Staff Writer

Laconia Police Capt. Tim Cavanaugh and Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Rally and Race Week Association, address reporters during Tuesday’s Bike Week press conference at the Dexter Shoe complex. (Citizen Photo/John Koziol)

LACONIA — As it enters its fifth day, Bike Week continues to roll along with no major problems, say promoters and local public safety officials.

"We’re very happy today because the weather’s nice," Charlie St. Clair, who is executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Rally and Race Week Association, said Tuesday.

Coming after an overcast Monday and a soggy start on Saturday, Tuesday’s warm temps and sunny skies were just what the doctor ordered and just what 100 bikers who left Rally Headquarters at the Weirs Beach Lobster Pound earlier in the day Tuesday, needed to have a great time motoring on out to the seacoast, said St. Clair.

He noted that about half of the bikers headed for Portsmouth and points east were first-time visitors to New Hampshire and that the ride was "a great time to showcase our state."

Attendance numbers for Bike Week so far have been "very solid," St. Clair continued, and will hopefully be quantifiable soon.

"I think it’s a good crowd," said Laconia Police Capt. Tim Cavanaugh of Bike week attendees.

The LPD has encountered "very, very few problems," Cavanaugh stressed, and of the six arrests officers made on Monday, five involved taking intoxicated persons into protective custody.

Although he did not have details, Cavanaugh said the sixth arrest involved operating under the influence and/or reckless operation.

Cavanaugh echoed the LPD’s "zero tolerance" approach to violations of local and state liquor laws during Bike Week.

"Alcohol is probably the root of all our problems" that Laconia and other law enforcement agencies encounter during Bike Week, he said.

Nonetheless, Laconia’s finest was "looking forward to the people pouring in," added Cavanaugh, and to their acting "responsibly."