GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE – A performer on stage at East End Bar & Grill on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Geneva-on-the-Lake asked a musical question.
“Don’t you want somebody to love? Don’t you need somebody to love?” she sang, uttering the famous lines from the Jefferson Airplane song.
The singer was part of the band French Blue, which was just one of a multitude of acts performing during Thunder on the Strip in Geneva-on-the-Lake.
Once again, music and motorcycles were in abundance as the wildly popular Fall bike rally marked its 20th year.
One of the organizers of the event, Matt Caudill, said the rain on Saturday morning slowed things down a little, but things were going well.
“It’s been a great turnout. Everybody’s been so awesome,” he said.
He thought attendance looked heavy. “It seems on par,” he said.
Caudill believed the Founders Parade had record numbers of participation.
Stunt shows were again a big part of the event, with some extra ones added.
In between shows, performers with Moto Motion were practicing their moves.
“We’re doing wheelies and stoppies, jumps, backflips,” rider Drew Fortner said. “We do just about everything you can.” He said the crowds were really good.
“They always have good crowds here, a lot of energy, which we like,” he said.
He noted the stunts take a lot of practice.
“We’ve been doing it since we were kids, you know?” he said. “It’s all just practice and balance.”
He said backflips are always popular. “That’s the crowd pleaser in the Moto World,” he commented. “It’s not necessarily the hardest trick. It’s got the wow factor.”
In between listening to music or watching a stunt show or the parade, people could also shop in the Yuengling Vendor Village.
One vendor, Highway Leather, was sewing patches onto clothing for people.
Geovanni Escobar, a manager at the business, said people enjoyed watching the patches being sewn.
“They stand by and watch all the time,” he said. He thought the business would probably sew about 600 patches during the entire event.
One shopper, Tammy Sells, bought a biker hat. She liked Thunder on the Strip.
“I love it,” he said. “I come here every year. I’ve actually been coming since 2011.” She thought everyone was friendly.
A business owner on the Strip, Bill Hyland of The Summer Hut, said business was going well during Thunder on the Strip.
“It’s been very, very busy,” he said.
He said t-shirts and sweatshirts were selling well.
Biker safety was also being emphasized by Ashtabula County Safe Communities as well as lawyer Tim Misny – a familiar face on billboards in northeast Ohio.
“I have a campaign throughout the State of Ohio of motorcycle awareness,” Misny said. “It’s called ‘Keep an Eye Out for Motorcycles.’ I’ve been representing motorcycle folks for 45 years throughout this state. And I’ve come to the realization that if people kept an eye out for motorcycles, the incident of action cases would go down exponentially.”
He enjoyed talking with visitors at the event.
“I love the camaraderie with people,” he said.
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