I want your readers who attend the Niantic Annual Light Parade tonight to know that the New London Motorcycle Club will not be performing this year, a decision made by the town.

After five years without a single incident, the town fathers have decided that our choreographed exhibition is too dangerous for the Niantic Parade. This is a disappointment and insulting to the club's drill team.

The team practices the routines all year long. Drill team members who in some cases live an hour away, drive their bikes in exceptionally cold weather to perform for children and adults alike, with the great skill-riding exhibition and brilliant light display. The Niantic crowd always loved the motorcycles.

The team recently took top honors at a Northeast skill riding competition in Brooklyn, N.Y. They are the best of the best and are certainly not a safety concern. Horses, and large floats with obstructed vision, should be of greater concern. The club has performed in Groton and Montville light parades longer than they have performed in the Niantic Parade, never having a mishap.

I just wanted your readers to know that the New London Motorcycle Club did not abandoned them.