Port Dover Hopes To Set World Biker Record On Friday The 13th
Posted June 13, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Friday the 13th may not be lucky for everyone, but merchants in the small town of Port Dover, Ontario couldn’t feel more fortunate. They’re hoping to set the world record for most motorcycle enthusiasts gathered in the same place at the same time. And if the past is any indication, there’s a good chance those Born To Be Wild will make their presence felt.
The city on the shores of Lake Erie is home to the annual invasion of riders, who descend on the hamlet every Friday 13th in a tradition that dates back to the early 1980s. It started when a local cycle shop owner gathered with his friends at a bar on Friday the 13th, 1981. They had such a good time, they decided to do it every time the calendar hit the infamous date.
Word spread about the gathering and it finally went from an intimate number of just 25 to hundreds and then thousands of bikers, who now view it as something of an immutable tradition. Many come from across Canada and the U.S., travelling thousands of kilometres to reach the location.
They need some 10,000 to reach the record, and to ensure everyone is properly counted, all those easy riders will be given special tags when they arrive to ensure no one is counted twice or left out.
Those who live in the city have long since accepted the influx – sometimes grudgingly – that has become a semi-regular money maker for the tourist industry there and put the southwestern Ontario town on the map. But up until now, that map has never included the Guinness Book of World Records. It remains to be seen if Port Dover will make it. But in the meantime, this is one Friday the 13th when those in town really are expected to go hog wild.
Find out more about this tradition and what else is planned.
