Yes it is time again for the 24th annual River Run when 20,000 motorcycles converge here April 26-30. After my morning workout I decided to deviate from my busy retired schedule and check out the early action before the real invasion this weekend. Most of all 11 casinos were already 50% full of motorcycles with outside venues ranging from live rock music to wet T-shirt and No-shirt contest. Some casinos offered free secured parking for motorcycles to stave off the rash of cycle snatches that occur at this time (5 guys and a pickup). Of course we are talking mostly about HD's in every size and style except for the engine design which is still 1940's technology. At each stop light the HDs size each other up by rumbling their engines in anticipation for the next green light however, whenever my B12 was abreast with its unmistakable 1200s modified engine and Yoshimura race pipe roar, not one HD bellowed a challenge with the exception of one modified 1200 Sportster which I dispatched as quickly as passing all the other stationary objects in my field of view. Not surprisingly and to the relief of local law enforcement, most of the riders are made up of gray haired leather clad early baby boomers, I say early cause I am a late boomer with all my hair in one color and can still make or retract a dimple on my face when I smile. All the rest seem to be made up of young Harvard professionals with out of the box production 50k choppers and girls astride between the age of 18 and 25 wearing bikinis or halter-tops with cutoffs, and of course no helmets (YO-kool-man). Also it wouldn't be fair of me not to mention the noticeable amount of single women riders most of which seem to be between the age of 28 and 40, one of which posed for a picture below appropriately named Brandy. The rest of the pics below are of just 3 of the major casino parking lots to give you all an idea of how the HDs are gathering here as we are just into Thursday.
PS, just incase you are thinking of coming up and dusting off your Norton, Suzuki, Kawasaki, or Ducati, there are a lot of other bike brands that make this trip, unlike majority of the HDs that trailer their bikes in and unload them at the casinos, true to the term "Easy Rider".
