Rookie reporter Fritz reporting in with 2004 Boogie report! For some reason my system won't send it all at once. If they don't get there, let me know and I'll re-send them.
My hat's off to you for your skills. This ain't near as easy as reading. Geez man, I can build bikes, wrecked semi trailers, truck engines, weld, and have some carpentry skills, can't can't find a way to get my word program to send it. Gonna have to call my kid and get him back to town for more lessons. Seems we spend a lot of time learning from each other. So here it is:
Left the shop early on Thursday. It's party time! Dash home and finish packing the bike. Double check the load: Cloths, leather shirt, toothbrush, rain jacket (it always rains at the boogie),party supplies, yup, all there. Ride over to Gary's house. He's ready, so we head out. Half way there we pick up a lost couple from Michigan. Showed them the way to the promised land. Arrived at dark. Just enough light to set up the tent. Half hour later we're puttin on the buzz. Didn't make it to the stage.
Warrant was playing, but I'm not a real “80s hair band” kinda guy anyway. Did hear that a major storm came through on Tuesday. Turned over the sign in trailer, blew tents away, all kinds of stuff tore up. The crews worked hard to get it all back in shape in time.
Friday we were up early. Walked over to a vendor for breakfast, Bacon & egg biscuit & coffee for $8.00! Couldn't even eat it all, tasted so bad. Spent most of the morning people watching. Seems that's turned into my favorite pastime at runs any more. Yuppies, newbies, great entertainment! That afternoon we down to the bottoms to watch the “hole shot” contest. Lots of dust & noise. One guy put his new Springer Softtail into the hay bails. The rest of the contestants seemed to know how to ride their bikes. You'd think they would spend some time learning the bike & how to ride it before they try this.
Couple of hours later we headed up to the stage/vendor area to get some grub & check out the action. Walked through the bike parking area. Saw some nice customs. Lots of new & almost new bikes. Very few fat tire versions. A few older bikes here & there.
The vendor count was down this year. Been declining for a few years now. More than one that I talked to bitched about ABATE charging to much for space. Food was a lot better & cheaper at this end of the compound.
Then it happened. RAIN!!! Lots of it, in a short time. Shit, time to hang out under the big tent for a while. Checked out the bull ride. Ladies standing in line to put on a show. Bought a run T-shirt. Checked out the vendor stalls, They're all selling the same old shit. Waited long enough for the water to drain off and went out to the main road for some more yuppie watching. Watching all these new riders trying to go up & down the hill, dropping their brand new bikes in the mud. Fills you with mixed emotions. Sometimes you want to take them under your wing and show them the way. And sometimes you just want to smack the shit out of them. Enough of this shit. It's back to the camp, they closed the road.
Back to the stage at 10 to watch Pat Travers. Now he put out some good tunes. everybody jammin and having a good time. Lots of women. All shapes and sizes. Some clothed, some not. Now this looks like a bike run! Two hours later it's back to the camp for more road side entertainment. Up early Saturday after sleeping three hours. I don't sleep good at bike runs. Old habits die hard, and the more you sleep, the more you miss in life. Seems there was some sort of problem two campsites down. Security invited the sheriffs dept. into the campgrounds to help solve it. Remember when we took care of our own problems? Damn some of the changes in life. They hauled some guy off. Never did here why.
Down to the bike show at 10:00 to help set up. We got that done and it was time for people watching again. Two hours later, we're signing bikes for the show, and in pops Teacher Kevin! Rode that school project Pan 400 miles from Minnesota for the party! Best damn Pan I saw all week-end. Lots of neat, old school work. Custom flame cut license bracket. Remote oil filter. Real old school chopper. We talked for a little bit. Kevin, you're a stand up biker in my book. My hats off to you for having the patience and stamina to take a whole group of kids and show them the way. I hope you come down again next year with a new project bike. We'll find time to do some partying.
I did find this cute little honey to decorate the Paul Cox seat for a few pictures. Damned if seat didn't look good with her on it. His bike was put in the vintage custom class. I'm sorry to say that it didn't win. The judges all had a conversation after the show. Some new classes and changes for next year are being discussed. I, for one, didn't like the way some things turned out.
The bad part about working all afternoon is that all the other events are happening at the same time. So I can't tell you anything about them. We rode around after the show to check out the action. All the events were already over. Grubbed at the stage and visited with friends we've made over the years.
Back to the campsite for a break. MORE RAIN!!! Damnit! Some things never change. Skipped the titty show this year. Didn't think it was worth the effort to ride in the rain, through the mud, with the newbies, to see the same thing I've been looking at for 25 years. All the wagons were full when they came buy, so we stayed put. Am I getting old or what!
Kenny Wayne Sheppard hit the stage at 11:00. The roads were dry again so we headed that way. Another good show! The kid can play! Rockin blues the way they're supposed to be played.
Back to the camp for more roadside thrills. Saw things this weekend that I'd never seen before.
Sunday morning it's pack up & move out. Time to get home and re-pack for the road trip with the ol' lady. Re-packed and on the road again Tuesday morning headed for North Carolina. What a life!
For those who have never been or haven't been in a few years, yes the “Boogie” is different. The location changed three years ago. ABATE bought property in Lawrence county, 400 acres. Things are more spread out. I don't agree with the way some things are set up. But it still beats the hell out of Daytona or Sturgis. This year the bands were better, the roads were better, and as always, more bikers than yuppies. I'll be back next year.
–Fritz
fleettrailer@firstbankconnect.com
For those interested in attending the 25th annual “BOOGIE” ,next year, save the third weekend in July. Sponsered by ABATE of Indiana, it's in Lawrence county, at the Lawrence County Recreation Center. Highway 37 south out of Indy, about 25 miles south of Bloomington.
Follow the signs. It's well marked. Or follow the bikes. They're all headed to the same place. You can find event listings, bands scheduled, and all pertinent information at their webb site. www.abateofindiana.org
See you at the party!
