Gophers and Cheese

The vintage class at the 2014 Freedom First Riders Bike Show was small but full of cool old bikes.  My favorite was this 1935 Harley Davidson VL flathead.  In fact, it was my favorite bike of the day. I also really liked this 1955 FL panhead. Here are a few more vintage bikes on display. While the Rat/Rad, Custom, and Vintage classes had some neat bikes to look at, the Metric, Stock, Trike, and Sport Bike classes really didn't impress me much.  I still can't believe that for 2 years in a row, not a single Sportster has been in this show in any class.

My favorite bike from last year's Freedom First Riders Bike Show was back again this year in the Rat/Rad category.  It's this 1946 WL flathead chopper. Speaking of rats, check out these two rat trucks. Back inside the arena, this is the Custom category.  It had a wide variety of bikes in it. You had bikes with fancy paint jobs... ...and bikes with bedliner "paint" jobs. This 1978 BMW Land Speed bike was really cool. However, the bike that got my vote in the category was this little Yamaha XS400 cafe racer.  It looked like the most fun to ride out of all the bikes in the Custom class. Vintage bikes are next.

On Saturday, I headed 2 hours northwest to Alexandria, MN to the 7th Annual Freedom First Riders Bike Show . I went last year for the first time and the weather was much improved versus the snow we had last year.  It was nice to see people actually riding to the show this year. Assorted sights along I-94: The show is held inside the Runestone Community Center, which is an ice hockey arena. Bikes are displayed by class and most vendors line the perimeter of the show floor. Awards are given out in each category. Unless you count the one Buell in the Sportbike category, there wasn't a single Sportster in the show.  There was an interesting one parked outside with a double-barrel shotgun style hand clutch and shifter. It was a relatively small show so I'm not going to draw this out to a dozen posts or anything.  I'm cramming nearly 50 photos into just 3 posts so come on back.

This was my favorite bike at the 2013 Freedom First Riders Bike Show in Alexandria, MN. It's a 1946 Harley-Davidson WL.  Obviously, it's been modified... heavily.  It was in the Rat/Rad section with one other bike but it is definitely more rad than rat.  If you think your evo, shovel, pan, or knucklehead chop is cool, this flattie might have you beat. Overall, it was a small show but definitely worth checking out if you're in the area next year.  I wouldn't be surprised if the poor weather kept some people from showing their bikes that otherwise would have.