Sturgis 2009
Each August, hundreds of thousands of motorcycles rumble through
the state of South Dakota for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally in Sturgis and throughout the Black Hills. What started as
a small, hometown event has grown into a worldwide phenomenon
that you have to see to believe. To this end, I have yet to miss the
annual event in years. This past August marked the 69th edition and
I managed to escape (with my group of guys) for another memorable
trip. Whilst Main and Lazelle Streets started cooking before the event
officially began, and continued to burn wild into the evenings, I couldn’t
shake the old “been there, done that” adage off the tip of my tongue. So
the boys and I ventured out of the usual beaten path and sought out to
do what most of those in attendance do. RIDE...
New Orleans Bike week
It took a long time to get New Orleans running after the devastating hurricane Katrina hit
the area in August of 2005 but by May of 2009 “The Big Easy” as the city is also known
was looking good and once again seemed to be a prime location for a big biker party.
At least that is what the promoters of a new event called Bike Week New Orleans (May
7-10, 2009) were thinking. They put together this event on a fairly short notice.
The event kicked off Thursday morning when the Easyriders sponsored 3-day V-Twin
Bike Show opened in the Morial Convention Centre. Of course, there were lots of
custom bikes, live bands, a tattoo competition and the Purrfect Angelz performed their
dance review. Custom bike builders including Paul Yaffe, Shannon Davidson, John
Dodson, Tempest Cycles, Jerry Burrow and Executive Choppers were also on hand.
There were many other builders in New Orleans attending the event and some had set
up their company booths.
Ink & Iron
Last June I left for California to cover Big
Bear Chopper’s Ride the Mountain
event (see RMM vol.10, Fall 2009).
As I passed through Los Angeles, I took
the opportunity to stop by Long Beach and
attend the weekend-long 7th edition of the
Ink and Iron Festival. I have attended many
events in my lifetime, but this one tremendously
impressed me. It is held on the
legendary ship, the Queen Mary (1) which
has been retired for several years. It is known today as a permanently docked “hotel”.
The Queen Mary (1) is a true museum
in itself. You can spend hours on board
just visiting, and everything is very well
explained. If you spend the night, be
watchful, legend has it that there are
ghosts on board!
During the Festival activities take place
everywhere, on the ship as well as on...
