SummeRide bike rally attracts more than 1,000, despite wind - Action News
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PEI

SummeRide bike rally attracts more than 1,000, despite wind

More than 1,000 bikers rallied in Summerside over the Canada Day weekend despite windy weather that blew away some vendor tents.

'It's hard to ride when it's that windy'

More than a thousand bikers took part in the event, now in its second year. ( summeride.ca)
More than a thousand bikers rallied in Summerside over the Canada Day weekend despite windy weather that blew away some vendor tents.

This was the second year for the SummeRide Bike Rally.Last year, three days of rain put a damper on biker numbers, which were up more than 300 in 2016.

"Friday was our busiest day because it was absolutely beautiful," said Carolyn Thorne, executive director of Explore Summerside.

Windy weekend

The winds picked up over the weekend, forcing some bikers who were coming to the event from other Maritime provinces to cancel.

"It's hard to ride when it's that windy," Thorne said.

"So we did have people calling in and saying they were planning on attending and were coming from Halifax or possibly New Brunswick and they were just not going to make it over that day. So that was unfortunate."

Some vendors woke up Sunday morning to find out that their tents had blown away.
The Biker Games were part of the event and attracted lots of spectators. ( summeride.ca)

Unique events

The bikers competed in some unique events including Biker Games, the Top Gun Challenge and a Burnout Competition where competitors burn out a tire in the hopes of winning a new one.

It wrapped up with the Biker Blessing, led by a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association.

About 40 volunteers helped run the event.

Heather Moyse Drive in Summerside was blocked off for the three-day event. ( summeride.ca)
"We have an entire rally crew that does all the parking, and just making sure everyone's going the right way on the street," explained Thorne.

"We do close off Heather Moyse Drive for this, so obviously it causes some traffic interruptions. So we have people out, volunteers are at either end of the street, just guiding the bikes into the right place ... Everything is barricaded off."

Organizers have already announced the dates for next year's SummeRide, which will be July 1 to 3, 2017.