GREENE – A total of 238 bikes cruised down Genesee Street into downtown Greene on July 30 to participate in the village’s inaugural Bike Night. They came in such numbers, in fact, that they wildly exceeded even the event sponsors’ expectations. Those sponsors are hoping to build on the first event’s success, with their second Bike Night, planned for this Thursday.

“We had a great turnout,” said Enzo Olivieri from Nathanael Greene’s Publick House who, along with Barry Stephens of Tri-County Collision and Wes “Big Wally” VanVoorhies, organized the event. The same three men also sponsor the Greene Cruise In which has been drawing an increasing number of classic cars, street rods and automobiles, not to mention crowds of spectators, to the downtown district every other Thursday since they initiated the event last summer.

After they began the Cruise In, Olivieri said it didn’t take long to realize there was enough interest to warrant a similar event for motorcycles. Deciding to concentrate first on the bi-weekly classic car show before branching out, they held off on the bike idea for a year. But last month they decided they were ready.

After gauging interest, the men approached the village’s board of trustees for permission to hold a motorcycle event the last Thursday in July.