Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/703695
30 nAugust 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS the downtown area. By then it was late afternoon so we saddled up and con- tinued to our fi nal stop at the Covered Bridge Farm Table Restaurant, right next to a wooden bridge crossing the Pemigewasset River. Some of the riders enjoyed food and drink at the restaurant while others headed back to the Weirs. The ride was a 240-mile loop that kept us out well into the eve- ning, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day. The fi nal Gypsy Tour of the week was the We Love Laconia Motorcycle Week Ride where the all-female riding group, the Iron Lillies, along with Laconia Mayor Edward Engler, Charlie St. Clair, and other dignitaries, led participants on a two-hour tour. For a $50 donation, riders received a T-shirt, swag bag, VIP parking and a catered lunch, plus live music, at the Laconia Roadhouse after the ride. Unlike the rally committees of many other major motorcycle events, Charlie and Jennifer actually participate in the rides and other activities to the extent that their offi cial duties permit. Although it's fun to hang out at the Weirs and party in the bars at night, Laconia is primarily a rid- ing rally. Whether you cycle along the Kancamagus Highway with a small group of friends, climb Mt. Washington on one of the motorcy- cle-only days, or join one of the ful- ly-guided Gypsy Tours, you don't want to miss riding along the magnifi cent New Hampshire roads. 4 accompanying them. I mentioned that it had snowed the previous week and offered to loan one Lily some socks and a pair of gloves, but no, they would be fi ne. None of them had ridden on twisty mountain roads, but thanks to local support they were being professionally briefed and led. Ah, the fresh self-confi dence of new riders brings a smile to my face. Fourteen Harleys departed for this charity ride on some of the state's most popular roads and I expect for these Floridians it will prove to be an exciting adven- ture soon posted on social media. The Gypsy Tour and motorcy- cle racing are the historic core of Motorcycle Week. When the races moved from the Gunstock Recreation Area to the Bryar Motorsport Park in 1964, riders migrated down Route 106 to Loudon. After it was transformed into the speedway in 1990, crowds tended to remain at Weirs Beach and a surge in vendor merchandising resulted. One does not require a crystal ball to look into the future. The Funspot rally activities are no more—and the same for across the road—thus leav- ing the Broken Spoke as an oasis in the wilderness. Despite an impressive collection of used bikes for sale, all but three of the vendors in Laconia H-D's parking lot were hawking acces- sories and carnival trinkets, and only four parts vendors fi lled the upper lot between Laconia H-D and Hart's Turkey Farm (perhaps because this is Laconia Continued from page 28 Gypsy Tour Continued from page 29 Riders stop at the historic town of Bath which has the longest covered bridge in New Hampshire—built in 1832, it's 392 feet long! Laconia Motorcycle Week Director Jennifer Anderson (c) with Covered Bridges ride organiz- ers Debbie (l) and Dave Conrad (r) See "Laconia," page 44, column 1 The Iron Lilies and supporters for their charity ride on Monday