By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — This past weekend, the city of Caribou’s population increased by over 500 as members of several chapters of the Harley Owners Group rode into town on Thursday evening for this year’s annual HOG Rally.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox
The Caribou VFW parking lot filled up quickly with Harley-Davidsons as opening ceremonies for the 2013 HOG Rally were held at the post on Thursday evening.
The last time the rally was held in Caribou was 2005. The number of participants grew significantly for the 2013 event, which actually began in Portland with a police-escorted ride through the state to the Caribou VFW for opening ceremonies featuring a spaghetti dinner and birthday cake to celebrate 30 years of HOG and 110 years of Harley-Davidson.
The 350-mile trek originated at Big Moose Harley-Davidson in Portland and made several stops at Harley dealers along the way for breaks and to pick up more riders. Not only was it a trip to the rally, but it was also a fundraiser to benefit the Wounded Heroes Foundation of Maine.
Maine’s first lady, Ann LePage, participated, riding on the back of a Harley from Portland to Bangor. Six police officers from Old Orchard Beach, South Portland and Lewiston rode the entire way on Harley-Davidson police motorcycle units, with officers from Auburn, Augusta and Caribou also joining in on portions of the journey.
“This ride was flawless and impressive,” Lt. Timothy B. DeLuca, Old Orchard Beach Police patrol commander, wrote in an e-mail to thank the departments who assisted in the ride. “We had no incidents and everyone arrived safely.”
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| Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox Officers on Harley-Davidson police units from across the state escorted over 500 Harley-Davidson owners from southern Maine to the Caribou VFW on Thursday for the 2013 HOG Rally held in the town over the weekend. |
DeLuca, who organized the law enforcement guidance for the ride, stressed that complete support was provided from every agency from Portland to Caribou as they passed through their communities, including officers, state troopers and deputies.
“I have been blessed to have done escorts throughout the country for the last 17 years, and I have never see one this impressive with true professionals like you,” DeLuca’s e-mail concluded.
By the time the procession weaved its way through construction, one-lane closures, detours and intersections to hit U.S. Route 1 in Houlton, the roadside was lined with spectators welcoming the extraordinary amount of bikers to The County.
“You know you have a lot of bikes when there’s not enough room for them in the VFW parking lot, which is pretty big,” commented Bob Plourde, owner of Plourde & Plourde, the Caribou HOG chapter’s sponsor dealership. “They were parking in the back and on the sides.”
The rally began on Thursday evening and continued into Saturday night with events such as bike shows and skills games held at the Caribou Inn & Convention Center. Guided rides through the area were also provided, with approximately 60 riders going into Canada to see the world’s largest covered bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick.
Rain on Friday did not seem to deter the HOG members from being out and about.
“I had a lot of members in my shop on Friday,” Plourde said, “which was nice. On Saturday, when the weather was nice, they were all out riding, which is what I really wanted them to do while they were here — ride — because then they will know how nice this area is for riding. We hope to do this again in another four or five years, so it’s important for them to see what great riding there is in the area.”
An informal parade made its way through the streets of Caribou on Saturday evening back to the Caribou Inn for closing ceremonies and a dance to wrap the weekend up.
Karla St. Peter, president of the Caribou HOG chapter, was extremely pleased with the positive outcome.
“It went very well,” St. Peter said. “The ride up was uneventful and dealer participation was great!”
St. Peter, who attended most of the rally’s events, heard several comments from participants about how welcoming the people in the area were and what a great time they were having.
“It didn’t even matter to them that it rained,” St. Peter added.
One local business, Works of Heart on Bennett Drive, offered free rides to visitors from the rally during the heavy rains.
According to Robert Marrett of Works of Heart, several participants did take them up on that offer, getting rides to various locations around town.
“Everyone said the rally was great,” Marrett said. “I thought it was great. It was just too bad that it had to rain.”
Like Plourde, Marrett noted that his shop was busy with rally-goers during the inclement weather, but not so much when Mother Nature provided ideal riding conditions.
Spencer Ouellette, owner of Burger Boy restaurant, offered a 10 percent discount to HOG members while they were visiting.
“We did see some HOG members here and an increase in business,” Ouellette advised. “They were all very pleasant and seemed to be enjoying themselves.”
“It was amazing and a great time,” said Kevin Simmons, owner of the Caribou Inn and Convention Center, which was the host venue for most of the rally’s events. “There were people from all over inter-mingling. All the hotels were full. We had over 400 people here at any given time throughout the day.”
Simmons agreed with the general consensus that all the visitors were upbeat and had no complaints.
“It’s a long way up here, but it’s a beautiful ride,” Simmons remarked. “The County is a unique experience for the members. We offer something they don’t see at other rallies.”
According to the Maine HOG website, details for next year’s rally are still in the works. Those interested can check the site for more information at www.mestatehogrally.com.
