Gophers and Cheese

Here are the rest of the photos I took Saturday at Vintage Torque Fest 2026.  I managed to get a few shots of my 1978 Harley-DavidSchwinn chopper bicycle on the dirt track while Torque Fest was in between racing events.  I did ride it around the track a bit, but didn't do the full oval as half was still muddy and tore up from the demolition derby.

Last month, I packed up my 1978 Dodge van with my freshly-complete 1978 Harley-DavidSchwinn chopper bicycle and headed to Dubuque, IA to Vintage Torque Fest for the first time since 2022.

I went to the 66th annual Gopher State Timing Association (GSTA) Rod and Custom Spectacular on Sunday, April 7th at the State Fairgrounds.  The show was both Saturday and Sunday but I took advantage of the nice weather on Saturday to work on my own projects.  With all the rain on Sunday, I certainly appreciated the show being indoors.  At least it wasn't snowing.

Looking back through my photo archives, there are still quite a few big events I never wrote blogposts about so let's start by jumping back nearly 5 years to the Donnie Smith Bike (and Car) Show , 2019.

As mentioned in my previous post, this one is a whole bunch of photos of just one bike that I saw at the 2023 GTSA Rod & Custom Spectacular , a custom 1973 Sportster survivor named Satana: Devil's Daughter.  This bike was absolutely amazing - the paint, the parts used, the molding, just the right amount of chrome, and even the matching helmets.  I loved it.  I kept walking back around to see it again and again.

I went to the GSTA (Gopher State Timing Association)'s Rod & Custom Show for the first time last year.  It's held inside the State Fair Coliseum in St Paul.  Weather can be hit or miss in Minnesota in early April so it's nice to have an indoor show to attend.  I'm breaking my coverage into 2 blogposts, not because I took too many pictures in total, but because I took way too many pictures of one particular bike.  I'm just going to make that its own post as I think it deserves it.

Ha!  You thought I was done with Iron Invasion 2022 didn't you?  At most events I attend, I take photos with both my camera and phone.  I tend to post things on Instagram/Facebook from my phone and the blog tends to have photos just from my camera.  I took enough photos with my phone to, from, and at Iron Invasion that I thought they deserved their own blogpost so here we go!

OK, let's wrap up Iron Invasion / Last Gasp 2022 with a bunch more photos from day two.  Yes, you've seen a lot of vehicles before in my prior posts, but these are different angles... so they're different.  Believe it or not, I take a lot more photos than I share so my giant blogposts are (somewhat) edited down.  Anyway, enjoy the stuff I haven't posted pics of before and new angles of some of the ones I have.

 The fun continues... here are more photos from Iron Invasion / Last Gasp 2022.

 The second day of Iron Invasion / Last Gasp  2022 was full of events all day long.

Lots more to share from my first day Iron Invasion / Last Gasp 2022.  It was nice having the Grom to ride around the fairgrounds and into town (since it's street legal).  It fits so easily in the back of the van that I've brought it to a few events now.

Iron Invasion / Last Gasp was held October 7-9th 2022 at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, IA.  Sadly, it was the very last year of Iron Invasion but it was my first time attending (and my first time in Davenport).  I'm glad I got to experience it before it was gone.  I loaded my Grom in the back of my '78 Dodge and headed down to Iowa.  It was 2 days full of cars, bikes, vans, bands, vendors, and a swap meet.  The 3rd day was a hangover cruise but I didn't stick around for that.  For the 2 days I was there, stuff was going on constantly and it was a blast.  It shouldn't be a surprise as this event, which is also a fundraiser , was organized by John Wells, who continues to run Vintage Torque Fest in Dubuque.  To me, there's a very similar vibe - a good thing!  I have way too many photos from this event to cram into one post so keep checking back.

Wrapping up coverage from Vintage Torque Fest 2022 in Dubuque, IA with more photos of the Tuff Mudder Mini, some mini bike flat track, and the mini bike parade.  There are some 4-wheeled vehicles somewhere in this post too.

Time for some dirt oval action from Vintage Torque Fest 2022!  Vintage racing, chain racing, and flame throwing are all jam packed into today's blogpost so buckle up!

 Lots more photos from Vintage Torque Fest back in April...

More photos from Vintage Torque Fest 2022!  Before jumping into a ton of dirt track photos, here's my van at the campgrounds.  I made a makeshift parking space with stakes and rope to save my semi-dry piece of land when I drove into town.  The campground was muddy, slippery, and a number of people got stuck.  My biggest challenge was keeping the mud out of my freshly done interior.

I worked really hard to finish enough of my van's interior to drive it down to Vintage Torquefest and camp.  The first time I attended was 2019 I rode my Road King and tent camped.  Sleeping in the van was definitely more comfortable.  I was also not feeling well in 2019 and left early but this year I stayed for the whole thing.  Unfortunately the wet weather led to a number of cancelled events but I still had a lot of fun anyway.  John puts on a great event and it seems like he's everywhere but also having fun too.  I took a ton of photos so I'm just going to share them over a series of posts.

Here's my last round of photos from Frankensteiners Ball 16 .  I do love vans and was happy to see a few I hadn't seen before at other local shows.  Do you like airbrushed wizards & warriors, rolling bars, shag carpeting, Cragars, and side pipes?  If not, what the hell's wrong with you?  I still hope to buy or build my very own dream van one day.  If anyone knows of a solid blank canvas out there, let me know.

Here are some motorcycles that I spotted at Frankensteiners Ball 16 .  While a lot of people rode to the show (and it would've been easier to find parking if you did), there weren't a lot of bikes inside the show.  "Quality over quantity" I suppose.  The wooden mini bike was wild and I haven't seen it before.  I love the entry form for Year & Make filled out simply as "Can't Weld".  Look closely and you'll find a bike put together with wood, bolts, steel plate, and various plumbing parts... no welding anywhere.  Turn the forks and the headlight stays focused straight ahead like a old-tyme Road Glide.  It has a steampunk vibe even though it's clearly powered by gasoline.  It's awesome.

I went to the Frankensteiners Ball 16 on Saturday, October 9th at the Isanti County Fairgrounds in Princeton, MN.  It's been a few years since I attended the show and I haven't been since it moved from the Anoka County Fairgrounds to this much bigger location.  It's a great collection of classic cars, hot rods, and rat rods with a splash of bikes and vans too.  Lots of kids attend in costume as candy is left in front of cars for a little early trick-or-treating. I'll spread the photos I took into 3 parts: Cars, bikes, and vans.  This post will have the most photos and I'll lead in with a photo that I think sums up the show pretty well.  Enjoy!