Wauseon 2008

Despite a sketchy forcast and soaring fuel prices Wauseon 2008 proved to be bigger than ever. After spending most of Thursday night putting the new P-pad on my '39 ULH I decided to bed early and hit the road at the crack of dawn. Friday morning came fast and I found myself counting cornfields west of Toledo by 6am. After locating Gene Pain's RV spot at the campgrounds (Gene graciously offered a piece of ground next to his rig where I set up camp) I had the '39 off the truck and running lickity-split.

The down home feel of the place makes it my favorite event of the year and this year was no exception. The hospitality flowed from all my good friends especially Cindy and Joe Gardella who not only gave the '39 a spot in their pasture next to all the pretty bikes but also fed me lunch and dinner in their new land yacht dubbed the "Big Banana". Thanks you two!

Pan-heads were the featured bike this year but I must say I have never seen so many knuckleheads in my life. Everywhere I looked there was another cool example of the HD OHV factory hotrod. They came in every flavor shape with all model years in attendence and the ones looking for new homes carried HEAVY price tags beyond most wallets.

Friday night brought vintage flat track racing to the county fairgrounds 1/2 mile oval. The stands filled up fast and the racing proved worthy of all the attention. Numerous heat races whittled down the entries to a half dozen 10-13 bike finals which made the racing tight, fast and dangerous. The biggest highlight for me was one of Joe's good friends lapping everyone in his field aboard a 1923 HD direct drive board tracker on white rubber. Mucho Grande Attachments.

Check the pics and mark it down on your calender for next year. I promise you won't be disappointed.

A personal note to my accountant - I did not find that '41 knucklehead I have been looking for and I have already put the cash back in the bank.... but I'm gonna be back on the search at Davenport!