The stunt-riding scene on Alabama Avenue.
The air filled with screeching tires and clouds of thick, stinging smoke, drawing a crowd from far and wide — and no complaints from the police.
That was the scene Saturday afternoon at a Harley stunt-riding show staged by a group of bikers known to the police in the past for violating the law on city streets. It was the first test of a truce struck with a leader of the group, called East Coastin’, to keep the wheelies and tire melts out of city-street traffic and within sealed-off spaces at sponsored shows. The agreement offered a temporary glimmer of hope in one part of a city plagued again this summer. by hazardous illegal stunt riding by packs of dirt-bikers and motorcyclists.
East Coastin’ held the sponsored show on a vacant, quarter mile stretch of a dead end road at an industrial park not far from Hole in the Wall motorcycle headquarters at 153 Forbes Ave. in the Annex, where East Coastin’ leader Gabe Canestri Jr. lives and many of his friends hang out.
Riders and spectators before stunt event.
Hundreds of gleaming Harley Davidson motorcycles and a sprinkling of other brands, many from out of state, were wedged into the parking lot that wrapped around the Hole in the Wall motorcycle club building. Visitors and participants enjoyed burgers and beers, basking in biker culture or just resting up from their long rides in anticipation of an East Coastin’ sponsored stunt-riding show.
One young rider (pictured), who asked to be identified as “Sportster Hooligan,” a name emblazoned on his gas tank, said he left Baltimore at 4 a.m. to attend Saturday’s event — “for the fun of it.” He noted that police often bear down or harass bikers in his hometown, a city known for its high violent crime rate.
Another participant, 58-year old John Fraenza of East Haven, a lobsterman who said he is battling liver cancer, has been biking since he was a kid. A longtime veteran of Hole in the Wall, Fraenza smiled broadly as he showed off all the motorcycle augmentations he had made to his violet-colored Harley Dyna Street Bob.
City police officers stood watch across the street as groups of riders streamed into the parking lot. The officers appeared relaxed and in good moods in the wake of the brokered accommodation reached with bike club members to divert stunt riders from city streets.
Officers pose with cycling enthusiasts.
The officers, who kept a respectful distance, were approached by some riders for photographs. Sgt. Shayna Kendall, a competitive bodybuilder who appeared to have fans among the biking set, smiled broadly, acknowledging that she is often asked to participate in photo ops with members of the public.
Smoke obscures but is part of the show.
After a period of eating and connecting, the parking lot emptied as riders headed for an adjacent asphalt strip at the end of a block-off dead end portion of Alabama Street, bounded by jersey barriers and sprouting weeds. Spectators followed with iPhones raised, as both groups melted into stream of anticipation and excitement.
Mark making.
Smoke and the smell of burning rubber shrouded stunt riders who left pretzel and other elegantly shaped skid marks seared into the pavement as they completed seemingly impossible maneuvers.
Order emerges.
It appeared at first, to this novice stunt-riding observer, to be a chaotic swirl of spectators vying for select viewing positions and stunt riders wasting no time in demonstrating uncanny feats of timing and balance. The scene resolved into a more self-organizing demonstration of spontaneous stunt choreography that displayed riding skill and incredible control of some machines weighing as much as 800 to 1,000 pounds.
Spill.
Only one rider seemed to lose temporary control of his bike. He laughed it off and quickly gathered his splayed machine to resume riding,
tire melting and drag maneuvers. The show ended without incident as riders headed back to Hole in the Wall premises for keg beers and celebration.
Cyclists gave officers soda and water to help beat the heat during the day.
“New Haven police are the best!” veteran rider Paul D’Agostino called out as he left the scene with a young rider in tow on a handsome bright orange and flame design machine.
Caesar Canestri, uncle of Gabe Canestri Jr., and whose father runs Hole in the Wall, praised police as well as his nephew’s riding and stunt acumen, noting the extreme degree of control mastered by the young rider.
Officer
As riders returned to the Hole in the Wall parking area, one police officer described the event as a home run. Another officer, Mark Salvati (at left in photo), seemed to sum up the terms that led to the event’s successful outcome: “The respect factor goes both ways,” he said, adding that he “want[s] bikers to be good friends to one another in keeping a watchful eye to see that no one gets intoxicated.”
