the curtains at the side of the stage where, as I suspected, I found Billy Edson busy categorizing the
bikes for judging and Victor Garcia of VG Media
along with Xander Nicolai of Media World Inc.
buried in production duties. I bet you thought the
great shots of the entrants’ scooters just magically
appeared on the huge video screen that has become one of our show’s trademarks didn’t you?
Not so much. Busy in the show’s nerve center was
a face I didn’t recognize. Billy introduced me to
Tony Frey, Associate Publisher for Maverick Publishing. Maverick Publishing brings us a few publications you may have heard of including American
Bagger and Urban Bagger. Tony was in attendance
to judge the inaugural Baddest Bagger in Kansas
City contest. Twenty-four mind-blowing custom
baggers stepped up and accepted the challenge
to compete for this prestigious award. This contest
was completely separate from the Wide Open
Bike Show contest. Like I said earlier we had a
show within a show or, a two-stage bike show. You
just come to expect this type of high-end feature
from us, and Ralph never fails to bring it to you. Our
good buddy Brad Brooks, head man at Consultechs, our longtime trophy fabrication guru, had
double duty this year. He had to produce trophies
for Wide Open and Baddest Bagger winners, and,
if I say so myself, these are the sweetest creations
he has conjured up to date.
Mike Ballard and Angie from the Full Throttle
Saloon not only found the time within their busy
schedule to grace us with their presence, they also
graced us with a tractor trailer full of FTS swag including their new Full Throttle Sloonshine. This
tasty beverage was being offered at a quaint little
saloon set up right next to the FTS rig. Fajita Mike
was always within a few feet of the saloon. I know
that surprises no one. Later in the day Jesse James
Dupree even showed up to check out the happenings. Apparently, our show was the must-attend event for everybody that weekend.
The show was jam packed with our friends,
old and new. Hard Core Customs, Turkey Creek
Cycles, Frankenstein Trikes and Big Twins Cycles
were all on hand, and each brought a great selection of their creations for folks to admire. Topshop
Bagger Products had a huge display of their custom bagger body parts. Mike Bergen’s Hands to
Heart foundation, Meadow’s Optical, Bad Seed
Motorcycle Company, Accurate Performance,
Guns N Hoses, BikeWorks Unlimited all came out
to join in the weekend’s festivities with us. Our
headquarters at the Sturgis Rally, The Sturgis View
Campground was well represented even though
reservations to this little oasis are selling out quick.
Speaking of rallies, the folks from the Spring River
Rally were on hand to provide folks with info on
this great event.
Our trophies this year read “We Service All
Makes.” Never has that phrase been more true.
This year we had Worth Harley-Davidson, Freedom Cycles, Liberty Cycle Center, and Austin Trail-
Wide Open 7