Gophers and Cheese

Wrapping up coverage from this year's Chariots of the Gods van and vintage camper show .

Coverage from Chariots of the Gods continues!  I've been bringing my fisheye lens to van events this year and I think it's a fun way to capture interiors.  The first photo is my '78 Dodge.

Chariots of the Gods was in its 11th year and was held, as usual, in the "triangle of tranquility" in Northeast Minneapolis on August 10th, 2024.  This is the event that really got me into custom vans.  It's not a traditional vans-only truck-in as it's open to the public.  There's no big event schedule, no judging/awards... it's just a very laid back event with a couple of vendors and some live music too.  For many years, I attended by riding my motorcycle there.  It's only in the last few years that I've brought my own van and stayed the night.  Here is one of the license plates you could buy commemorating the event.  It pretty much tells you all you need to know.

The last Heavy Thursday  Summer Tour pop-up bike night of the year was held at the White Squirrel in St. Paul on August 8th.

Two weeks ago on August 6th, bike night was held at Forgotten Star Brewing , hosted by The Litas Twin Cities .  The weather was perfect (finally!) and there was a huge turnout.

Full Tilt Boogie 2024 coverage continues...

Full Tilt Boogie is always my favorite show of the year.  This year, it moved venues (again) and was held for the first time at Forgotten Star Brewing .  It was a sunny and hot day on the asphalt.  Thankfully they had cold beer inside.

On July 19th, 2024, the Full Tilt Boogie Pre-Party was held at the White Squirrel in St Paul.

Here are few shots of my Schwinn Stingray lit up at night.  The original bicycle only came with reflectors and I looked for LED lights with a similar shape.  I especially like how the taillight tucks up under the banana seat.  I didn't bother adding a brake switch so I wired it up at full brightness as if the brakes were applied.  Taillight wiring runs along the inside of the rear fender and I ran the headlight wiring through the frame along with the handlebar-mounted kill switch wires.  Lights are simply powered directly by the battery (fused, of course) with a tiny on/off switch.

The  Dennis Kirk Garage Build Bike Show  was held at Running Aces Casino on Saturday, July 13th.  The Garage Build Bike Show has been around for a few years, held in Sturgis and Daytona, but this was the first one in Minnesota.  For the first one and some threat of storms, there was good turnout.

The 3rd pop-up location of  Heavy Thursday Summer Mystery Tour was Disco Death Records in the Uptown area of Minneapolis on July 11, 2024.

July 2nd was First Tuesday bike night at Forgotten Star , hosted by The Litas .  Last month was pretty much a rain out (but I went anyway).  This month certainly had clouds and a small threat of rain, which might have kept some people home, but it turned out to be a nice evening with a solid turnout.  Here are a bunch of photos:

I managed to get the Stingray (mostly) done and rideable just in time for the Rockers Spring Social (see this post ).  However, it wasn't quite finished.  I still needed to swap the carb, wrap some wiring, add a crossbar pad, and give it a few shakedown runs.  It was by riding the bike I learned I needed to tighten the sissy bar clamps much more than I originally did (the seat slipped down towards the taillight, which could have damaged the fender) and that I needed to redesign the chain roller from a fixed wheel to something spring-loaded.  I did all that and now I consider it done.  Keep in mind, this started as a bicycle!!!

I put so much time and effort into the fabrication of the Stingray (see previous post) that I wanted to do something special with the paint.  Before I could do that, I had to remove all the black spraypaint from the previous owner.

In late-January, I spotted something on Marketplace I just had to have... it was an unfinished project and I was essentially buying an idea... a vision.  Someone had started to put a motor in bicycle frame and, to me, it looked awesome.  It wasn't just any bicycle, it was an early-2000s Schwinn Stingray that was the result of a collaboration between Schwinn and Orange County Choppers (O.C.C.).  It needed work (I didn't realize how much), but I knew that going in.  I was told the 50cc motor ran (nothing was hooked up to prove it) and, given I had experience with my Honda Z50, I took a chance.  

Here's one more big blogpost full of photos from the 2024 Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In... After the Show & Shine was over, vans lined up behind Nate's Dodge for the van cruise.

Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In Show & Shine coverage continues...

It rained overnight Friday night.  I slept in the van but had stashed my extra clothes and other stuff in my tent to make it easier to show my van later.  Unfortunately, my tent leaked a bit and a lot of my stuff got wet.  On the bright side, the rain made for some cool wet-van photos.

The Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In #47 was held in Albert Lea, MN at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds  from June 7th though the 9th.  It was the same location where the club hosted the 48th Van Nats and was a change from recent years where the Good Times Truck-In was held in Preston, MN.  Unsurprisingly, I drove my 78 Dodge.

The Heavy Thursday Summer Mystery Tour was at Litt Pinball Bar in Minneapolis on June 6, 2024.  It was a beautiful night and there was great turnout.  Thanks to Zac for organizing another great event.