Hog wild!

By Nadine Armstrong

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

Get ready. Windsor is set to explode. This summer, thousands of motorcycles will roar into town June 13-15 for the first-annual Ring of Fire motorcycle rally. Already, it’s shaping up to be a massive event and anyway you look at it, it’s going to be an impressive show.

Inspired by the success of the Spitfire Arms Friday the 13th rallies and the annual Windsor Fire Department poker run, the three-day event will showcase all that is great and good in the motorcycle world.

“When we realized how close together the two events were this year we thought why not combine them into one massive rally,” said fire department member Chris Sullivan.

The rally will kick off at noon June 13 with a blessing of the bikes and show and shine, wrapping up that Sunday with the fire department ride.

In between, there will be plenty for motorcycle enthusiasts to take in -- including live music, an array of vendors and the ultimate; a burn-out competition. To accommodate riders, portions of Gerrish and Water Streets will be open to bike traffic only.

Organizer Troy Kirkby, proprietor of the Spitfire Arms, is already in the moment. “This is going to be one great party,” he said. Being a rider, he understands what makes bikers tick. “Riding is about leaving it all behind and hitting the open road; it’s freedom.”

No better place

And where better to experience the open road than right here in Hants County? Over the past few years, the area has become a key destination for riders and Kirkby says it just goes to show how the face of tourism is changing.

“Motorcycles now represent the fastest growing facet in the tourism industry,” he said.

“All you have to do is look at what this type of event has done for Digby,” said VanEssa Roberts of the Town of Windsor. “This is going to have a long-term effect on tourism in this area.”

Roberts said more motorcyclists today are professionals looking for a destination point in the Valley. “By creating an event for them here in Windsor, we anticipate they will continue to visit over the bike season.”

Windsor’s proximity to Metro is the town’s biggest drawing card, Kirkby said. “We’re so close; when they want a weekend ride they’re going to stop here. This rally will introduce thousands of people to the town.”

That is the kind of economic spin-off, he noted, will have a lasting impact. “This will provide residual business that will affect the town for months and years to come.”

Businesses onside

That factor is the reason the project has received full support from the town, the Business Enhancement Society, as well as the local chapter of the Chamber of Commerce. “We’re really excited that businesses here are onside,” Kirkby said. The Windsor Business Enhancement Society is so enthused they plan to launch a best biker window display competition that weekend.

Sullivan said the event would do a lot for the fire department, as well. Members there originally coined the Ring of Fire title during their first charity poker run three years ago. Upward of 250 bikers from around the province participated, raising some $2,000 toward the Child Safety Trailer and other life saving devices, said Sullivan. This year, as part of the weekend rally he hopes to see those figures rise significantly.

And by all accounts, it looks like the head count will reach the thousands mark. Kirkby and Sullivan recently sold the event at the annual Biker Bash in Halifax and from the feedback they’ve received so far, accommodations for the Windsor event are already being snatched up. The exhibition grounds will open up 500 camping sites that weekend in the expectation of overflow.