BREAKING

Event Reports

Choppertown Camp-A-Round

Article By: Milwaukee Mike

Photos By: Don Wood

Originally Published In The June 2011 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

csm-june2011-p42_page_1_image_0001

What better way to get away from the final days of winter’s wrath then to leave the icy grip of the upper midwest and go to the deserts of Arizona. It is a great way to prepare for the upcoming warm weather and the good times ahead. For the past three years, Mario (Dirty) Sanchez has been kind enough to open his house in Queen Creek (Queentucky to the locals because its out of town, man) to various members of our group of guys from Milwaukee we call “The Shed.” This year was a little different as we would be there during AZ Bike Week. Somehow we never quite make it to the West World lot but we always manage to get to see somewhere between 1000 – 1300 miles of the various terrains that Arizona has to offer, and we are never more than 3 hours away from our home base. This year, we went down to Tuscon, as usual, and had another shop visit with George and Wendy at Spartan Frameworks. We got to see the newest creations that they are pumping out of this great little shop. Of course, liquid refreshments are always a must when hanging around in the 100 degree heat with Teach and Amy as well as the rest of the Milwaukee boys. Seeing as it was so dang warm we decided to take a ride up Mt. Lemon which is always a treat as it overlooks a good portion of southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. Then it was back to Phoenix and the TT Roadhouse where Skoog treated us to a three-piece rock-a-billy combo that was tearin’ it up!

csm-june2011-p43_page_1_image_0007

After some catchin’ up with Keith and The Nomad, we went to visit Jack Schit and Bean’re over at the Dirty Dogg were they were holding court. Unfortunately we got there too late to catch their madness at the bar. We did catch up to it at Jack’s house along with a film crew that was out to document Betsy and her girls from Colorado. It’s always good to hang with Article By: Milwaukee Mike Photos By: Don Wood righteous people like that. Saturday brought a ton of activities. It started with a cool group ride up to Black Canyon that was delayed by a cracked Panhead frame and a pair of handelbars that completely popped off at eighty-miles-anhour. (Some people should not be allowed to call themselves bike builders). That split the group in two as we headed to the 2nd Annual Choppertown Camp-around, an event started last year by Long Jon and his wife Pinky. It’s a no-big-deal ,run-what-ya-brung ,unorganized hangout with an awesome run up to Prescott in the afternoon. Breakin’ bikes the whole way there and back is a good way to get to know some cool new folks with similar attitudes. (Don’t worry, no one got hurt and everyone made it back). In the evening we all regrouped at Kid Chilleen’s BBQ for an evening of bikes, BBQ, burnouts, and a whole lot of booze. I mean any party that gets people on a stage singing Johnny Cash in live karaoke at 4:30 in the morning has to be appreciated for the fun that it is. It definitely made for a memorable evening, or maybe it was a no memory evening. They’re both good when you are in the company of righteous chopper jocks and a Sharpie marker from all over the southwest. It is as I always say when ya really want to get to know a place, get a local to take ya around!

csm-june2011-p43_page_1_image_0008

Related Posts

1 of 159