"Harley: All Quiet on the Milwaukee Front."


Ah, the sweet sound of silence once again!

This past week saw the Milwaukee celebration of 100 years of Harley Davidson motorcycles, and since Milwaukee is 'ground zero' for the Harley Davidson Motor Company, that meant this past week my hometown became a Mecca of sorts. It was estimated that at least 250,000 people from all over the world showed up in Milwaukee with their chrome two-wheelers. Yes, that meant people from Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, England -- you name it -- all showed up for the major Harley bash. Some people even shipped their Harleys overseas just to be here for the big event!

.... And let me tell you, my what a bash it was! Big name entertainers putting on concerts, hundreds of thousands of extra visitors to Milwaukee, stylish Harley motorcycles everywhere you look (and yes, I mean EVERYWHERE), and every hotel and campground plus even people's homes booked up with visitors. There were leather jacket-clad people on chome 'Hogs' all over the place, and evidence of Harley the tradition was in abundance everywhere.

Despite all the cool additions to Milwaukee for a few days, not all was totally exciting though. I just so happen to live right near one of the major festival sites, so almost 24-hours a day there was to be heard the roar of Harleys -- never one at a time (Harley's travel in packs, dontcha know.). Roads were three to four times as populated as usual, and the noise level rose dramatically (Harley's are traditionally quite loud, dontcha know.). So, as you can image, it was a little frustrating for a citizen such as myself, especially as I am not used to all the commotion.

But, it was nice having so many people visiting my fair city. Not since the 2002 MLB All-star game has something notably big hit Milwaukee, and this is by far the biggest to date. This many tourists to my Midwestern city, is usually not normal... But thank goodness for Harley. Milwaukee IS on the map, and that I greatly enjoy every once in a while.

And, I've noticed that the Harley-riding kind are generally very friendly folks -- despite their rough-tough outer appearance. So, despite the sometimes frustrating additional noise the thousands and thousands of bikes caused, us Milwaukeeans were in good company. And the Harley visitors enjoyed their stay too.... so all went well. :)

It was interesting on Sunday though. In the early afternoon and on the major Milwaukee street that runs a few blocks away, there was an organized parade of Harley motorcycles representing people from all over the world, as well as the many designs and models of 100 years of Harley. In this parade were over 10,000 motorcycles! Loud, and long, but, as I am told, quite a sight to see!

Not being much of a hardcore Harley motorcycle fan myself, I opted to avoid the massive throng of people not far from my home -- I'm not one for huge crowds and lots and lots of loud noise. But, as I was witness to, spectators for this parade had already roped off nearly the entire thoroughfare 24 hours ahead of time! Yeah, no kidding. I imagine that meant that there were a couple hundred thousand people watching the parade -- it's a long steet!

I don't feel I missed all that much though personally. I got to see the constant parade in front of my house. That suited me. But I'll tell ya one thing, besides having seen no more than 30 cycles at one time go by my house in the country when I was growing up, I have never seen this many Harley Davidson motorcycles in one place. This is/was big excitement for Milwaukee, but it'll never happen again in our lifetimes. It only comes every 100 years.

Ah, but despite the past excitement, the silence now is nice. I appreciate motorcycles and those that ride them, but, man, that was a lot of bikes! All of the Milwaukee visitors and their bikes have now set out once again for their respective corners of the world, and I get to enjoy the quiet of Milwaukee once again. It was an exciting once-in-a-lifetime event. Now it's time to reminisce.

Have a blessed Tuesday everyone, and, if any of you reading this were in town for the Harley 100th, I hope your journey home was a safe one. Thanks for visiting Milwaukee and showing your support for one of the biggest traditions in America. Drive safe. :)

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 5:37 AM  I   I  0 comments