I must say, the Mexinadian's post is beyond reproach. For one of very few times I will not try to top someone else's words. Nico I am proud to have had you as a guest for your first Trikefest and you're always welcome with me. You were exactly what I had pictured from our years of online banter.
There are so many special aspects of Trikefest. So many great people and such a great place, it's tough to list them all. I feel like a broken record when I talk about the kind of people that usually attend this event, those who have found Trikefest because of their passion for three wheelers. It's something you have to experience to understand, there is no question about that. This is a gem that must be cherished and cared for dearly in order to survive this mixed up world for generations to come. I'm a very sentimental person, I really get into the old or simple charm of certain things and affix myself on keeping them that way. Very often I go to Cape Cod in the summer (was just there today) and every single time I go I think back to the charming beach cottages, so simple and welcoming, on the dirt roads lined by scrub pine trees. There were mom and pop stores and pizza shops and you could ride your bike wherever it was you needed to go. Huge portions of that have changed. Many cottages are converted to four season homes or condo complexes, the roads are paved, and Cumberland Farms and WalMart are the stores. I sit in some of the worst traffic in the country in Boston many days at work, but that's nothing compared to Cape Cod traffic. The only way I dare navigate the Cape (which I must to get to my beaches) is on my Buell. It's a lot of dangerous lane splitting on the bike but it's almost not worth doing in a car or pickup. What has happened here is that people found out it's a good thing and came in droves, so now it's less of a good thing. It's great if you can afford a million dollar mortgage, and I'm not kidding, but even that will not buy you the charm Cape Cod had twenty years ago.
Cape Cod is a part of Massachusetts. It is public and nobody can say how many people go there, so more and more go every year. The past is gone and there is no way to bring back what it once was. I reminisce about it often as do others who remember. If I had the opportunity to keep it what it once was I would.
But I digress... I wouldn't be able to list all the people I spent at least some time with at Haspin, we all know who each other are and we all know what we have there. It doesn't take long for most to see what it is and immerse themselves such as Nico did. To those I didn't end up speaking to, we will meet again. Thanks so much to all who camped with or near me and all who I shared the park with for the week. It's never a disappointment!
And thanks so much to Jonny Swinehart for feeding me more than once and just being fantastic company!