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Event Reports

Lone Star Rally 2014

Article By: Chris Callen:

Photos By: Heather Walker, Rebecca Cunningham, Milwaukee Mike, Killer, Diva Di

Originally Published In The March 2015 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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Last year we rolled into Galveston with the intention to blow the roof off the joint. This Texas sized rally leaves little room to go anything but big so we had fully prepared to bring the A game. Unfortunately mother nature decided to throw us a shot and although we had a blast, the events we had hoped to promote were less than stellar. Fast forward to 2014 and we’re headed, with a motley assorment in tow, back to the Lone Star State. We decided to swing by St. Louis to pick up Milwaukee, man it’s hard to follow these stories for nicknames and inuendo at times. Anyway, Mike met us at Randy’s house in St. Louis and we beat feet for the Gulf Coast. Just like most of the other 19 events we co-promoted this season we made it there in just enough time to be nearly late, after a blistering session of stink foot, grumbling belly, flat-out team driving.

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Still, we had made it and were on site for our first gig which was to set our booth up. Killer had take the week off from school and with the help of Diva Di we had an apparel team too. Man, this is gettin high brow boy. The folks at Lone Star were nice enough to help us more than a little and in two seconds flat had assembled a vendor tent complete with tables and chairs. Brad, you’re the man! So the rest of the night, like maybe ten minutes worth, we could do as we wished. We decided to take the extra steps to batton down the hatches cause, you guessed it, the morning forecast for our ride was not looking so good. Of course our accommodations are always last on the list to check out and when we did they were a little screwed up and like always, when we’re in Texas, Buddy Johnson made sure we were taken care of. This is a good man and we’re damn glad to be part of his crew!

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This year we were back at Beach Central on Sea wall. The Lone Star Rally, for those of you that haven’t been, is set up in two primary areas. The Seawall where we were and on the other side of the island Peir Side which includes the notorius Strand. The Strand is the main street through Galveston and during the rally it will give any other national motorcycle event a run for its money. Some 400 thousand bikers flood into this town for a long weekend event and on Saturday night you can bet your last buck that they will all be trying to ride down the Strand.

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As crazy as that is, there is so much to see and do in this area. Galveston is an old town with rich history and the food and sights are plenty. On the Seawall side there are breath taking ocean views to ride next to, great beach spots to sneak off for a bit and the entertainment at the Jager Stage was kicking ass. Our own Jasmine Cain was on the lineup there and our own Grand Marshall of the “Run Down The Shore” Jared Blake was was set to play a few times as well. The world famous Jack Shit came in to work the smart side of the microphone during our Grease & Gears filming and you can see that on the web site by the time this issue comes out.

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New for us this year were the old time bike games. Buddy I am here to tell you that I have held motorcycle events all of these United States and I have rarely seen people take them as serious as they do in Texas. The rules are the rules and if you wavier for a minute someone there will put a foot in your ass. I thought quite a few times there was gonna be a fist fight, and that was just the guys on our staff who were arguing the play calls. All in all it turned out to be a hell of a great day. We had three out of the four events that we had planned. The barrel roll, which became the moonshine barrel roll and the good folks at Ole Smoky provided the equipment for that. There was the slow race of course and non stop hilarity from cats who were old pros to absolute newbies and everyone just lining up again and again to run. Last but not least the weenie bite. Now this event seems to be hit or miss at some events, but in Texas there were a line of weenine biters and throttle jockies. They were on it and damn the cameras the ycould care less if their mommas were gonna see em in a magazine or not, they wanted to be the weenine queens. It all went down on Friday during the day and the weather was perfect. I bet at one point there were nearly a thousand people or better crammed into the side lines watching the great sport and competition these people brought to it.

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Friday night the big news all around town was the band Hairball who would be playing on the main stage in the middle of the Strand. There is a complete interview with them in this very same issue but we are officially naming these cats as the greatest rally band ever, bar none. They have such an incredible stage show which is basically a theatrical performance portraying eighties rockers. If you have never heard of them read the interview and for the love of God go to their webiste and find a show near you. Back at the booth the insanity rarely stopped before midnight and I wondered how Killer would fare in all this. She did better than I did in the long run and was running half the joint by the end of the week. Right behind us Jim and Beth of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge had the Tee Pee set up so I knew that someone always had her back. It’s nice to have family so close when you’re far from home. Another great addition to our team for this year’s Lone Star Rally was Rebecca Cunningham. She was on hand to capture all the jockularity on film for Grease & Gears and it was interesting to see her acclimate to our particular brand of insanity. She killed it and if she will agree to it, you will be seeing more of her with us this year. So the rest of Lone Star was filled with Sons Of Anarchy, a billion and a half vendors, and incredible entertainment all over the palce. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to have a city like Galveston that opens their arms so wide to let the motorcycle community in. It’s a welcome change from some of the places we go where all they want to do is get you in, shake you down for a buck or two and get you out. This town really knows how to play host to the family of motorcycle nuts who travel around together.

