Shediac Motorcycle Rally

A motorcycle rally in the world’s lobster capital. Can it get any better?

While I didn’t need much prodding, I was handed the task of heading to Shediac, New Brunswick, for the Shediac Motorcycle Rally that ran at the end of August this year. Although this rally has been a regular of the Maritimes rally scene for 12 years, I never had the time to attend it, until this year.

A lot of towns across the Canadian landscape have a roadside attraction – the giant white swan in Swan River, Manitoba; a Sasquatch in Creston, British Columbia; a giant Canada goose in Wawa, Ontario; the world’s largest beaver in Beaverbrook, Alberta; the world’s largest hand-held egg beater (yeah, that’s what I thought) in Lauretta, P.E.I.; and . . . well, you get the picture. These displays of greatness are all over Canada. Shediac happens to be home to the world’s largest lobster, a photo op you won’t want to miss just as you’re coming into town off Highway 11, a short half-hour ride northeast of Moncton. It could be the giant lobster, but I suspect that it’s the annual lobster festival in July and the huge amount of high-quality lobster caught off the shores of this pretty fishing town that make Shediac the lobster capital of the world. Motorcycles and lobster – I’m a big fan of both, and that’s why I don’t understand why it’s taken me so long to attend the Shediac Rally.

Most Relaxing Ride of the Summer

Unlike my usual modus operandi – which leaves me with the absolute minimum amount of time to get from point A to point B and forces me to take the Trans-Canada superslab – I changed my ways this time and left with a whopping extra half a day and just a ballpark time to be at my destination. The resulting ride took me from Ontario along the west and then east side of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and then once in New Brunswick, the Saint John River Route, which was the highlight of my trip east this time and one I would do again in a heartbeat.

I arrived in Shediac in the early afternoon and met with Mike Rodgers, 1st vice-president of the rally. After dropping off my luggage at Hotel Shediac, the town’s most prestigious address (you can’t go wrong with a St. James’ Gate restaurant), we were off to meet up with the poker run for the last card stop at Au Quai Aboiteau Wharf Restaurant & Bar at a nearby fishing port. About 80 participants took part in the poker run – not bad for a Friday afternoon.

Along with a wide range of vendors, a stage was set up in a parking lot just off Shediac’s Main Street; Friday night saw a couple of fantastic bluesy rock bands play to a great crowd. Across the road was the rally’s headquarters, which also acted as the official beer garden, complete with roadside patio where you could watch the bands, people and bikes. There were also restaurant patios along Main Street that catered to the masses. In addition to downtown’s entertainment, a…