Friday January 25th, my friend Allen and I loaded the bikes and headed to the Briar Creek Expo here in Charlotte. We loaded Allen’s 1952 K-model in the back of my truck, his 1984 XR-1000 in his van and my 82 Shovelhead in Cox’s Harley-Davidson trailer. We were on our way!
The first thing we noticed was that it was a lot easier unloading the bikes at the new location. No long lines! So we unloaded and rolled the bikes to the entry table, where you get your picture taken with your bike and a number placed on your headlight, you also get a duplicate of that number to keep for exiting the building if your numbers don’t match when it is time to leave, the bike does not leave! A great idea!
So, we went about setting our bikes up and doing the final detailing work. When we finished, we walked around to look at other entries and let me tell you, the quality of the bikes were top shelf! We hung out for a good while talking to old friends. That is another good thing about the Easyriders shows, you always see old riding buddies and re-live some old times.
Saturday morning rolls around and were on the spot bright-and early. The crowd started to pour in around 11am. It was a sunny day in the 50s, so the parking lot contained a lot of bikes. Speaking of the parking lot, Briar Creek Expo has its own parking lot and only cost you $8 to park, a lot nicer that the $20 and up fee for downtown parking in the past. I took another walk around. With over 200 bikes in the show and all seriously impressive bikes, the judges had their work cut out for them!
Around noon Jasmine Cain took the stage. I had read about her, but this was the first time that I had seen her. If you have never seen her, you need too! She rocks! She reminds me of Janice Joplin, I had the pleasure of meeting her and I told her that. She is very friendly and down to earth.
Saturday at 5pm, I think there were eight bikes that won the Peoples’ Choice vote, and they were moved into the Invitational class.
Before I finish Sunday I want to give you a little back ground leading up to the show.
Last July I came across a 1982 FLHS Shovehead and it ran. My plan was to just ride it. Me being a detail freak, that idea did not last long. I loaded her up and took her to my friend Jay’s shop, HOLLYWOODS CYCLES. Well, one thing lead to another and before we knew she was all the way down to the frame for powder coating. So, the plan had changed. The goal was to have the Shovel ready for the Easyriders show! We put a deadline on the project, it had to be ready to roll Friday January 25th! Everything was made to look new! Seven months of dedicated work was coming to an end, and I would soon see how we did!
Sunday I spent the day feeling like I had been kicked in the head with the cold I had. I walked around checking the bikes out again and they looked even better this time around. The competition was stiff!
Five o’clock Sunday finally rolled around, and it was time for the awards presentation. Dave Nichols editor of Easyriders magazine said that this was one of the largest shows in sometime and the quality of the bike were off the chart! The first class that was called was Antique and my name was called first for 3rd place in the Antique class! I was blown away!
I waited a second before going up on stage to get my award, I just wanted to make sure I heard it right. There were any number of bikes that could have won in this class and I felt very fortunate to have won an award. A few minutes later my friend Allen’s name was called , 2nd place Specialty class for his 52 K-Model! Don’t know which of us were more excited!
Now time for the thank you notes. A special thanks to Jay and Dean at Hollywood’s Cycles. I could not have asked for two better guys to take care of the old girl. Thanks to Cox’s Harley-Davidson, Thanks to Allen for all his help getting us there. Thanks to Bandit and BIKERNET.COM for posting the progress of Re-Birth of a Shovelhead and last but not least my wife Vicki for never complaining about the time and money that it took to pull this off.
Until next time , keep building!
–Stealth
