Gophers and Cheese

When I woke up the morning after the DicE / Church of Choppers / Kung Fu Tap and Taco party, this is what I saw when I emerged from my tent... a beautiful pair of knuckleheads: Can of warm beer anyone? A great pair of Sportsters and a cool van. I've seen this pan before.  If you look close in the first pic, there's some cash on the ground by the front tire.  I wish I noticed it at the time and not days later when editing photos.  Anyway, I'm not an expert in kickstarts but there seems to be something wrong with this bike's kicker. Here's a better view of the camping situation.  Check out the couple of dudes who slept outside in sleeping bags.  We all basically camped in the parking lot and it was... uh... rustic (no outdoor facilities except the woods). Before leaving Des Moines (it was my first time there), I decided to ride to the capital building and walk around and take some photos.  The building caught my eye from the interstate. Here's ...

At this point, the sun has set in Des Moines but the DicE / Church of Choppers / Kung Fu Tap and Taco party continues on... Yet another crowd shot: OK, I admit that I'm mildly obsessed with Tom Fugle's panhead.  It looks just as good at night as it did during the day. Live music started up inside the bar. Cool ironhead: Another shot of the bar: A beautiful Harley with sidecar.  The guy I was talking to said only 12 came from the factory that way in that year (1946 maybe?) and this was one of the 12. Eventually, I had to call it a night and retire to my tent.  It got cold that night and I had a difficult time staying warm.  Other than that, I was able to sleep OK.  A few dudes slept outside - hardcore. Come back for pics from the next morning and the ride home...

How many pics did I take???  Close to 500 but I'm "only" posting about 150 of them.  I still have a few posts to go so here are more pictures from the  DicE / Church of Choppers / Kung Fu Tap and Taco party in Iowa... If you are a fan of Kemosabe and the Lodge , you might recognize Josh Kurpius' shovelhead.  Josh's photography is excellent. This bike had an interesting tank.  I don't think it was painted (maybe it was) - it seemed like the graphics were wrapped or dipped. Another crowd shot: I'm a sucker for hot rods and rat rods.  Check out Cornfed Customs.  The corncob rocket ship wood inlay in the bed is fantastic.  I love it. Rods and choppers existing in perfect harmony. I took a short walk for a view of downtown Des Moines. Heading back to the bar I got a few good crown shots from across the street. More pics to come...

More photos from the DicE / Church of Choppers / Kung Fu Tap and Taco party in Des Moines, IA... This Sporty was absolutely awesome: Here are a few more pics of Tom Fugle's pan.  No footpeg on either side.  Seriously, how does he ride it? Nice subtleties in the paint.  I've always liked spinner gas caps too. Kicking a flathead to life will always draw a crowd. The owner of this ironhead said he was riding back to Chicago that night.  The sun was already starting to set.  Insane. This shovelhead had my favorite paint job of the day: More pics to come...

The pics keep comin' from the DicE / Church of Choppers / Kung Fu Tap and Taco party... Here are a few inside the bar.  It's like you're inside a tree house for chopper lovin' adults. Here are some of the delicious free tacos that I enjoyed: There is some symbolism going on here.  I'll leave it to you to diagnose what's wrong with the owner. Check out this crazy tank.  It was huge and seemed like it would hold a lot of gas.  There are lots of awesome details on the bike if you can stop looking at the tank. I know I've seen this Sporty somewhere before - mag or blog I think. Don't think I'm even close to done - I have about 50 more pics to post from the party and ride home.  Come on back.