 

 

Run Down The Shore

The first event for us at Lone Star Rally this year was the now Annual “Cycle Source Run Down The Shore.” Like I said earlier, the weather last year kicked our ass so we were looking to have a good strong run for 2014 and wouldn’t you know it the forecast looked as if we might get hammered again. Luckily the folks from this part of the world are not run down the shore fair weather riders and we managed to gather some 80 riders who met up at Seawall on Friday, November 7th. Country music national recording artist Jared Blake joined us once again to be the grand marshall of our ride. Jared is a hell of a man and has spent a better part of the last year setting up an outreach program that educates kids about drug addiction and recovery. See his full interview on our web site.

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With grey skies and hopefull faces we set out for a ride around the island. Some people wondered where exactly we would ride to since in about an hour or two you might could make a whole circle around Galveston Island. Well, we rode along the ocean, then cut through the middle of the Island and rode along the other side and pulled right into Seawolf Park. This is one of Galveston’s National treasurers. Sea Wolf Park houses two US Navy War Ships, WWII submarine the USS Cavalla and one of only three destroyer escorts in the world, the USS Stewart. The people at The Lone Star Rally had made previous arrangements and actually paid the admission price for anyone who came on the ride with us to make this stop. This attraction depends on the funding it collects to stay open and it was well worth the $5 per head. We all mulled around for quite a while, some people above the water and some below but near the end I got an extra special treat that was right there for everyone.

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As we entered the gang walk for the USS Cavalla a little old man walked up to us and welcomed us aboard and began to tell us about the ship. It was great becuase he seemed to have such intimate knowledge of it and we all payed close attention. All through the hull of this magnificent war ship the signts and smells that triggered wonder about the men who served on this ship ran rampant. How could they do it for months at a time, what was it like when things went bad? It was about halfway through the tour when our guide, Al, pointed at one of the ships wheels and said that was my station. Yessir, he was assigned to this ship and when he told us what it was like to live with 72 men and 8 officers aboard, he knew exactly what he was talking about. It made it hard to leave because he had answers to every question and we love to talk so of course by the time we got topside the hole ride had their bikes running and we had to bolt. Special thanks to Al and the people who run that facility for keeping that history alive so well.

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We rolled back out Pellican Island and took the bridge back into Galveston . Over to the Pier where we arrived just in time for the opening ceremonies of the Moving Wall Memorial. This was the first year that this memorial would be brought to Galveston. he Wall That Heals is a traveling one-half size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial started in 1996 by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall That Heals Program said that the exhibit goes to about 24 cities each year. Hosts in each location pay $5,000 of the cost for the exhibit and to the promotoers of Lone Star we can’t say thanks enough. The ceremony that we were present for was touching for every single person there. We all lowered our heads as Jarred Blake and his band did a fantastic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner as the color guard brought out the flag and officially opened the display. Afterwards were greeted with a quick picnic style lunch served in shiny commerical style warming trays. This was not a typical Cycle Source Burger and Dogs kinda lunch they fed us pasta and garlic bread, meatballs, the whole deal. We were in tall cotton now. We all hung around outside for a while, took in the sights and talked about the great day. These are the reasons that we do the stuff we do. Finding new stories, making new friends , seeing parts of this country that we havent and stepping outside of our own norm for a moment and seeing how other people get their groove on. Yessir, Galveston has fast become a second home for me. I love the people, love the food and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!

 

Best Bike In Texas

 

To anyone who has never spent any quality motorcycle time in Texas, I have to tell that this is a very diverse crowd. At any given show you will see as many sport bikes, old bikes baggers, high end customs, disco light barges, trailer queens, rattle traps, all of it, all in one spot. In short, these people love motorcycles and they don’t chase each other away for riding diffrent styles of bike either. This is why it was perfect for us that the folks at Lone Star asked us to expand our show this year and instead of just holding an eight trophy show for the old school crowd, to put something on the table for everyone.

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Well, we came back with 25 trophies and prize packages from companies like S&S, Biker’s Choice, J&P Cycle, Ole Smoky, Lone Star Rally, Vance & Hines, the bags were bursting with stuff. The top of that pile of course would be the “Best In Show” which you can see in this issue as well. It was a 1947 Knucklehead that was a true survivor of the San Fansico hayday of chopepr roots. Tim Treadway brought that bike out but it was not the only thing to look at by far.

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Their were so many great baggers, the Mercedes pictured top left that defys explanation, Bobbers, choppers, stockers, Royal Enfields, classics, antiques…. My head was swimming by the time we needed to pick awards. I think of all these great bikes the part that was the best for me was the fact that each one came with an incredible story. You can read about three of these bikes in this issue but more will follow. When the day started we had begun by lining the bikes up along the front curb of the Seawall. By the time we were ready to announce awards they were four rows deep and the whole way down the block. I wanted to take this small spot just to thank the great people from Galveston and Houston and all over Texas who came out to support us for this years custom bike show at Lone Star. You made us really proud and gave us so many bikes to put in the magazine this year.

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