Michael Panzeca Tours His Way to Laconia Bike Week
Comedian, drug counselor, and motorcyclist Michael Panzeca, is on a pilgrimage to Laconia Bike Week in Laconia, New Hampshire, and he’s turned the bike run into an impromptu comedy tour along the way, ending up in New York City, to perform comedy, and appear on several talk shows including SiriusXM’s Bennington show.
On a 45 degree day in Buffalo, NY, Panzeca caught us up-to-date on his ride so far.
June 3 Friday We left Pompano Beach, Florida in the late afternoon to travel 210 miles to meet my traveling companion– Frankie Santarcangelo’s son in Orlando for dinner. While ordering coffee after an enjoyable meal the waitress said to me, “What do you mean by cream and sugar? I’m not a coffee drinker.” To which I responded, “I’m not sure what it means, I’m not a waitress.” Spent a night of great sleep at Star Island and watched the coverage of Muhammad Ali’s passing which I found strange because I thought he had passed years ago.
June 4 Saturday It’s up and off to Sapphire Valley, NC. 588 miles to stay at a beautiful resort that is hidden away so well in the hills that finding it in the dark and the rain on a motorcycle made me ask myself several times, “What the hell was I thinking?” To which my brain answered “It’s free, your dad hooked you up with these time shares and it’s free.” “You’re going to NYC to be on the Ron Bennington Show.” It was like a video game for old people. I’m pretty sure I heard deer laughing and deciding to spare killing me by jumping in front of me because of the enjoyment I was providing them with my difficult journey.
June 5 Sunday Its up and off. 395 miles to Cincinnati, my hometown to stay with my parents again, this time by choice. The first two hours in rain which made me once again think, “What the hell was I thinking?” To which my brain responded, “You’re on a Harley and you’re cool, and if God forbid something happens to you, the story will be cool like he died doing what he loved. And you’re going to NYC to be on the Ron Bennington Show”
My family has not changed at all, so I left after 3 days of giving them all a chance to make me happy. It was truly a great time seeing family and answering the question over and over again, “Are you performing anywhere?” To which I would respond, “Not sure yet” and “I’m going to be on the Ron Bennington Show on Sirius XM Radio.”, realizing I need to get the “comedy” part of this “comedy tour” going or it’s going to look like just another vacation for a want-to-be comic. We ate at Montgomery Inn and I got to see my family and all the little ones and how big they have gotten. I said to them all, “Stay in school, don’t be a comic.” Went to Great American Ball Park to watch the Reds take on the St. Louis Cardinals and Joey Votto win the game with a walk off homer in the bottom of the 9th. The time with my family was truly a blessing and a wake up call to what really matters in life, family, and being on The Ron Bennington Show in NYC.
June 8 Wednesday It‘s up and off. 240 miles to Cleveland where I am supposed to have a spot at The Happy Dog. Finally I get to perform some comedy. So we get to Cleveland right on time only to find out that there is more than one Happy Dog in Cleveland and I have gone to the wrong one. No worries a quick call to the other one and a quick 20 min ride to the correct one. I rush down to the basement of this hip 20 something type place to have the host say to me, “Glad you are here, you’re up soon, I will light you at 6 mins.” To which I responded, “Why?” “You get 7 mins”, he said. I used my 15 years of experience and credits to talk him into allowing me 10 mins, which appeared to have no effect on the sound system that kept cutting out on me during my set. Two of my good friends from my cruise ship days stopped in, Matt and his wife Lou to see me perform and after my set the door guy said “Good job” and handed me 15 bucks from the door. The guy who books the room Jimmie Graham later came up to me and apologized and said that he got there late and would have handled it differently. No worries man, it’s all good. We find a place online and check into the hotel. I’m not saying it was a bad hotel, but I did wear my helmet on the elevator, and the pool had what I think we’re human-shaped rafts in it.
June 9 Thurs In Cleveland, which by the way is a great city, So now it’s time to have a great lunch at Gabe’s Deli in Cleveland with Matt and Lou, which was amazing by the way and off to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to make Frankie happy. It was nice and interesting, but it could not compare with the thought that kept going through my head. “You’re going to be in NYC on the Ron Bennington Show, who cares about Woodstock or Live Aid?” So now it’s off 295 miles to Buffalo NY. We got lucky and got a great hotel, had a nice sit down hot meal, a hot shower and some sleep because tomorrow it’s Niagara Falls and then 410 miles east to Smugglers’ Notch, VT to stay at a beautiful resort my dad set up for us and then Laconia for the bike rally.
June 10, Friday It’s 5 am in Buffalo and 45 degrees. So this morning, I am realizing that Frankie and I are like a straight married couple. We travel together, tell each other how to drive, take pictures of each other in front of interesting touristy places, post them on Facebook, get on each other’s nerves, go places the other one likes even if we don’t, meet each other’s families, tell each other how to do things, forget conversations we had 5 mins ago, argue about the truth, sleep in the same room, but not the same bed, we don’t have sex with each other, eat together and today we are going to Niagara Falls?? I’m scared, but no matter what happens, we are bikers, we ride Harleys and we are going to NYC to be on the Ron Bennington Show.
You can also follow along on the Facebook page Mike created for the trip, titled “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Laconia Comedy Tour.”
