rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — Canton streets were lined with all sorts of bikes this weekend for the second annual Fall Foliage Tour Of The Mountains Adventure Bike Motorcycle Ride 2021.
The event, hosted by the Canton Lions Club along with the Canton Fire Department for the Poker Run, saw more than 50 signups from all over the East Coast.
“The ride was a success. We had a total of 81 riders for the two days with riders from Ohio, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Buffalo and all points in between,” said Frank Watson, the event creator and organizer.
Last year, the idea was started because of Watson’s love for adventure and riding. Last year’s event only hosted a one-day ride. This year, organizer Watson wanted to make it bigger and better.
“This being only our second year, we are still learning and are putting together our notes for making this a bigger better event going forward. All of our participants were very happy with both routes and what our area had to offer,” said Watson.
The focus was not just what the bike path had to offer, but also what the Canton area had to offer as well. Local restaurants and businesses were featured in the event videos made by Watson leading up to the weekend.
What made this event special was the custom-made ride, which led the group through parts of Bradford Lycoming and Sullivan counties on day one, and Bradford and Tioga counties on day two.
Friday evening began the festivities for the weekend, with sign in and registration at the “ride headquarters” on Main Street in the new Canton Area Chamber of Commerce building.
Backroads Discovery Magazine sponsored a Mid Atlantic Route movie at the Rialto Theatre for free for the riders at 7 p.m.
Saturday began bright and early with sign in and route loading from 7-10 a.m.
Riders were briefed around 9:45 a.m. and headed out on their journey by 10 a.m.
For lunch, they stopped at the Shunk Fire Hall in Sullivan County, thanks to sponsors Glenn O. Hawbaker.
The total ride hours were about 6 1/2 for this day.
Poker Run results were shared at 7 p.m. at the uptown Campsite on Troy Street.
Storyteller and singer Van Wagner entertained around the campfire. A slow bike race took place as well.
At 9 p.m., Jimmy’s Park Hotel hosted a band for the evening.
Sign-in began again Sunday morning from 7-10 a.m.
The total ride hours for Sunday were about 2 1/2.
“We really appreciate the help from the Canton Lions Club, the Canton Fireman, DCNR, the Endless Winds Fire Department in Shunk who put on an outstanding lunch and our sponsors Glenn O. Hawbaker, Bradford Co. Sanitation, Car Quest Auto Parts and Watson Diesel Inc.,” said Watson.
For more information and to plan to be at next year’s event, go to www.tourarmeniapa.org.