Lakeshore and Leslie aka L&L - Toronto's Largest Motorcycle Meet

Lakeshore and Leslie, aka L&L, is Toronto's largest motorcycle meet. Bikers from all over converge in the joint parking lot of Tim Horton's and Price Chopper in the Leslieville region of Toronto every Thursday. Hundreds of motorcycles will roll in and out anywhere between 7pm to after midnight. Some stay for the length of time it takes to drink a coffee while others will stay for a few hours. Being a bike night, attendance is of course somewhat dictated by the weather. Don't expect to see more than a few die hard regulars on a rainy evening.

A lineup of sportbikes by the Price Chopper

This meet had humble a beginning when it started 2006 by Kevin and Mike (thebronze and cagedcbr from www.gtamotorcycle.com ). There were no designs to make it the biggest meet in Toronto. They just wanted a place to hang out and have coffee. And apparently they wanted the option to buy fresh produce and lunch meat.

Ghostrider's motorcycle?

The thing I like about this meet is you'll never know what you'll see or who you'll meet for the first time! I've seen a boa constrictor, a dog that travels on a motorcycle, Ural sidecar, slammed and souped up scooters, a Suzuki Hayabusa with a built-in vibrator, bikes from the 70's and more! You'll see the whole spectrum of the motorcycle community from cruisers to sportbikes and customs to scooters. You'll see the accompanied range of people from all walks of life too. All are welcome here. I've met motorcycle builders, computer nerds, nurses, artists and many more types of people. But what you do or where you come from doesn't matter -- our love of motorcycles is what brings us together.

Marta, Raf and Reenie share Ighor's boa constrictor

Fiona's Ural sidecar rig with passenger Shaun

(more after the jump)

Bad Weather Can Make Great Photo Ops

View of downtown Toronto during a storm on Wednesday June 8, 2011.
Nikon D7000 with 18-200mm VR. ISO 800 1/200 at f3.5 Aperture Priority.
(Click on the photo for a larger version)

I met some friends down at the Keating Pub to try out a new location for our weekly Wednesday night bike meet. Sadly after a couple years of bike nights at St. Louis' on King St., they closed their doors in February.

As I pulled up in the parking lot, the sky was dark and the wind was whipping up. The staff were frantically taking down the patio umbrellas so they wouldn't set sail. Dirt, leaves, paper and everything else that wasn't tied down was flying around so I kept my helmet helmet on. Thoughts of Dorothy and Kansas came to mind with these strong winds and ominous skies. I snapped a few quick photos before heading inside.

The dark clouds sure made for some dramatic photos. Sometimes when you think it's time to put away the camera, it's the best time to capture some great images! Mathematically speaking, 95% of people will bag their cameras so you're already in the top 5 percentile :) My photographer friend Neil Cameron from Competition Images captured some fantastic motorcycle racing photos during the pouring rain with rooster tails, reflections off the water on the track, and a motorcycle almost axle-deep in water as if he was fording a river. I wasn't brave enough to stand out in the rain all day, but Neil got the money shots (well I hope he got some money for his trouble!).

(more photos after the jump)