad-ass just looking at the pictures.
Love that the older they are, the tougher they look. Not the sort of geezers one should mess with!
--Crabby, signed in under wrong google account
I remember when cyclists were young and scary.
Hilary: I was cheered and surprised by this new feature. Yes, the video really did have a lot of characters. All in good fun! :)
Even though I'm not a biker, I think I would enjoy this event just because I know it would be fun! Great pics!
Great pics, fun folks, a cool tradition and a super fun way to spend a Friday the 13th! No bad luck here! I'm sure the small town benefits from all the traffic. My brother lives in upstate Wisconsin and his town has a Harley factory and a big Harley run goes on every September. He rents out his lakeside property to those who want to camp out and he serves breakfast every morning! Thanks for sharing about this neat event!
Wonderful captures from the event.
Great opportunity for photography! :)
Snow and motorcycles appear cold! And I didn't know we were blessed with three Friday, 13th's this year.
Now I want to get on my bike and go for a ride. Of course it’s warmer here in Atlanta, GA so that makes it even more appealing.
Nice shots, I think you captured the essence of a biker rally.
I like your Fridays 13th! :-)
Greetings from London.
Lots of interesting faces. Love the shoulder poodle!
The first few pics I was thinking -"where's the snow?" But ha - found a patch in about pic #6 or so.
What a gathering!!!
My brother would think this wonderful! I will have to tell him about it. Perhaps he'll make the trip one day. If he does, I will beg a ride on the back of his bike and come too!
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