Nearly 300 motorcyclists from Belize, Central America and even from as far as Los Angeles, California, are participants in Belize’s first ever motor-bikers convention that is being held this weekend.

The cyclists – who all rode here – came from as far away as the United States, Panama, Honduras, and Merida, Cancun, and Guadalajara in Mexico.

Today, they convened at the Uno Gas Station on Cemetery Road for a motorcade that took them through the principal streets of Belize City and exhibited a dazzling variety of models and styles of motorbikes.

Before they took off, Amandala spoke to a few of the bikers who told us why they are taking part in the event.

Most of the bikers said that they were doing the ride just for the thrill, and also to meet new friends and fellow bike-lovers like themselves.

One motorist, who came from Honduras on a 3-wheel “Can-Am Spider” motorbike worth over $40,000, said that he has loved to ride motorcycles ever since he was a teenager, and that he took the ride to Belize to experience the beautiful scenery along the way.

Charles Vernon, from the Belize-based Black Pearl Cycle Club, who organized the event, explained the reason behind the bike rally. He said, “It all started from the dealerships because we are all friends, so we started to ride together to places like Cancun, Merida and Guatemala City. From there, we all came together and that’s where the idea started. This weekend’s event is what we call a ‘bike concentration rally’. All of us know each other and we meet and hold rallies everywhere we go – at all the different major cities. All our friends in those other cities have always been asking us ‘when will there be a bike rally in Belize?’ So last year, we started planning it and this year we decided to do it.”

He also spoke about the distances from which some of the cyclists came. Vernon stated, “We have a couple who came all the way from California in 6 days just to come here for this rally. It’s the first time we’ve tried it, so we’re satisfied with the turnout and I’m glad to see other bikers like us taking part in the ride.”

Vernon told us that the theme of the convention is “Encuentro al Media Camino,” which means “Meeting in the Middle.”

After the motorcade, the bikers held a beach party at the Old Belize facility located at Mile 5 on the George Price Highway.