The show outside on the street was as strong as the show inside under the lights. The Invitational is a very special gig - more of a happening really. If this stuff makes your motor run like it does mine, do yourself a big fat favor and experience it all for yourself next year. Next post will take you inside to the show itself - the mind continues to bend.
The weekend started for me at Walter's place in New Jersey were I met a new group of friends along with a couple familiar faces. We were all gathering there for the 25 mile ride into NYC. I had plenty of willing hands to help me pull the flathead out of my truck which seemed to happen in seconds. After strapping on some basic gear we were off. The crew included Steve from Kickstart Cycle Supply, Canadian Chris & Ashley from Vancouver BC, left coasters Caleb from Cro Customs, JD and Josh who I had met at the Biltwell Bro-down in Ohio a couple years back. All these guys turned out to be top-shelf. We lane split most of the way into Brooklyn popping over man-sized potholes and expansion joints that just about shook the bars of my bike. Crazy bad roads. But we were all stoked to be riding into NYC and on our way to the DiCE party/Paul Cox BBQ - both failed to suck. Bikes, bikes, bikes. Really NICE bikes seemed to be popping up everywhere. At the Paul Cox shop the food was delicious and free - so was the beer. It was cool finally being able to meet a lot of people face to face verses the blog-as-sphere. Most of the folks were super-friendly and made me feel at home - I got a lot of "Oh! Your the ZON guy!" It was cool turning some of my virtual friends into flesh and blood friends for the first time. The BBQ went late and before I knew it it was time to get over to the DiCE party at the Gutter. More to come...
Went to bed sad on Thursday night wishing I was with all my friends heading to NYC for the sure to be epic Brooklyn Invitational/Dice Party/Paul Cox BBQ/Kickstart Cycle Supply Party. I could not sleep. By 5am I was in my pick-up heading east with the ULH staring at me through the rear view mirror. 9 hours later I took the pic above crossing from New Jersey into New York with a new crew of friends I met only 20 minutes earlier. I had one of the best weekends I've had in years - Brooklyn absolutely rocks. I saw the biggest/best collection of OUR kind of bikes in one place I have ever seen. The vibe, the food, the drink, the local and especially the people were all (just like the motorcycles) top shelf. Stayed tuned - I need a moment to go through the 400 pics I burned...
Suzi Greenway throws one of the best 2-wheeled parties around. About the most fun you can have on a Sunday in broad daylight with your clothes on. Click the post tittle to check out last years event (which was a little on the light side due to pending rain). Most of the time the town square is jammed. I just drove back through the night from Brooklyn for this gig. Try to make it.
