Another June can only mean one thing. It's time for Laconia again. This year marked the 80th anniversary of the famous Laconia Motorcycle Week Rally and Races.

I thought I'd do something special in honor of the anniversary. I had been to Tahiti back in March for the Tahiti Harley Riders Club annual Charity Ball to benefit the handicapped children and I had invited their president Kiki Teagai to join my entourage for the Laconia run. He jumped at the chance and we made the arrangements. We were set. I picked up Kiki at JFK on Saturday morning and we hit it bright and early Sunday morning.

Kiki rode my Road King from NY and I hopped on my 1950 Panhead for the 250 mile run from my home near Woodstock, NY. We took the scenic route up through the back roads. I wanted Kiki to get a chance to see a little of the beautiful New England countryside. We headed up NY Route 22, cut across Massachusetts Route 7 and connected with Route 9 through Vermont and New Hampshire into Concord. I didn't want to be stuck in traffic riding my old foot clutching, tank shifting Panhead for the week, so I made arrangements with Jon Plankey of Heritage Harley-Davidson in Concord N.H. to rent Kiki a brand new 2003 Electraglide for the week. Jon gave us a great rate and was right there to check Kiki out on the bike and send us on our way. I have to thank him for his courtesy in getting us in and out in style.

We headed up I-93 to Laconia and hooked up with our local host for the week, Big Paulie, who lives in Laconia full time. Paulie's house was home base for the week.

After we unloaded our gear, it was time to hit the Weirs. I'm doing a story on Indian Larry and the Discovery Channel's Biker Build-off and I wanted to get there in time for the Judging. It was Indian Larry's Gasoline Alley NYC vs. master bike builder Paul Yaffe. Larry swept the popular vote judging and walked away with 1st prize. Larry will now go up against Billy Lane of Choppers Inc. for the next build off.

After checkin' all the bikes and vendors at the Weirs, we headed back to base for a good, old fashioned, New England Clam Bake at Big Paulies. The next morning we rode up to the Kancamangus Canyon. I look forward to running the Kanc. It's 50+ miles of twisty road up the White Mountains and along the rocky-bottomed creek. There was plenty of time and view spots to stop and mug for the camera along the way. Kiki had never been on a road like this before, so we took it easy on the throttle so he could enjoy the views. He was amazed by the first moose he had ever seen and the mountain vistas blew him away. After riding this road a few dozen times, it was great to see it again, from the eyes of a first timer.

On the return trip, I took the guys for lunch at the Smoke House. It's a great restaurant that offers every type of smoked meat you can imagine. The parking lot was full of bikes and every one clamored to meet the " guy from Tahiti ".

Tuesday found us back down the Weirs to visit with my old buddy The Ice Cream Man From Hell. Jimmy took to Kiki right off. He presented him with a large back patch from his new society C.O.B.B. or CRIPPLED OLD BIKER BASTARDS. Kiki immediately found a cute seamstress to sew it onto the back of my denim jacket. I'll wear that patch proudly for a long time to come. We invited ICMFH and his crew back to base that night for a little private party and the evening crept into morning all too fast.

The sun was out again on Tuesday, so we grabbed a ride around Lake Winnapaskaee to catch more of the sights. We let the throttles get the better of us and were stopped by the N.H. State Police for exceeding the speed limit by 30 mph. When Kiki showed them his Tahiti motorcycle license, we got off with just a stern warning-- usually unheard of during bike week.

There is a strict ban on firearms in Tahiti, so we took Kiki out shooting. We snuck off to a secluded spot, Paulie knew that was safe. Kiki fired everything from a .22 target pistol to a full rock-and-roll AK-47. With a pile of brass surrounding his riding boots, Kiki will remember that for ages. He took home the spent brass cartridges to make a necklaces by setting Tahitian Black Pearls where the bullet usually goes.

Wednesday was a rain out. Kiki wanted to go home sporting an American style colored tattoo. Paulie just happens to be one of the best tattoo artists working the Laconia area and we all thought it would be cool to add a new piece to our growing collection. Paulie worked his fingers to the bone on all of us that day and into night.

Thursday was our last chance to ride, as we had to leave on Friday to get Kiki back for his flight home on Saturday morning. Paulie took us on a tour of all the back roads that the visitors don't usually get to ride unless they're hopelessly lost. Thursday night found us hitting every bar in the area including the Broken Spoke where I had the chance to hook up with old friends and drink the joint dry till the wee small hours.

I've done Laconia so many times; I'm starting to feel like a local. But this trip was special. Great friends, fairly decent weather for a change and some of the best riding in the North East. Friday we returned Kiki's Electraglide to Heritage where we were given a "special discount", picked up my panhead and headed home the 250 miles in the pouring rain. Am I going to do it again next year? YOU BET YOUR COOKIES..

TBear