Friday the 13th motorcycle rally

Last updated
Friday the 13th Motorcycle Rally
Genre Motorcycle rally
FrequencyEvery Friday the 13th
Location(s) Port Dover, Ontario, Canada
Inaugurated1981
Previous eventJanuary 2023
Next eventOctober 2023
AttendanceOver 100,000
Organised byPort Dover Board of Trade [1]
Website www.pd13.com

The Friday the 13th Motorcycle Rally is a motorcycle rally held every Friday the 13th [2] in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada since 1981. [3] Its typical summer attendance exceeds 100,000 bikers. [4]

Contents

Attendance

The event has been described as "the biggest single-day motorcycle event in the world," [5] a title also claimed by the Rolling Thunder rally in the United States. [6] Although hundreds of attendees arrive during winter months, [5] [7] [8] attendance is at its highest when the date falls on a summer day. In August 2010, the rally drew more than 150,000 attendees. [9] Estimates for the July 2012 event ranged from 90,000 to more than 170,000. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Guinness World Record attempt

An attempt in 2008 to surpass the previous Guinness world record for the largest motorcycle parade failed due to a technicality. More than 10,000 motorcycles would have exceeded the record set in 2006 by the Republic of Texas Biker Rally. [14] [15] Although the organizers were able to document participation by more than 12,000 motorcycles at Port Dover, [15] they entered through multiple portals to the city and were disqualified by Guinness as a single parade. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ "Contact and directions", PD13 official website
  2. ↑ Jansen, Liz (2011). Women, Motorcycles and the Road to Empowerment: Fifty Inspirational Stories of Adventure and Self-Discovery. Trillium Wordworks. p. 103. ISBN   978-0987758309.
  3. ↑ Port Dover Friday the 13th biker rally expected to be largest ever, Yahoo News Daily Brew, July 13, 2012
  4. ↑ Cameron Scott (March 13, 2011), Canada Destinations, Traveler's Guide 360, archived from the original on 2014-03-28
  5. 1 2 Bill Taylor (narrator), Brett Gundlock (Video production) (July 13, 2012). Motorcyclists invade Port Dover on Friday the 13th / Every Friday the 13th, thousands of motorcycle riders descend on the sleepy fishing town of Port Dover on Lake Erie (Streaming video). Toronto Star newspaper.
  6. ↑ "Rolling Thunder history", Official website, Rolling Thunder (Washington D.C.), archived from the original on 2013-03-05, retrieved 2013-02-04
  7. ↑ Monte Sonnenberg (January 13, 2012). "Snow fails to deter Friday the 13th revellers". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ↑ "Canada Destinations by Cameron Scott | Traveler's Guide 360". Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  9. ↑ "Motorcycle madness". The Simcoe Reformer . August 16, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Tally hits 90,000 for Friday 13th motorcycle rally". Waterloo Region Record . April 15, 2012.
  11. ↑ "120,000 bikers descend on Port Dover for Friday the 13th BikeFest", The Globe and Mail , July 13, 2012
  12. ↑ "140,000 people converge on Port Dover", The Simcoe Reformer , July 15, 2012
  13. ↑ Ontario town hosts massive Friday 13 motorcycle rally, CTV News, July 13, 2012
  14. ↑ "Street Closure Map for Republic of Texas Rally 2011". KUT News, Austin Texas. June 10, 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  15. 1 2 "Friday the 13th rally seeks record / Town attempts to establish Guinness record". Motorcycle.com. June 16, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Guinness says no to Friday the 13th record attempt". The Simcoe Reformer . January 19, 2009.

42°47′12″N80°12′11″W / 42.78667°N 80.20306°W / 42.78667; -80.20306

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