Reflections on Atlanticade

As a man, there are few times when I can stand up and say, “Hey, gosh, I was right.”

For the previous months and weeks, I’d been trying to explain just how much of an impact a major motorcycle festival can have on a region.

As of Monday morning, more than a few county residents had come to grips with that reality.

The numbers are still being tallied, but so far, it seems like at least 5,000 people signed on for Atlanticade, the five-day motorbike festival that was here in the county for the first time, but in its fourth year of existence in this province. Upwards of 10,000 bikes may have come through the region in a five-day period.

Wow.

I had the delightful duty of riding around on my motorbike and participating a bit, and I can honestly say that this weekend’s impact exceeded every one of my expectations.

Everywhere I went, there were bikes. At stores, at restaurants, parked in the lookout overseeing the Campobello Island lighthouse – everywhere.

There’s a habit among bikers of waving at each other (left hand, of course, as the right has to stay on the throttle) as we pass on the road. There was a lot of waving.

Or, as I said to Dale Hicks Monday, “My left hand got more tired than my right did.”

More than a few businesses reaped the rewards. Appropriately marketed and appropriately placed restaurants were the big winners, as were hoteliers.

Not everyone was happy, however.

Some St. Stephen merchants were underwhelmed. That would, I think, be adequate fodder to plan ahead and create a bigger splash next year – there were a few things done, but for the most part, too little, too late. Simply put, St. Stephen residents and powers-that-be didn't realize the potential.

Now they do, one would hope. It will be better next year.

In a related note, a second-hand report suggested a St. Andrews jewelry store was displeased with the lack of traffic.

Well, what did that business do to tap into the market? Did it flog skull-and-crossbone rings, pendants and “ride free or die” jewelry?

Business requires creative marketing, like the tartan store in St. Andrews that flogged tartan-printed do-rags and bandanas: that, my friends, is smart stuff.

Now, let me address the remaining big issue: noise.

And here’s where some of you may find an intriguing ally.

I utterly and totally despise the loud-pipe crowd.

There are several myths regarding loud bikes, the most pervasive and utterly debunked one being that “loud pipes save lives.”

The thought is that if someone can hear your rumbling behemoth, they’ll see you. It’s a totally false. Motorists still plow into bikes, and they do so for two key reasons: one, the biker wasn’t sufficiently trained in defensive driving and avoidance techniques; two, the driver didn’t see the bike.

Muffler-less bikes will still get munched, in large part because motorcycle collisions usually involve the front of a motorcycle, and noise from a bike usually goes out the back.

Some remove mufflers in the mistaken belief it will improve performance. That, too, is usually false. (If anything, the loss of back-pressure actually reduces power output.)

So yes, I find that too many machines are too loud. There is never a need to remove or diminish a muffler. Someone is compensating for something.

There’s a saying among some of my dual-sport peers, and this weekend’s backlash from Atlanticade underscores the saying: "loud pipes annoy the neighbours."

Unfortunately, there are too many image-seeking individuals who think that a loud bike is part of some lifestyle thing.

That said, even if you don’t like loud bikes (and I clearly don’t), it is unwise to decry Atlanticade.
The buzz in this region was spectacular, and the impact staggering: Atlanticade just put this county on the tourism map of thousands who had no idea what this region had to offer. I cannot tell you how many riders reveled in the delightful roads of this region. Some explored the ridges, others went to the delightful undulating curviness of Deer Island.

As an “embedded journalist” I didn’t have to pay for accommodations. Typically, the Scottish genes in my makeup congregate in my wallet. I’m a cheap guy. Yet in the two days my wife and I participated in the periphery of Atlanticade, we spent $150 or so. That’s dollars into the economy – and our spending was paltry compared to some.

In closing, two things must be stated.
The bikers came here, and spent bucketloads of money. And, more importantly, they’ll be back, if you let them.

Atlanticade, as I had hoped, was, indeed, the biggest boost to tourism this region has ever seen.

And frankly, loud pipes or otherwise, the welcome mat should be readied for this time next year.