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Cycle Showcase: St. Louis Kills The Scene

Article And Photos By: Melissa Shoemaker

Originally Published In The January 2019 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

Once again Cycle Showcase St. Louis did not disappoint. The venue was perfect, the bikes were amazing, and the artwork was beautiful. Cycle Showcase is, in itself, a unique event. Being in its fifth year, it has been held at a different venue each time. This year’s venue was ideal! Located in the growing Grand Center Arts District, near downtown St. Louis, the warehouse provided the perfect backdrop for these custom motorcycles and artwork. Event organizer, Randall Noldge and his crew spent countless hours cleaning and getting the space ready for the show, and their hard work paid off. The space was large enough to display 50 bikes, along with the artwork, both from contributors from around the country and accommodate the crowds. The rain moved in Friday afternoon and stuck around all day Saturday but never fear, the upstairs provided the perfect location for vendors since the weather did not cooperate with the original outdoor space set aside for them.

The weekend started off with a pre-party on Friday night, which was hosted by the Triumph Bar and Grill and the St. Louis Moto Museum. If you have never been to the Moto Museum, you  are missing out. They have a very unique collection of motorcycles on display. While the pre-party was a small gathering of mostly the builders and artists, it was the perfect opportunity to get together with friends and catch up before the show opening the next morning.

Let’s talk bikes… the collection of custom motorcycles brought together this year was indeed one of the best of the year. Randall put together a very diverse group of builders from across the country, and each one provided a bike that showed off their talent and individualism. There were original vintage bikes, vintage custom bikes, choppers, race bikes and even a bagger or two. There were two bikes that really stood out to me that I would almost call the centerpieces of the show. Indian Larry’s “Wild Child”, which made its way back to St. Louis for the first time since 2003, when it made a brief stop on its trip to Sturgis during the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-Off and Souixicide Choppers’ “60 Over”, a giant chopper made with the largest Sugar Bear front end ever made. Many of the bikes Let’s talk bikes… the collection of custom motorcycles brought together this year was indeed one of the best of the year. Randall put together a very diverse group of builders from across the country, and each one provided a bike that showed off their talent and individualism. There were original vintage bikes, vintage custom bikes, choppers, race bikes and even a bagger or two. There were two bikes that really stood out to me that I would almost call the centerpieces of the show. Indian Larry’s “Wild Child”, which made its way back to St. Louis for the first time since 2003, when it made a brief stop on its trip to Sturgis during the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-Off and Souixicide Choppers’ “60 Over”, a giant chopper made with the largest Sugar Bear front end ever made. Many of the bikes could have been the centerpiece of the show, these two just really stood out as something special and iconic to me.

The artwork was some of the finest Moto-art displayed together at one location, with a combination of paintings, prints, photography, mixed media, helmets, and tanks. The Triumph Grill was on hand serving food and beverages, and there was even a kissing booth! The kissing booth was a hit with the men, women and especially the children. It wasn’t your traditional Kissing Booth. However, this booth was manned by the most adorable four legged creatures around, Bull Dogs from the Illinois English Bulldog Rescue and puppies from the Dirk’s Fund Foundation, with proceeds going to both organizations. Saturday night’s after-party was held at the Pin-up Bowl which was strategically located next to the host hotel, The Moonrise Hotel. Bowling with a group of 50+ rowdy bikers squeezed into four lanes it was definitely a party! Bobby Seeger Jr. walked away with the high score of 146 and the beautiful Bell Helmet painted by Shawn Long as grand prize.

Sunday morning started out a little damp but there was no rain in the forecast, and it proved to be a perfect day for Aidan’s Ride St. Louis. The riders were led on a tour of the bridges crossing over the Mighty Mississippi River with a stop on the Illinois side for a photo-op directly across the river from the Arch. The show continued throughout the day with another day of great attendance and with the clearing weather, several rode in. The day wrapped up, and bikes started coming down off their risers, and it was time to pack up. Most lingered as if they didn’t want to say those goodbyes and hit the road. All in all, it was a great weekend and I’m already looking forward to 2019. For dates and location stay tuned to the always entertaining IG page @csstl or follow them on Facebook.

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