Gophers and Cheese

Shortly after buying my first motorcycle, the first local motorcycle event I started regularly attending was the Progressive International Motorcycle Show and I went for 14 years straight.  I took all the photos I posted from that show over the years and put each year into a photo slideshow and uploaded them all to YouTube.  Together, the 14 slideshows total about 90 minutes of run time.  Go relive one year or all the years over on my YouTube channel .  Look for the Progressive International Motorcycle Show playlist to find them all grouped together.

I bought my first bike (2004 Sportster) in October 2006 and the first big motorcycle show I attended was the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center in February 2007.  This was 3 years before I started the blog.  I was pretty active on the xlforum at the time (trying to learn and contribute) and was excited to share photos of the debut of the Harley Davidson Nightster.  I think this was one of its first public appearances.

The 2008 Progressive International Motorcycle Show was held in Minneapolis at the Convention Center February 2, 2008 and it was the second year I attended the show.  Harley debuted the Cross Bones at this show.

We're back in the pre-blog days now... Here are never-before-posted photos of the 2009 Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  I like how they had artwork in the background but wish I got down lower to take these photos.  My photography skills were not as good back then.  I was also taking photos with flash, which makes the photos feel even more dated.

I never posted photos from the first four years I attended the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (2007-2010) as they all occurred before I even started the blog.  I would go on to attend every year through 2020, which was the last time it was held in Minneapolis.  Here we go!

Before I get to posting YouTube slideshows , I like to go back through my photos and see if there are any early shows that I never posted or only posted black-and-white photos from.  The Progressive International Motorcycle Show was the first local event I started regularly attending, back in 2007, 3 years before I started the blog.  For the first year or two of the blog, I only posted photos in black-and-white so let's all time-travel back to 2011 and see what the show was like in full color with fresh edits.

The only motorcycle event I attended in 2020 was the Progressive International Motorcycle Show .  It's fun to see new models in person, including a prototype for the Pan America.  There's usually some custom and vintage bikes at the show too.  For 2021, the show converted to an outdoor event and is skipping Minneapolis this year.  Hopefully it'll be back next year as it's usually a fun indoor winter event.

I wasn't sure if I was going to attend the 2019 Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Minneapolis this year so I didn't apply for a press pass.  It had nothing to do with the show (I've attended every year since 2007) and more about this winter bumming me out.  The best thing about this particular show is it's timing - right in the middle of winter, when you can't ride (unless you have studded tires).  At least you can walk around, look at bikes, and sit on bikes.  It gets you looking forward to Spring.  I made the last-minute decision to go and took my son.

Here are some choppers featured at the 2018 Progressive International Motorcycle Show .  First up is Zack's panhead. Bob's Evo and Panhead: Mike's shovelhead: Not sure who built these but these two bikes were cool. I'll wrap it up with Eric's shovel.

Would you believe that this is a Royal Enfield? To provide a little contrast, here's their new Himalayan adventure bike: Here are some photos of the stunt show on Sunday. After the stunt show, I took my kids to hear Lisa Brouwer talk about her cross-country motorcycle trip, following the trail of the Avis & Effie Hotchkiss, mother and daughter, who did it on a Harley Silent Gray Fellow (with sidecar) about 100 years earlier.  My daughter thought Lisa's talk was the best part of the whole show. Photos wrap up tomorrow.  Choppers ahead!