The meaning of 'Bike Week' has been defined by the big one over in Florida, same goes for what people seem to expect from anything that carries it in its name. Have you ever noticed that things by a similar name may never the less be very different wherever you go? True, Arizona Bike Week does not have the centerpiece races like Daytona and there is no beach three bars down the road. But what difference does it make?
Arizona is one of the best places to be riding a motorcycle, the weather is flat out great this time of year… and, after all, Bike Week is what you make it, not what someone else makes it for you. So, let’s try to get some sort of event report together here…
The official numbers for this year's Arizona Bike Week, which just ended this past Sunday, are not in yet, but we have it from a well informed source that attendance at the main site at Westworld exceeded 10,000 on both Friday and Saturday. The vendors we spoke to were happy with the turnout as well as the interest in their product and the business that they either made right there or at least got started.
Some big brands like Harley-Davidson brought their big rig over and and were offering demo rides. Specialty manufacturers like Saxon displayed their bikes and custom builders like Jim Nasi and Nick Trask had brought some of their creations over to the main arena. Of course there also was the usual multitude of leather booths and jewelry places, covering the full range from run-of-the-mill to exclusive.The headliner concerts in the evenings, at the temporary 'Handlebar Saloon', were well attended throughout the event.
One feature that sets Arizona Bike Week apart from many others around the country is that it is spread out over almost the complete Valley of the Sun,and beyond when it comes to rides. We may be going out on a limb here, butit appears that the majority of people who come to Arizona for Bike Week actually attend to get some serious miles on the clock and just needed an excuse to do so.
Some of the best custom bike builders in the country are located in the valley, and there are great places to hang out everywhere and these hangouts are permanent, Bike Week or not.
One of these hangouts and an absolute must at any time of year is the Hideaway up in Cave Creek. Mark and his team have always something going on in addition to the great food and atmosphere that is standard at the Hideaway. This year was no exception: Each day of Arizona Bike Week was dedicated to either a local builder like John Shope's Sinister Industries,Paul Yaffe and his Bagger Nation, Nick Trask, Bourget's, or another theme.
For one afternoon during Arizona Bike Week, Paul Yaffe's shop on IndianSchool Road turned hot-spot for the annual Bike Bash. For the ninth time Paul and his crew turned the custom bike manufacture into a party-zone with food, drinks, live music and a look behind the scenes of PYO and the Bagger Nation.
This report is bound to suffer the same fait as the attempt to physically catch all of Arizona Bike Week in one go: There is simply too much going on to hit everything. While this sucks in some respect, it also has its benefit: It leaves you with the perfect reason to come back next year and try to do what you didn't get to do last time around. Of course then you'll miss out on what you did before and would really like to do again. Once you've entered into this vicious cycle, you're pretty much screwed. On second thought, you don't really need an excuse to go for a ride in Arizona.
Excuse required or not, it was obvious this year that Arizona Bike Week is growing not only by numbers but also, maybe most importantly, in reach. Attendance from out of state visitors appeared to be up considerably over past years and also shops from neighboring states had a presence at Westworld.
See you next year and keep an eye on well ahead of time.
– – C.S. Berg
