Rock and ride in CdA

It’s time to construct a commercial in your head.
Adopt an intense monster truck show-announcer voice, back it with a mental rendition of Peter Frampton’s “Do You Feel Like We Do” (we all know you can), and read the following:
Coming to Coeur d’Alene this Labor Day weekend, get ready for motocross, choppers, hogs, bikes galore and rock ‘n’ roll.
Yes, Labor Day weekend at Kootenai County Fairgrounds won’t be your average weenie roast with the kids. It’s the first Roar in Core, the Northwest’s only major weekend-long motorcycle rally, comin’ atcha big-time in the beautiful Gem State. Be there, BE there, BE THERE.
If that didn’t make you start shuffling in your seat and searching for a way out of your traditional family shindig, then this weekend’s rides-and-rock fest might not be for you.
But if you found yourself subconsciously pawing at the latest issue of Easyriders or Motorcyclist while rocking out to the guitar talk box in your head, then it’s high time you were educated about the Inland Northwest’s new motorcycle rally – because shows, exhibitions, rides and Frampton merely hint at what the Roar in Core has in store this weekend.
“This is not your normal biker picnic kegger,” said event coordinator Bart Leland. “It’s pretty sophisticated down to the smallest detail.”
Start with the music – The Fabulous Thunderbirds share the stage Saturday with Jude Bowerman and Shades of Purple (Deep Purple tribute). The original talk-box king, Frampton, headlines Sunday after No Quarter (Led Zeppelin tribute) and a second Jude Bowerman performance.
That’s pretty heavy ordnance for such a fresh-faced rally.
But the music isn’t the main event – the first big draw for the bikers will be the rides.
On Saturday morning they’ll hold a traditional Poker Run, where riders will travel the countryside, stopping at five locations to draw a card.
At the end of the trip, the riders will compare hands, and whoever has the best wins two backstage passes to hang out with the bands.
The deejays at KDRK FM are putting together (and participating in) the Cool Cat Country Ride around Lake Coeur d’Alene.
“It’s going to be a great ride, especially for the out-of-towners,” Leland said. “They’re just going to be blown away. That lake’s a stunner, man.”
The Taco Chic Salsa Ride will take bikers on a four hour trip around Spirit and Hayden lakes.
All proceeds from the rides will go to the Inland Northwest Candlelighters and Cancer Patient Care charities.
The expo portion of the show’s not lacking either, Leland said, with vendors and more than 20 custom bike shops showing their latest creations.
Not to mention that freestyle riders from SCS Racing in Butte are putting on motocross exhibitions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
“These guys fly like 100 feet in the air and let go of their bikes,” Leland said. “It’s a wild show.”
Anyway, whether you’re a dyed-in-the-wool hardcore biker or a trial lawyer who bought a Fat Boy Harley ‘cause you thought Arnold looked tough in “T2,” chances are this is the closest to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally you’re gonna get without riding to South Dakota.
And Leland says bikers of all credos are welcome to the event, which also includes camping at the fairgrounds.
“What we say is that it’s a rain or shine event,” Leland said, “and real bikers ride.”