Gophers and Cheese

After drooling over the bikes in the parking lot, I headed back inside the Chopper Art Show.  This panhead is yet another one of my local favorites and I've photographed it quite a few times before. I liked the satin finish on this bike's rockerboxes.  I'm assuming it was done with ScotchBrite.  At the time I didn't even notice it was a pan-shovel.  Very cool. Back outside, people were still coming and going. Right next to my bike was this awesome panhead, a '54 if I remember correctly.  I was talking to the owner a bit about it.  It turns out his name is Noot and he also writes a blog ( click here ).  He rode up from Iowa for the show.  I also saw his bike earlier this year at the Rochester Bike Show (click here for the post). While I did stop back one last time later that day, I didn't take many more photos except for this Triumph.  It may be the only Triumph I've ever seen with forward controls. ...

I wanted to give the Rockers Spring Social some time to really get going so I headed back over to the 2013 Chopper Art Show.  The weather was clearing up so more people were finally out riding.  Like most bike shows, the parking lot is often as good as the bikes on display. If you couldn't tell by the sheer number of photos I took of it, I really liked this blue Yamaha swingarm chop.  The Schwinn grips, Eazy-E taillight, and cocktail shaker exhaust are all pure class. Bigass yellow headlight. AMF-Pride!  Embrace the bowling ball and pool table years. A couple of nice mods to this Nightster. Catching great bikes in a parking lot is all about timing.  One second I'm parked next to this panhead I've photographed many times before... ... and the next second, the owner is kicking it back to life and riding away. Come on back for more pics!

In spite of riding an American bike manufactured this century, I decided to leave the Chopper Art Show 2 and head over to the Rockers Spring Social at Club Jäger , which was put on by Ton-Up Minneapolis . I took a long winding scenic route through downtown and stopped to take some bridge and railroad shots.  As you can see, the roads were drying up and the sun was trying to come out. I arrived at Club Jäger just after 1pm as the show was starting.  Not many bikes were there yet but they did have cold beer, which was a plus. The bikes that were there made the event seem promising. Here are some of the trophies that would be handed out later: The event was starting to pick up as I left to head back over to the Chopper Art Show 2. Don't worry, I returned a little later and took a ton of pics when the show was full.  Come back to check them out.

Chopper Art Show 2 was very similar to last year with choppers, art, and vendors at the Minneapolis Armory. Choosing a favorite bike is like trying to choose between Coke and Pepsi. On the one hand, Coca-Cola has nostalgia, Americana, and its cocaine-rich history working for it. On the other hand, Pepsi is newer, flashier, and supposedly the choice of a new generation. In the end, people that say one is way better than the other are full of shit.  If you ask me, booze tastes just as good in either one...  What the hell was I talking about? Anyway, there was a lot to look at. Brunette on a bobtail: Absolutely wicked sissy bar: Evil Ironhead Sporty: I even got photobombed while taking pictures.  I do enjoy a good photobomb.  Middle fingers in the air with the smiles might have been funnier but the smiles do a nice job straddling the line between downright wholesome and downright scary. I had seen a few of those b...