FRIDAY THE 13TH

Today, people watchers, bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts descended on Port Dover, Ontario for the 50th Friday the 13th festival. It was expected that 150,000 people would come to look at the approximate 20,000 bikes on display by their owners. The festival has grown tremendously since it began as an impromptu gathering of 25 friends in 1981. Years of living just off of Hwy #6, the major route to Dover, our family experienced many times the roar of the bikes all day long as they proceeded and returned to the festival. Although the Dominican Republic cannot rival these numbers, motto conchos are in abundant supply everywhere waiting for their next fare. This is the transportation of choice for most people who cannot afford to own their own vehicle. Every day we hear the roar of the bikes and see their sometimes crazy antics weaving though the traffic or the occasional wheelie by a young man with his friends on the back. When the street light turns green look out….it seems that the race is on with every single bike trying to be the first to pass through the intersection. However I must admire these talented men as they drive with up to 4 or 5 passengers, the many women who sit side saddle without holding on to the driver, or the 50 & 100 lb. propane tanks and washing machines that you see them transport. The most bizarre things I have seen were a man sitting on a 4x8 sheet of plywood and dragging it behind on the road, a passenger was holding a door sideways or the lady riding side saddle holding a slab birthday cake from the bakery.
So when I think of these amazing things….I can honestly say that the people who show off their bikes in Port Dover have nothing on these fine people here in the Dominican Republic. .