Ocean City BikeFest

Ocean City, Md., Sept. 15–18—As I was riding from my home in Pennsylvania to Ocean City, Maryland, for the inaugural Ocean City BikeFest, I found myself having to dodge rain off and on most of the way. When I arrived in Ocean City it was not raining, but the roads were wet with large puddles and debris strewn all about. At dinner that evening it seemed that everyone was talking about tornadoes and how dangerous they were. My waitress asked if I had seen the tornado, and I responded, “No, what tornado?” She pulled out her cell phone and showed me some pictures she’d taken of the twister that touched down around 72nd Street, just a few minutes before I arrived in town. After the earthquake in the Northeast, followed by the hurricane, and now a tornado, most of the residents I talked to felt they had been through enough this summer to last several seasons.

Friday proved to have the best weather of the weekend, with cool temperatures in the upper 60s and mostly sunny skies—perfect riding weather. Cruising up and down the strip in Ocean City, I had the opportunity to take in some of the other venues as I worked my way down to Inlet Park, the official site for OC BikeFest. Inlet Park was the perfect spot for the rally, with ample free motorcycle-only parking adjacent to the event. The park is located right on the beach next to Ocean City Inlet, providing great views of the boat traffic entering and leaving Ocean City. The location also offered excellent access to the many restaurants and clubs within walking distance, as well as the famous Ocean City Boardwalk.

The venue site was laid out well with several large tents providing cover for merchandise vendors, the food court and the main stage. Had there been sun and heat like we experienced earlier in the season, this would have provided much-needed shade. As it was, the tents proved even more valuable in giving cover for the rain on Thursday and again on Saturday. Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson brought along a large selection of pre-owned bikes and Michelin towed a trailer full of tires, keeping the crew busy on Friday installing new rubber on customers’ rides.

Loaded Gun Customs and BMS Choppers each brought a trailer full of their custom bikes. Inside the tents were three booths exhibiting motorcycle artwork for sale. David Uhl was on hand each day working on one of his paintings when he wasn’t talking to the many folks who visited his booth. Scott Jacobs and Michael Knepper were some of the other artists with work for sale, and David Mann prints were available as well.

Although OC BikeFest was the main draw for the weekend, many of the local businesses took advantage of the expected influx of bikers to hold their own events. Thursday evening at Fager’s Island on 60th Street, Image Makers Art presented another display of creativity—“Jerry Garcia, a Visual Journey.” This is a national touring show featuring one of the largest collections of original artwork, including signed and numbered prints by Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, John Lennon and others. Unfortunately the tornado that touched down only a few blocks north of Fager’s Island meant that the presentation had to be taken down. Nevertheless, one of Jerry’s stage T-shirts, his briefcase and several original paintings were available for viewing. Steal Your Face, a Grateful Dead tribute band, provided the musical entertainment. Listening to the music in conjunction with viewing his artwork gave me even more appreciation for his musical and artistic talents.

In addition to the OC BikeFest exhibits and vendors at Inlet Park, the Ives Family Ball of Steel and Motorcycle Freestyle Show gave several performances each day. They are billed as the “Original Ball of Steel Show,” and they also performed a series of high jumps along with motorcycle stunts. Circus Una was the other performer putting on shows throughout the entire weekend. If you have not seen their show at any of the other major events, they’re worth watching. These girls perform a series of high-wire stunts on a motorcycle and trapeze.

The events and vendor mall were both good, but the main draw for most of the attendees was the music. The bands generally started around noon and alternated between the Boardwalk Stage and the Ocean Stage all afternoon until closing around 6:30 or 7 p.m. On Thursday, Red White and Crue, a Motley Crue tribute band, started things off. They were followed by Cheaters and then Poisond, a Poison tribute band, with the main act Rare Earth closing out the show. On Friday, Red White and Crue started things off again, followed by Second Helping, a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band, and another performance by Poisond. As a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan I particularly enjoyed Second Helping’s renditions of many of my favorite Skynyrd tunes.

The main act for Friday evening was The Guess Who. Although the band members have changed many times over the past 40 years, two of the original members are still playing with the band—drummer Gary Peterson and bassist Jim Kale. They started off with a mix of old favorites such as “Hand Me Down World” and some new material, proving that even after all these years the creative juices are still running and they can still rock with the audience. As they played the tent filled to capacity and beyond with the audience singing along—even on the new material. When they took a break, shouts of “Encore!” could be heard throughout the audience with hundreds of lighters lifted over people’s heads. The band came back on stage even stronger with a rendition of “American Woman” that sounded to me every bit as good as the versions I listened to in high school. Other favorites included “Lucille,” “These Eyes” and “No Time.” Had the audience not already been on its feet the band would have received a standing ovation.

Unfortunately the sunny skies of Friday did not return on Saturday. The forecast called for a 30-percent chance of rain—what we got was a 100-percent downpour and strong, cold north winds. Saturday’s musical lineup included Big Mike Griffin and the main act, Blue Oyster Cult. Despite the torrential rain, the tent was packed again to capacity on Saturday for the Blue Oyster Cult show. They played several of their past hits including “Burnin’ for You,” “Godzilla” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper” to an enthusiastic crowd.

The show’s closing ceremonies included an auction of a guitar signed by every musician who performed over the weekend, and a signed painting by Mikey Teutel of Orange County Choppers. The proceeds of the auction went to Maryland Concerned Police Officers, a charitable organization set up to benefit the families of Maryland police officers killed in the line of duty. After protracted and enthusiastic bidding, the guitar crossed the gavel at $2,000 and Mikey’s painting went for $500. Last up was the drawing for a 2012 Harley-Davidson 1200 Sportster, with Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson handling the logistics of the drawing. With paid admission to BikeFest everyone received an entry, but you had to be present to win. The first name drawn was Jimmy Verner, and from way in the back came a shout. Jimmy is from Snow Hill, Maryland, about an hour from Ocean City. When asked if he wanted the bike or the $5,000 cash, without hesitation he said, “The bike!” Now he has a stable mate for his 2011 Heritage.

Sunday dawned grey skies and more drizzly rain, so I joined the throngs of bikes and trailers heading north to sunnier skies in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Plans are in the works for next year with the site already reserved. If the event’s promoter, Cliff Sutherland, and his team can match the musical talent for next year and keep the ticket price at $15, you could do a lot worse for your money. One more thing though—do you think we could have a little less rain next time?