Big Things Do Happen
Article By: H Gio Giovanni
Photos By: Kerri, Penny & Chris
Originally Published In The April 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
The witches, gooniesand goblins might have been lurking, but the stampedes of horsepower wrapped in two-wheel iron, silence their screams. There was a new sheriff in town this year with the Cycle Source squad, and the Lone Star Rally proved everything is truly bigger in Texas.
The 2013 rally got off to a wet and wild start. Torrential downpours provided mini rivers on the boulevards Thursday, putting a damper on many of the Halloween festivities we had planned. Our annual Cycle Source havoc ride and bike show had to be rescheduled for the following day. If you were getting cabin fever like us, a simple change of wheels started the day’s adrenaline rush. We grabbed a camera guy from Grease and Gears TV, gassed up the turbo truck and did a little downhome water-dobbing in thedowntown streets of Galveston. Attempting to be a Good Samaritan and move the water from the streets and wash a few cars, we found ourselves with many other bikers in one of the good seafood establishments off of Seawall Blvd.
After a few prayers to the Gas and Oil Gods — a brief promise to sacrifice my next thumper — the sun came out strong and we let the kick starting begin. The Galveston area offers a lot of real estate to enjoy riding outside of Strand Blvd. It’s all about the journey on the pavement than the walk through the park, and this year we had the pleasure to be joined by musical great Jared Blake. Seawall Blvd. gave you a glimpse of vendors if you were riding towards Beach Park, but a quick u-turn granted you oneof the best views of the Gulf as well as some curvy roads to burn. As Friday came, the night settled, the misty fog rolled in, and it was time to venture out to stretch the wallet and the beer tab. A loop through The Strand, which was one lane, gave us the bird’s eye view on a few old school custom bikes. A quick triple digit ride over the massive twin, 8,592-foot bridges placed the Intercostal Canal under the seat pan while connecting the Texas mainland and Galveston Island where all the other magic happens. To keep the higher-ups off my back…let’s just say smoky stages, low lights, and raining dollar bills is where this path lead us.
Running on 100 octane for the third day of the rally, the main theme was our annual Grease and Gears TV tour ride and Cycle Source chopper show. A quick roll down Seawall Blvd. to 21st street placed you directly on the prime real estate for finding the most street worthy machines at the rally. The canopy went up and the bikes rolled in. Of course it wouldn’t be a Cycle Source event without some drama. Our builders rode across the lawn, up the one-way streets and slipped passed the boys in blue to bring on the havoc. The diverse group of brands– both new school and old school — were in attendance. There was a 1934 HD parts’ runner with a tow bar built by the Barbato family, Faith Forgotten’s “Best in Show” bike — Tight and Shallow, and vintage looking, but new school bigwheelers by Blacksmith Motoring. If the taste for two wheels left a little room for dessert, the Lone Star car show featured Jesse James and his new hotrod.The amount of Italian leather, show chrome, and force induction, big block power filled the grass lands as some of Texas’s biggest hot rod builders displayed the finest work in the Southwest.
The Lone Star Rally gets bigger and better every year. Bikers, builders and organizers continue to step it up and the area is great for partying or burning up the pavement. If your thing is to mix it up with the celebrity appeal or bring the pain with your bike to one of the organized bike shows, the Lone Star Rally is the place to run adrift. The bottom line is the fun people have is evident on the smiles they wear while mingling amongst the crowds on The Strand and Seawall. I believe a good friend, Jack Shit, once told me it’s all about creating memories with your brothers, so even though some memories were a blur, other memories will bring me back every year.
To check out more about the Lone Star Rally, head to www.lonestarrally.com
