The Quail Motorcycle Gathering is a

motorcycle rally A motorcycle rally is a gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts. Rallies can be large or small, and one-time or recurring. Some rallies are ride-in events, whereas some like the Iron Butt Rally involve days of riding and an actual gathering only at t ...

and

Concours d'Elegance ''Concours d'Elegance'' ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, whe ...

held annually since 2009 at

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

. Quail participants show bikes, and 100 of them ride the California Highway Patrol motor unit escorted 112 mile Quail Ride around Carmel Valley, which includes three fast laps on the track at

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...

. This event evolved from "Legends of the Motorcycle" which had been held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay, CA for a run of three previous years (2006-2008). The location was changed by organizer Gordon McCall to the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, and is run by Peninsula Events. The Quail Ride is held the Friday before the Saturday show date in May, and there is also another ride on show morning called the Cycle World Tour, a fifty-mile organized but unescorted ride that includes a buffet breakfast along the ocean waterfront in Pacific Grove, CA. The 2011 3rd Annual event, attended by 1500, showed over 250 classic motorcycles (150 being judged). The 8th Annual event on May 14, 2016, the show featured paid admissions of 2700 and over 400 displayed motorcycles, with 237 being judged. In 2017, the event expanded to a three-day affair, and the organizers announced they planned to extend it to a week. The May 3, 2019 event had its first discussion panel on women in motorcycling. This gathering has been on hiatus since 2020 caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://signatureevents.peninsula.com/en/Motorcycle/Motorcycle.html Motorcycle rallies in the United States Festivals in California Motorcycle Concours d'Elegance 2009 establishments in California Recurring events established in 2009