7:45 and 170 kilometers to go. Stevie Nicks was belting out
Go Your Own Way over the loudspeaker at the truck stop and I was half way to this year’s
Motorcycle Super Show. Dreams of
new gloves were dancing in my head and I have to admit I was heady.
The rain stopped and it was finally light outside. I managed to park closer to the building than ever before. All looked innocent from the outside then
“Holy crowd Batman”…who knew? I made it just in time to line up inside with about a thousand other people waiting for the doors to open at ten. 26 minutes, a half kilometer line up later and I was walking into
“North Americas Largest Retail Show For Motorcycle Enthusiasts.” I just wanted a new pair of gloves.
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| 1982 Yamaha Virago 920 owned by Ron Paladino |
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| 2005 MV Agusta: World's Sexiest Bike (In some people's opinion!) |
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| 1927 Zenith 680 Side Car |
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| 1912 Flying Merkel |
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| 1953 Vincent "Black Shadow" |
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| 1939 Ariel Square 4 |
I met up with Ron, one of my ‘moto-mentors,’ who guided me through the vintage section; ‘
A Century of Motorcycles’ (complete with commentary.)
In the ‘
Industry Showcase’ section there were more than a few new things to look at … (with more commentary) – “Hey, there’s some gloves.” Push, shove, jostle – “Forget it!”
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Kawasaki 225 horsepower sport bike
("Inspired by the Clingon warship design ... and you want to cling on when you twist the throttle!") |
Then on to ogle over all things overly farkled, spectacularly sparkled and otherwise outlandishly customized … what the ---- in the ‘Custom and Chopper’ section. (We did, however, both agree there was something strangely creative, artistic and oddly fascinating about these machines.)
The showrooms were packed with so much to see and so many people looking. I sat on one bike and immediately had visions of an entire row of brand new motorcycles toppling like dominos. “That’s it!”
I drove away, my senses overloaded … and no new gloves! Do I really need them?
