The state of New Hampshire is first when it comes to presidential primaries- and motorcycles. According to statistics complied by the Motorcycle Industry Council, New Hampshire has more motorcycles per person than any other state. And that's despite New England's chilly weather.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Raquel Maria Dillon wanted to find out why.
It?s not your imagination. There really are more motorcycles in New Hampshire.
There are 5.7 motorcycles per 100 people here ? that?s higher than any other state. The only ones that come close are Idaho and Wyoming ? with about 4 bikes per 100 people. The other top scorers are all out West. Neighboring Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts scored about 3, but the average is 2.5 motorcycles per 100 residents.
SOUND VROOM! on Main Street
On a gorgeous, sunny afternoon on Concord?s Main Street, half a dozen bikes roar by within a few minutes ? Harleys, sport bikes, vintage bikes in mint condition, and a couple of scooters. And folks say they definitely notice.
MONTAGE :51
KENNEDY :10 I?m Susan Kennedy, I live in Canterbury. I think I do see more in NH than in other states ?cause I woulda thought California would have more but I haven?t seen more there.
ANGEL :16 hi my name?s Brian Angel, I?m a professional sidewalk skater. No really. I?m in 8th grade, I go to Runlet. I?m from CA so it?s a bigger state but to scale there are more here. If you go to Dunkin Donuts they?re everywhere.
LATENDA :14 hi, my name is Mark Latenda, I live in Concord. lately I?ve been noticing there?s a lot of motorcycles. I gotta believe it. I mean every day as soon as the nice weather comes. They come out of the wood work.
KELLER :13 I came from the Southwest and there aren?t that many there, because the distances are so long there. And it?s hot during the daytime. Here it?s nice and cool. We ride our motorcycle all the time.
Marie Keller doesn?t look like a motorcycle owner ? she looks elegant with a nice sun hat that perfectly matches her jacket. But she loves to ride?
KELLER :22 we have 3 actually. Hehehe. What kind? a Norton ? an old English motorcycle, a BMW, and an old Honda 650. we travel around NH all the time, especially during the week so we can avoid the crowds. we?ve always had motorcycles and when we moved to NH we found we rode more than in Southwest. So it worked out well.
It?s counterintuitive because we?re frozen over a good part of the year. So why New Hampshire and not somewhere with a warmer climate, maybe somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line?
SALLY :10 we have no helmet law so it?s free riding, which a lot of people want even if it?s not the most intelligent choice. it?s your choice, but you do have a choice. And that?s what makes NH special.
Doug Sally runs Freedom Cycle in Concord.
SALLY :15 And plain and simple. Live free or die. That?s a biker?s attitude. it?s the last of the cowboys. old Yankees love to be free, they don?t want to be told what to do. So when you?re on your motorcycle, you?re all alone by yourself. Running the world the way you want to. it?s still NH, we have a right to be stupid.
Ryan Croteau of Barnstead, New Hampshire was waiting at the counter. He has a tattoo of a motorcycle chain around his bicep. But he doesn?t have any romantic notions about why people ride?
CROTEAU :11 ?cuz riding?s fun and there?s nothing else to do around here. I?m with my buddy, buying parts for his GSXR. pretty much everyone I know has a bike, at least one.
Croteau was heading up to Laconia for Bike Week. He says hosting the nation?s third largest bike rally is another reason why New Hampshire residents have more motorcycles.
VROOM-VROOM!
During Bike Week, Harvey Chernin transforms his restaurant, the Lobster Pound, into a huge beer tent, a music stage, and space for corporate displays. He says Bike Week attracts motorcyclists to the state, but it also turns New Hampshire residents into bikers.
CHERNIN :16 NH breeds motorcyclists. When you?re riding in your car on a family outing, you see these motorcyclists. It looks so exciting, wind in face, meandering thru great roads we have, it gives you that feeling, I wanna be ? go get a bike!
Where some people see leather-clad bikers on Harleys, Chernin sees wealthy professionals with expendable income.
CHERNIN :13 there?s always been a stigma about bike week, but if you come here you see doctors lawyers engineers, it?s a status symbol.
But Chernin himself doesn?t ride. He used to ? now he flies air planes.
VROOM-VROOM!
Judging from the license plates on the bikes, lots of people come to Bike Week from New York and Massachusetts, and as far away as Ohio and out West. New Hampshire bikers say the bad weather only inspires them to ride more when the sun shines.
MONTAGE :49
MCALLISTER :11 don?t say the weather?s awful. Don?t say that. It makes you appreciate the riding season all the more. you wouldn?t appreciate riding if you could ride 12 months out of the year. It wouldn?t be as exciting to ride in summer.
JIM :06 It doesn?t always snow, even in Jan and Feb I?ve ridden. It?s cold ? that?s why they make leather!
MCCORMACK :09 The scenery and the beautiful area here. That?s it!
RAQUEL but you can only ride like 4 months a year?
Yeah but it?s beautiful riding. Beautiful.
BOBMOREN :12 the winters are so long that when the summer comes we gotta do something so everyone wants to ride.
CAROLMOREN probably the roads too. They?re real nice and there?s not a lot of traffic. People are courteous.
RAQUEL In NH we have highest per capita motorcycle ownership rate and I?m trying to find out why..?
NONAME :15 go for a ride! just scenery, it?s beautiful to ride in the mountains. Go for a ride, go for a ride in the mountains one day?
After a while here, the whole question of why New Hampshire has proportionately more motorcycles than any other state begins to sound silly. If the doctors and lawyers are doing it ? why not? They must know the risks?
The incessant noise becomes a constant drone, and pretty soon you begin to wonder why you?re traveling on four wheels cooped up, instead of gracefully on two?
For NHPR News, I'm RMD.
