Police & fire chief agree, 91st Bike Week was safe and calm

LACONIA — Although most said the crowds were smaller and the bikers older than in past years, the 91st running of the oldest motorcycle rally in the country was marked by splendid weather, great riding and few casualties.

"One dead and three serious," said Fire Chief Ken Erickson. "That is a great Bike Week."

Police Chief Chris Adams said that officers made 95 arrests throughout the city during the week, almost twice the number of last year. However, he noted that 45 of those arrested were taken into protective custody for being intoxicated and apart from "a handful of assaults there was nothing serious. From my perspective it was definitely a success," he said.

Noting that the department's call volume for the month of June is tracking the average for the past four years, Erickson said during the rally the number of both serious and nuisance calls was "remarkably, shockingly low." He recalled the most demanding moment fell on the afternoon of the second Saturday when, at one and the same time, firefighters responded to a fire aboard a boat in Paugus Bay and a fire in a chimney in the downtown. "We had to bring the crew from The Weirs to cover Central Station," Erickson said.

Erickson said that the weather drew large crowds throughout the week and particularly on the last Saturday. But, he noted that the traffic was dispersed, explaining that the loop, which once covered the four miles from the Weirs Beach sign down Lakeside Avenue to Scenic Road along Watson Road to Routet 3 and back, now stretches to Meredith, a distance of 14 miles. "The traffic was heaviest on north side, toward Meredith," he said.

"It is still a big, a really big, event," Erickson said, "but it's more spread out and less congested than ever."

"I never sat in traffic," Adams said, adding that the Weirs Channel Bridge was never closed to four-wheel traffic to relieve congestion. He sensed that the crowds fell short of the numbers of past years, remarking that he was surprised to find empty parking spaces on Lakeside Avenue at 9:30 p.m. on the closing night of the rally.

Erickson observed that while there was capacity for 15,000 people at the licensed premisses at The Weirs, the numbers in the beer tents were sparse. "people don't come here to drink beer," he said. "They come here to ride."