It appeared alongside top New Hampshire politicians who showered praise on the event happening this week, which typically draws over 300,000 people to the state. That colorful cross-section of bike-loving humanity is a boon to the state’s economy.

Since Leonard first attended the rally in 1977, he said he’s been drawn back each year by the riding, the racing, and the people. He believes he’s only missed a handful of years since he started coming.

“It’s the camaraderie and the friendship, and it’s a forever thing,” he said. “We’re all from different walks of life, but during the rally, everyone is from the same place.”

Leonard traveled to the event from his home in Daytona Beach, Fla. At 65, he’s retired from a career that also revolved around motorcycles: working as a technician for Harley Davidson. But Leonard said he hasn’t retired from racing motorcycles.

Yes, accidents have taken a toll on his body over the years, he said. “But it’s still worth it.”

Advertisement

Outside, on Main Street in downtown Laconia, a couple who identified themselves as Tom and Lisa said they’ve been coming to Laconia Motorcycle Week together since the ′80s. They declined to give their last names.

“We both ride, so it’s fun just to see everybody else,” said Lisa.

It’s less rowdy now than Lisa remembers it used to be. She said she misses the old days. “It’s gotten a little bit boring,” she said. But she still enjoys walking around, checking out all the motorcycles, and people watching.

The event organizers have heard that critique before. Jennifer Anderson, deputy director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, said people are still partying these days, but they’ve relocated the merriment to their overnight accommodations. She said that’s helped reduce drinking and driving, which remains a major safety message state and local officials delivered ahead of the event.

Tom said he started riding when he was 10 years old after his older brother first introduced a bike to the family, to his parent’s dismay.

“My parents were dead set against it,” he said. It took some time, but eventually, he said, they came around to it. As a teenager, Tom said he would come to bike week and camp out with all of his friends.

Lisa started riding a motorcycle after she met Tom. “I didn’t want to be on the back,” she said. “I figured I’d be left home, so either ride or be left behind.”

Bike week isn’t for everyone. Some locals steer clear of the city altogether while the event is in full swing. Kristy Lavoie, 45, of Sanbornton, falls into that category.

“We don’t really get involved,” she said, while shopping in Laconia before the event began. “We avoid the area.”

Lavoie works in retail in Tilton, and she said it’s a busy time of year. But she’s not convinced all the traffic is coming from motorcyclists, pointing out that the region is also popular with tourists who are coming to spend time on the lakes during the warmer months.

In the 20 years Lavoie has lived in Sanbornton, she said she’s gotten used to the massive event. And luckily, she said she doesn’t notice more traffic in her hometown as a result of the event.

Motorcycle week is estimated to bring upwards of $100 million in business to the state, according to an economic analysis by the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association. The event runs through Sunday. On Thursday, there is the 31st annual POW/MIA Freedom Ride starting at 5 p.m., as well as a custom bike show, and a tattoo contest, among many other events.

On Friday, there is the annual city of Laconia Bike Show, a motorcycle rodeo, and Belknap County Nursing Home will welcome motorcycle week, inviting riders to meet the residents and show off their bikes.

A full schedule of events is available here.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

You might notice a vegetable with unusual pink leaves at farmers markets this fall. While often mistaken for cabbage or lettuce, the culprit is actually radicchio, which is native to Italy.

For local farmers, the crop offers an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Radicchio is increasing in popularity amongst consumers and restaurants for its unique color, flavor and health benefits. But researchers say there’s still a lot to learn about its performance in New England.

University of New Hampshire researchers examined over thirty varieties of radicchio to learn how farmers in the region can grow the leafy green.

Becky Sideman is a professor of agriculture, nutrition and food systems at UNH and lead author of the study. She said that the crop makes for interesting research due to its genetic variability.

“It’s got more diversity in it than pretty much any other vegetable crop I can think of,” Sideman said. There’s all these types and colors, and they’re used for different culinary purposes.”

Some varieties of radicchio can be easily impacted by climate conditions. Under heat and other sources of stress, the vegetable can see bolting, early flowering that increases bitterness, or tip burn, a form of rotting at the edges. In New England, it’s typical for less than half of radicchio plants to become marketable heads, according to the UNH study.

For Sideman and her team, it’s important to understand which radicchio varieties produce the greatest number of marketable heads consistently. The unusual dry growing season of 2022 and extreme wet conditions in 2023 allowed researchers to see how the crop fared under a variety of stressors.

“One thing that was kind of exciting for us to see is that some varieties were really consistent in their performance between those two years,” she said. “It’s early to tell, but that suggests that they might be able to take what the climate throws at them a little better than maybe some varieties or some crops.”

The study’s results found that amongst seven main radicchio types, the chioggia type and varieties had the best marketability in combination with disease resistance.

This is the type of radicchio most familiar to consumers, with its traditional red coloring.

Sideman and her team plan to continue their research on radicchio this fall, and hope to better understand how planting times will impact the plant’s harvest window.