As if on cue, just as baseball spring training wound down, Biker Opening Day arrived at Arizona Bike Week with record temperatures and a wave and roar of thousands of motorcyclists as they washed over the Valley of the Sun.

Despite a struggling economy, temps that pushed triple digits, and a budget crisis on Capitol Hill, Bike Week’s 15th Anniversary edition was met with some 52,000 enthusiasts, up from 47,000 last year, according to event officials. The drive to bust loose from winter’s grip, shake off money woes and enjoy some damn sunshine and good times had riders snaking in from California, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, the four corners of Arizona and points unknown.

ABW pre-rally days began March 25, warming things up with kick-off parties and biker bashes at various Harley-Davidson dealerships, custom shops, saloons and eateries about town. Music festivals, charity runs raising tens of thousands of dollars, Miss ABW preliminaries, breakfast socials, bike shows, poker runs, barbecues, and concerts were everywhere as Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and the greater metro Phoenix area collectively turned into arguably the most biker friendly destination in the nation.

Bike Week officially launched March 30 when Cyclefest opened its doors at WestWorld in Scottsdale. Charity rides, which are a Bike Week hallmark; scores of vendors; demo fleets; and seemingly non-stop live music pounding out from the rally’s Handlebar Saloon tent were among the sights, sounds, activities and attractions that have come to define this growing event. Well-respected local bands opened for headliners Skid Row, Warrant, Heart and Buckcherry, Wednesday through Saturday evening, respectively.

Other highlights included a lifetime achievement award presented to Motorcycle Hall of Famer, Arlen Ness, by fellow builder legend and local son, Paul Yaffe; the Hamsters Charity Dry Heat Poker Run, which attracted some 1,500 participants and brought the Hamster-led donations to the Children’s Care Hospital in Sturgis to a whopping $500,000 this year; various sponsored bike games; Miss ABW Finals; People’s Choice Bike Show; Paul Yaffe Originals traditional Bike Week Bash, a silent auction; a number of raffles; the T-Bar Trail Ride, a wildly popular stripper club run; and the World Famous Saturday Night [wet T-shirt] Contest rounded out the offerings.

The event also wasn’t without some controversy. ABW kicked off at the tail end of MLB spring training, which fills up Phoenix metro area hotels, leaving few room vacancies and high prices. To complicate matters, organizers changed its Cyclefest pricing from 2010’s $50 for a five-day pass with single-day tickets costing $20 per person Wednesday through Saturday; $15 for Sunday to $40 per person for a five-day pass and no single-day passes except for Sunday, which costs $10.

While organizers thought this favored event goers since most, according to Lisa Cyr, marketing and media coordinator for ABW, attend for multiple days. This also left the multi-day attendees more money to participate in ABW’s highly popular charity rides, which generally cost about $25 pp.

Not all attendees and vendors agreed, leaving some in ticket shock, spinning boot heel away from the gate and grumbling about perceived price gouging. Said Lisa, “Our goal this year was to offer a cost decrease to the overwhelming majority of attendees, while better supporting the charity rides…At Arizona Bike Week we never take the approach that attendance is up so we can jack up our prices. We see growth as an opportunity to continue to deliver a bigger and better rally at the lowest possible cost.” Lisa added that the event’s pricing would be reviewed for 2012.

Arizona Bike Week is expected to reconvene at the end of March next year, although dates and ticket pricing are yet to be determined.

For more information, call 480-644-8191or visit www.azbikeweek.com