A mixed bag: weather puts a damper on Bike Week.Weather played a big role in the 86th annual Laconia Motorcycle Week Laconia Motorcycle Week is a motorcycle rally held in June annually. It is held in Laconia, New Hampshire. Attendance is estimated between 100,000 and 400,000. The rally has its origin in the Loudon Classic motorcycle race started in 1923 and the Gypsy Tour, where many , not all of it good, and businesses in the area are reporting mixed results. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bike Week is a big deal for the state and an even bigger one for the Lakes Region. As the oldest and third-largest motorcycle rally A motorcycle rally is a gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts. A rally can range from the mild corporate-sponsored Honda Hoot to the infamous Hollister riot. Rallies can be large or small, and one-time or recurring. in the nation, it draws hundreds of thousands of local and out-of-state visitors. A survey in 2000 showed an average $700 expenditure per attendee on entertainment, food, lodging, gas and souvenirs. But over the past five years, there has been a steady decline in participants as the economy began slipping, said Charlie St. Clair, executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week. "The last record year was 2004--we had about 430,000 attendees. Every year since then, the attendance numbers have drifted downward. Last year there were about 230,000 attendees." The number of vendors, however, increased from last year, undeterred undeterred Adjective not put off or dissuaded Adj. 1. undeterred - not deterred; "pursued his own path...undeterred by lack of popular appreciation and understanding"- Osbert Sitwell undiscouraged by a higher $450 vendor fee. The official Laconia Motorcycle Week Web site listed over 250 rally patrons, three major sponsors and a wide-ranging event schedule highlighting guided tours guided tour guide n → visite guidée; what time does the guided tour start? → la visite guidée commence à quelle heure? of the White Mountains White Mountains, part of the Appalachian system, N N.H. and SW Maine, rising to 6,288 ft (1,917 m) at Mt. Washington in the Presidential Range and to 5,249 ft (1,600 m) at Mt. Lafayette in the Franconia Mountains. Crawford Notch separates these two main groups. , Moultonborough's Castle in the Clouds, a "Rally in the [Mt. Washington] Valley" and exhibits at Vermont's Shelburne Museum Shelburne Museum: see under Shelburne, Vt. . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For their part, local restaurants, hotels and retailers reported everything from discouraging to above-average sales. The Inns at Mill Falls, a popular Bike Week lodging choice, reported a slight decline in numbers in numbered parts; as, a book published in numbers. See also: Number . "Business from Bike Week was down 9 percent from last year. We did some additional marketing, but with the economy I expected to either be even or down a little bit. It's still the biggest week of the month," said Rusty McLear, president of The Inns & Spa at Mill Falls. McLear cited rainy weather as one factor that affected business--"maybe more so" than the economy, he added. Jennifer Anderson, director of Motorcycle Week, said, "We were happy with what we got. Between the economy and the weather, we might be down from last year--but when the weather was nice, it was jammed wall-to-wall with people." |
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