I like local bike nights better than going to a big rally 100s of miles away. Reason is that you see old friends and make new ones. It also shows you what kind of bikes are in your area and it always surprises me the cool bikes that people own. Some new ones and some amazing classic bikes.
We had a place called Porky's that was around since the late 70s here in Des Moines. They started having a bike night in the early 80s. I started going to that bike night in 1985 and have pretty much gone every week since then. Saw lots of bikes and lots of cool things. At times they would have over 2000 bikes there in a single night. They usually ran bike night every Thursday (thunder Thursday they called it) and it was a big hit around here. Porky's passed through many owners hands but last year the owner and his wife divorced and the guy sold the land to a locl Hy Vee grocrey store chain. Last year was the last year for Bike Night at the old Porky's.
Porky's was a family style tenderloin/hamburger joint. It was a lot like the diner's in Happy Days or Hollywood Knights. Old school and lots of fun.
Here is what is left of the old web site so you can see what I'm talking about.
porkysdiner.com
It has been moved to a new place where the owner may be trying to start the tradition again, but it will never be the same. Sure it is a good location but it is just not the same group of people and atmosphere. Hard to put a finger on it but it just seems like history has been erased since the old place is closed.
There are a few other bike nights here now and you can still see old friends, but nothing will replace the ORIGINAL bike night at Porky's.
Support your local burger joint that puts on a bike night. They could be supporting another group of individuals but they are supporting the biker culture. Why not show your support for them?
Bike night at the Local Burger Joint 
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