Why Is Friday The 13th So Important To Bikers? The 40-Year Tradition Explained
Even if bikers don't get to ride their beloved steeds as often as they'd like, there tend to be specific days in the year that they'll dedicate to just that whenever possible. Interestingly, for many bikers, one of those days will be Friday the 13th. This is an event on the calendar that many will avoid, with the date having such unlucky connotations that it's a major reason why some airlines exclude row 13 from their aircraft. Still others embrace the date, though, and it has a particular significance for the biker community because it marks the beginning of a tradition that dates back to 1981.
Every Friday the 13th, thousands of bikers hit Lake Erie in Port Dover, Ontario. In May 2016, the National Post reported that approximately 140,000 people partake in the event, which is quite an enormous crowd. Like a lot of these sorts of community events, though, it didn't begin as such. Sometimes, a small group of friends start a little tradition of their own, and then word gets around and numbers swiftly balloon. That's exactly what happened in this case.
The official website for the event shares the historic story from the Port Dover Maple Leaf, "Chris Simons and approximately 25 friends, through word of mouth, got together at the Commercial Hotel [...] now known as Angelos of Dover. It was in November, and it was Friday the 13th." The group had a blast and reached the only sensible conclusion: They would repeat the meeting every Friday the 13th. Other bikers heard tell of it, and, generally needing little excuse to get together, wanted to join in too. Port Dover isn't the only town to host a Friday the 13th event (Gananoque, ON, being another), but it's perhaps the best-known.
The Friday 13th rally in Ontario has become a highlight on the biker calendar
Port Dover, then, became a focus of the Friday the 13th motorcycle rally celebrations. It's an unlikely and unassuming spot for it, and a great influx of bikers may sound like an intimidating prospect (particularly on a day that is perceived as unlucky by so many), but the event is a joyous one. As is so often the case when bikers get together, it's a celebration of a shared passion, a day for fun, and just as importantly, a day for raising money for good causes and local businesses alike.
Up to 150,000 bikers can attend, sometimes depending on the weather on the day in question. An obvious complicating factor for the organization is that the rally is more dynamic than a lot of similar, set annual events. Not always, anyway: In 2025, June's Friday the 13th was the only one of the year, while 2024 had two: In September and December. 2026, meanwhile, has a trio of Friday the 13ths in February, March, and November, making it quite the year for bikers.
As you'd expect, there are some weather concerns at times, should the event land in the winter. When it does, though, it goes right on ahead, moving certain stalls or entertainment inside as appropriate to help keep everyone warm, dry, and safe. However often it takes place in a given year, though, there's no denying that the event has grown exponentially from a kind of impromptu gathering of a couple of dozen friends to an event hosting thousands of strangers. There are countless motorcycle rallies around the world, big and small, but Ontario's Friday the 13th rally has grown to one of the biggest of all. You're sure to see some great bikes, perhaps even some rare imported classics.
The very biggest biker rally of all, perhaps
Spending time with like-minded people is one of the greatest pleasures in life, and for those enamored with biking, there are few greater opportunities to do so than attending a Friday the 13th rally in Ontario. Some, particularly those traveling from afar, will book hotels (providing that they can find rooms) or arrange a camping spot. With it always falling on a Friday, unsurprisingly, there's ample opportunity for the faithful to make a weekend of it.
If you're interested in and engaged with the community, there aren't really any lengths that you won't go to. At September 2024's Friday the 13th event, CTV News spoke with one Roman Kopfer, who told the outlet that he didn't own a motorcycle at the time. Even so, he had journeyed from as far afield as Austria, so he didn't miss out, telling the outlet that he had "heard in Central Europe about this wonderful holiday."
Given the scale of the celebration, perhaps Kopfer has the right way of looking at it. It's not simply a rally, but a much-anticipated event on the biker calendar, an integral part of that way of life. It started as an impromptu meeting of friends, but The Brantford Expositor explains, it is now "a more organized event and now involves months of planning, more than 500 volunteers, and co-ordination of police, EMS, the fire department, and Norfolk County staff." It's this community commitment that makes the Friday the 13th rally such a highlight. Just as you don't need to be a biker to understand the hand signals motorcyclists make on the road, neither do you need to be one to appreciate why this date is so important to them.