Wife and I have some friends in the Erie, Pa area, and are planning a ride up from SW VA. Roar on the Shore is 15-17 July. Can anyone give us some info. Places nearby to stay, side trips in area, etc.

Thanks

 

Been there done that. If you are riding from VA, head to some other destination. I live 100 miles away and this this event is no more than an afternoon. a long boring afternoon. just my opinion and my friends.

 

thanks for the info. Still going to see friends in Girard. Will tour eslewhere and not plan on alot of time at the event.

 

Sure this is a little late, but hopefully you did make it down....

This event has grown.....it was a blast this year....


Published: July 18. 2010 12:01AM
Roar on the Shore gets high praise
By RON LEONARDI
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com
Kelly Lapping has seen Erie's Roar on the Shore bike rally evolve rapidly since its inception in 2007.

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About 10,000 people attended the Erie region for that first rally.


Lapping, co-owner of the Harley-Davidson of Erie dealership at 4575 West Ridge Road in Millcreek Township, considered it little more than a "glorified bike night.''


He no longer harbors that impression of the event.


"I think it's safe to say this rally has turned the corner,'' Lapping said. "This is a national rally now.''


Lapping and organizers of the event believe the fourth annual Roar on the Shore rally lived up to its billing this week.


More than 5,000 motorcyclists -- the largest field ever -- attended Thursday's Bringin' in the Roar parade from Presque Isle Downs & Casino to Perry Square in downtown Erie.


Friday's Thunder on the Isle: The Mayor's Ride attracted more than 800 bikers, who followed the grand marshal, Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott, on a ride around Presque Isle State Park.


More than 1,000 bikers participated in Saturday's feature ride, the Roar to the Vineyards Poker Run, to several North East Township wineries.


"I think from what we're seeing, the rally has really made a definite growth in scope from last year, markedly easy to measure,'' Sinnott said.


Manufacturer & Business Association officials estimated this year's rally would attract 50,000 bikers and visitors with a regional economic impact of more than $18 million.


"We believe we have far and away exceeded 50,000 people,'' Manufacturer & Association spokeswoman Tammy Polanski said Saturday evening. "We estimated there were 22,000 people in downtown Erie on Thursday night alone. Friday night, we thought we had matched that number.


"We believe this will be one of the best rallies in the nation,'' Polanski said. "We want Erie to be the destination rally for these riders.''


The 2008 Roar on the Shore rally attracted 25,000 people to the region. More than 35,000 people visited downtown Erie at the 2009 rally, Polanski said.


"You see the kind of money the bikers have invested in these bikes and accessories -- it's huge,'' VisitErie President John Oliver said. "Those involved in this activity run the gamut from lawyers and doctors to CEOs to others.''


Bikes at the various rally parade events this week sported license plates from California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, Vermont and Ontario.


"When you look at what people have invested in those bikes, you start to realize this is a very affluent group, and a group that seems to readily want to spend their money on vacation,'' Oliver said. "They're spending money all over. That's obviously a very positive sign for our economy.''


Polanski said this year's Roar on the Shore rally attracted 34 sponsors; the 2009 event's sponsorship total was in the twenties, she said.


Many bikers said they believed there were more attractions, and that more vendors appeared at Perry Square the past three days than at any previous rally.


"There's more things to do here, and I think that will help us grow more quickly,'' Sinnott said.


Late Saturday afternoon, Linda Kowalczyk, 55, of Erie, was hanging out near the stage on North Park Row, sipping a beer, listening to a local band, and sometimes dancing.


She wore a lime-green Harley-Davidson T-shirt, and she said she was content taking in the atmosphere.


"The music is great, and there are so many people from out of state,'' she said. "And they love coming to Erie. That's good, because Erie needs that.''


Robbie Shaffer, 44, of North East, said he thought this year's Roar on the Shore rally was better organized than any of the previous events.


"Everything has run smoothly,'' he said. "They've done a really good job.''


Shaffer spent most of Saturday afternoon walking around Perry Square looking at bikes.


"It doesn't matter where you're from or what you do,'' Shaffer said. "You come down here on a bike, and everybody is the same. You might be talking to a lawyer or a janitor. It doesn't make a difference. Everybody is out here to have a good time.''


Lapping said more and more bikers around the nation are hearing that message.


"When you have people coming from as far away as California, that tells you that the popularity of the event, that the word of mouth has gotten out that, 'Hey, Erie welcomes bikers,' and people are going to come and spend their money here,'' Lapping said.

 

Sounds like it was a good time and much better than in previous years.

 

We're back from Erie where we spent 2 days. It's an OK event but really has nothing to knock your socks off. This is our second time in 3 years there and I don't think we'll go back. Main issue is the very small number of bars, restaurants and hotels downtown Erie, where the venue takes place. Very few vendors were there and attendance was average at best.
There must have been lots of last minute cancellations in hotels, because 2 friends could get a room saturday when they called. We booked our room 1 month ago and it was very difficult to find a room back then.
Compared to Thunder in the Valley in Johnstown PA, Roar of the Shore is far behind, in my opinion.
Still a nice weekend with a great weather.

 

Well if you are close it's ok. It's only about 2.5 hours from where I am, we went, enjoyed it, will go again next year. Why? well its close, did not cost an arm and a leg, did not eat up a bunch of precious vacation time from work. I would not say its worth it if ya are any distance away. Mostly locals from what I saw on plates. Did get to meet Arlen Ness and rode a tad with him in the poker run on saturday to some wineries. The lineup for the poker run was at the Victory dealer due to Arlen being there, the dealer also sells cars and the lineup was a mess. They were movin cars off the lot to make room, not prepared at all for the number of bikes that attended. At least they split up the group by giving out different route sheets with the stops in different orders, that was a life saver. We took part in the parade on thursday, it was ok other than the lineup was at the casino parking lot. Was hot as hell, only a few porta potties and no shade while waiting to leave. Got on the road about 1/2 and they stopped us on a side road for who knows what. Now no porta pots only woods, no water, was there at least 45 minutes. Once we took off from there, it was pretty cool, lots of local residents turned out to watch. Other than that, rode out to the penninsula, looked at bikes, viewed the vendors, and hung out.

 

Well crud, I wish I'd know that was going on. I was thinking about taking a ride up to Erie this weekend, but picked another spot instead. Woops...lol