2017 Gettysburg Bike Week Recap
Gettysburg Bike Week kicked off Thursday, July 6, 2017, for its 16th anniversary rally at the Allstar Events Complex in Gettysburg, Pa. Over the course of four days, rally goers enjoyed live music, burlesque, bike shows, motorcycle rodeo, great riding and even a cornhole tournament.
“I’ve been to a lot of these,” said veteran rally goer Jared Lehman. “And this was right up there with the best of them—Jack Schit cracks me up every time.”
Plying his trademark blend of profane yet good-natured repartee, Mr. Schit livened up already live events like the world-famous GBW wet T-shirt contest, Wrangler Rodeo and Bike Games, and the Cycle Source Ride-in Bike Show, featuring 15 categories of entrants.
There was no shortage of music at this year’s rally, starting with perennial headliners Foghat. Formed in England in the early 1970s and known for their distinctive slide guitar sound and boogie woogie rhythms, Foghat blasted through a blistering set on Friday night that included new fare as well as classic rockers like “Slow Ride,” “Fool for the City” and their hard swinging version of Willie Dixon’s blues banger “I Just Want To Make Love To You.”
Other top-flight music acts that played throughout the weekend included the Hank Williams, Jr., tribute band All My Rowdy Friends, country music sensation Craig Campbell, Blizzard of Ozzy—the country’s preeminent Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne tribute band—and 80s hard rockers Warrant.
For the ladies, GBW tried something new this year, welcoming in the best male burlesque show in the country. Composed of national and international touring Chippendales past members, 50 Shades of Men is the premier male revue performing today, delighting women everywhere with “disarmingly sexy, yet very tasteful routines.” With a show designed exclusively for women, these gentlemen combined a perfect blend of music, hot dance moves and sensual theatrics, and the ladies of Gettysburg Bike Week showed their appreciation by packing every performance.
“We had a great turnout for 50 Shades.” said event coordinator Kelly Shue. “Those boys can dance.”
And, of course, no rally would be complete without great riding, and Gettysburg has some of the best. Riders enjoyed tours of historic battlegrounds and hundreds of miles of the best riding in the East. And in addition to the fantastic solo riding, GBW patrons had a great time on group rides and the Pink Journey of Lights and Stars of Hope Charity Rides.
This one’s barely in the books, but it’s never too early to start planning for next year’s Gettysburg Bike Week July 12-15th: New and returning riders can find updates, event scheduling, lodging information and anything they ever needed to know about Gettysburg Bike Week by visiting http://www.gettysburgbikeweek.com.
About Gettysburg Bike Week
Gettysburg Bike Week is Eastern Pennsylvania’s definitive motorcycle rally, featuring great national music acts, historic riding and hospitality that you can only find in a city with this much history. For more information on the Rally, including scheduling, lodging options, and more, visit www.gettysburgbikeweek.com. Follow them on Twitter: @GburgBikeWk. To contact Gettysburg Bike Week, e-mail gbwvendor@yahoo.com.