BIKES
Boomer's Indoor Bike Show
April 10th , 2006
Cool bikes, hot chicks, beautiful weather, huge crowd, awesome live music and samples of Jim Beam Black - what more could you ask for on the second day of spring! That's what we got at Boomer's Roadhouse 1st Annual Pre-Season Indoor Bike Show. What a way to kick off the 2007 riding season then to have an indoor bike show at Oakland County's host for the largest bike nights - Boomer's Roadhouse.
Back in mid-December, while most everybody was too busy thinking and going about their Christmas business, Boomer and the STLD were thinking bikes. And boy are we glad we did! During a casual "pow-wow" on Boomer's entertainment schedule for January, the subject turned to bikes and the upcoming riding season. While sitting there, I just happened to look over at Boomer's empty 2,400 square foot dance floor and I was struck with a vision. I saw this massive expanse of wood floor filled with bikes and just blurted out - "Hey, What if we hold an indoor pre-season bike show sometime in March"? Boomer pondered in silence for a moment and simply said - "Sounds good, lets do it"!
So we just put the call out - "WE NEED BIKES". And man-o-man did we get 'em. The response was immediate and overwhelming. We got a ton of pictures from potential contenders from north, south, east and west. We sorted through the lot and picked thirty-two of the coolest and baddest bikes that would make any of the big professional bike show promoters green with envy. One hurdle down, just one more to go - we need a crowd to showcase the bikes to.
So, we again just put the call out - "Come on out and party". We did an STLD email blast combined with Mikey D's Rider Report radio show on 97.1 FM. Then we sat back to see what would happen.
Admittedly, we all were a little nervous as to how this thing would pan out. We knew we would have a good crowd but being the first show of it's kind for all of us, we didn't know what to expect. We were stunned with the results!
I pulled into Boomer's around 5:00 and the parking lot was full. Good sign. As I walked into the bar, I was greeted by Matt (Boomer's all around "go to" guy and good friend of the STLD) and with a huge ass smile on his face, he simply said - "227 people so far". Holy shit - we exceeded my total crowd estimate already and the show hasn't even started. I then strolled over to the dance floor and was blown away. Thirty-two of some of the coolest bikes I've ever seen assembled in one place. This was going to be a good night!
I got busy with the bikes in my "pretend" professional photographer mode. I snapped a hundred pictures or so, not paying attention to the gathering crowd. When I finally figured it was time for an adult beverage, I looked around and couldn't believe my eyes. The place was wall to wall full with smiling and laughing faces.
As I squeezed my way through the crowd toward the bar, I ran across Matt again. "322 people in the house and they're still coming in" - he shouted to me. Nice, VERY NICE! As I bellied up to the bar to get my Coors light - the STLD / Jim Beam Black sample girls - Becky and Christy sauntered in. Now we're really going to get this party going.
I gathered up the girls, grabbed some Jim Beam Black and told them to have at it. They were welcomed with open arms, warm smiles and "grabby" hands as they worked the crowd with tray after tray of shots of the best bourbon known to mankind - Jim Beam Black. Yes indeed, a great night about to be had by all in attendance. It couldn't get any better then this. But it just did as the pseudo official band of the STLD just walked in - A Broken Dream. Now, the party is set - almost.
As I meandered over to say hello to Cat, D-Man and Styles - our buds that make up A Broken Dream - my eyes locked on three superb hotties. I just had to check this out! Lo and behold - Jim Sloan of JBK - had brought three sweet ass babes to help work the crowd. Now we can really get this party started!
After a brief introduction, I convinced the JBK girls to pose for some shots. They willingly yet shyly obliged. I got a few good pics and then suggested they engage in some "R" rated positions. They politely declined and I went on my way. I figured I'd run into them later after they had a chance to get a little more liquid confidence in them and were more open to some "modeling" direction. And, sure enough as the night progressed - they loosened up and readily accepted my suggestions for some "hotter" shots. You can check 'em out at www.stldmag.com.
I then got back on mission to say hello to the band - but I was too late. As I was heading over to the stage, they kicked into their first set. So I decided to wander around and take some random pics of the crowd, band and more of the bikes. Nothing better than shooting a happy crowd, cool bikes and hot chicks while some "smoking" alternative rock was blaring in the background. Damn I love this band - they are absolutely flawless in their covers of Seether, Chevelle, String Vindalo, Green Day, Alice in Chains, Audio Slave, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots and many more. THESE GUYS ROCK!
I lost track of time as I was having a blast visiting with old friends and making some new ones - all the while snapping pictures. It's amazing how you can get side tracked when you're having a good time. Thank goodness for Boomer who stayed on mission. All of a sudden I heard him shouting for me, as it was time to judge the bikes. So off I went.
Boomer had managed to finagle three local celebrity judges- Mikey D (of the Rider's Report) as well as Jason and Evan from JR Cycleworks. Good thing too as I was in no position to be a judge as I thought all that entered should win. Like I said, we had thirty-two of the most righteous bikes ever assembled in one place. So the judging began and it was pretty intense. The judges paid attention to the minutest of details as the "combed" over each bike.
After what seemed like hours, the judges had reached their decisions. Everyone waited with baited breath as Boomer prepared to announce the winners. You could feel the tension and excitement build with all the contenders as they anxiously waited to hear if they won or not. What a shame as I thought to myself that there could only be five winners - as again - I thought every single entry was cool enough to be crowned with victory. There really were, thirty-two of the best bikes ever assembled in one place and the competition was extremely close.
So here we go. The winners were:
- Best Metric - Ron Green
- Best Harley - Sean Guzzman
- Best Custom - Dare Devil Chopper's Bob Miller
- Best Old School - Jimmy Gulf of Chop Docs
- Best Dressed - Dick Leach
- Best Vintage - Andy Shooter
All the winners received very cool trophies, some cash, STLD swag and the opportunity to be featured in Boomer's 2008 calendar. You can check out the winners, all the cool contenders as well as the fun had by everyone in attendance at www.stldmag.com.
Hey, this really was one cool event. All in all, I believe over 500 people showed up to party and have a blast. Last official count that I got from Matt was 467 - but I know he missed quite a few as he got pulled away from the door on several occasions throughout the night. This was the first of a new annual tradition for Boomer's Roadhouse and I'm sure that everyone that participated would agree that fun was had by all. If you weren't there, come to the next one and you'll be glad you did.
Special thanks to Boomer for hosting this bad ass party and for handling all the details of the show. He and his staff certainly know how to throw a "good time" and Boomer definitely knows bikes. Also, a big thanks to our friends at Jim Beam Brands for making arrangements to have some mighty fine samples of the world's best bourbon on hand - Jim Beam Black. And, a special shout out to A Broken Dream for putting on one hell of a musical effort. Be sure and stop in for Boomer's Bike Nights every Thursday this riding season, the band has scheduled dates there throughout the summer and you don't want to miss them - AS THEY CAN ROCK!
Gallery Here
Rob Schollenberger
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