Welcome back bike rally

Remember Ohio Bike Week? We're convinced now that we are on a path to a return to normalcy after more than two years in a pandemic. The announcement this week that Ohio Bike Week, and the three-day block party in downtown Sandusky, has us more hopeful than ever. Register file photo/JASON WERLING A motorcycle rally, Ohio Bike Week features live entertainment, festival food, vendors and other attractions. Bike Week became the normal opening to the summer season in the city before the virus shut down almost everything that was normal. Attracting tens of thousands of people from all over the country, it's a great festival and a great celebration for more than 15 years before the virus closed it down in 2020. There was hope last year that Ohio Bike Week would return, but it was considerably scaled back after some resurgence of the virus and state-imposed restrictions on public gatherings, rightfully so. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the steep decline in the infection rate in recent weeks will continue and that more people will get vaccinated and boosted as doubts about vaccination get erased by the safe and successful use of vaccines. Ohio Bike Week, from May 27 to June 5, includes the downtown Sandusky block party from June 2-4, based at the Jackson Street Pier and along the city's revitalized waterfront. The local tourism bureau, Lake Erie Shores & Islands, estimated the event brings up to 200,000 people to the area, according to a May 2019 Register article. The local economic impact exceeds $10 million. That makes it one of the most popular motorcycle festivals in the country.