That's why it is so pleasing for me to see our sport becoming more family oriented. I feel that couples who ride together, stay together, and their children certainly benefit by being exposed to motorcycling at an early age.


In years to come, this will be good news for all of us. More and more motorcyclists on the road means a better public understanding of bikes, and this greater awareness should lead to fewer accidents. We also know that motorcycles in general sip less fuel than most cars and SUV's, so there will be even more of us helping to save our planet. There, doesn't that make you feel good, and you thought that it was just about "the fun of riding"!!!

Of course with all these new riders coming into the sport, they're going to require all sorts of new items. Number one obviously is a bike to ride. Then, there are things like rider training info, suitable clothing. Oh yes... and a few cool machines to aspire to own down the road.

That is why the great rider in the sky gave us the organizers of the Toronto International Spring Motorcycle Show. If you can't cover your biking needs at this event, then I don't know where you can.

There are motorcycles for sale, new, old, and even fully dressed custom models. I even saw a few bikes to suit the youngsters, although, the pint sized Tomahawk replica on The Bad Ride stand might be a tad over the top for young Junior.

Then there are the clothing vendors, where you can find everything from crash helmets, leathers, goggles and just about everything that a new biker could possibly require.

I saw lots of people trying on fancy new outfits. To be honest, I tried on one or two myself. Of course, after seeing what I looked like in the mirror, I thought it wise to check out the fashion show on stage. As they had models of both sexes, this was great for me, for it enabled me to see what my new outfit might look like on me...once the diet finally kicked in!!!

Naturally, the place was chock full of bikes and several were up for sale. The choices were quite wide-spread, with everything from classics, to dirt bikes, to customs. There was even the odd new bike dealer in attendance.

Not so much odd, but more like unique, Front Street Cycle from Toronto turned up with an impressive array of unusual machines. Their display included Kymco Scooters, a bunch of beautiful Benelli sport bikes, and an Ural sidecar outfit which looked slightly tougher built than my farm tractor at home.

Last but not least, there was the vast array of custom motorcycles on display, which I tend to refer to as "dream and drool over machines". These truly are dream machines, and when you discover how many hours of painstaking work which go into these beauties, you start to wonder how much night time dreaming the builders managed to get. Still, by the look of pride on the owners' faces as we all stand in the river of saliva surrounding them, it was all worth it.

I enjoyed this event immensely, and by the end of next winter I'll be marking the days off on my calendar for the next one.




Photo Credit : Kevin Corrigan