Vintage Motorcycle Days

[NancysToy]

We're off for our annual pilgrimage to Mid-Ohio for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in a couple of hours. We woke up (very early) to power outages, but the lights came back on about 6 AM, so we are going to be good to go. I was worried the outage could delay us. I hesitate to leave under those circumstances. The best part about the outage is that some much needed rain accompanied it. The bad news is that we only got a fraction of an inch. More is on the radar, but it doesn't look like much.

If you are looking for something to do during the weekend, and are in the Ohio area, Vintage Days is a great destination. There is all kinds of vintage motorcycle racing, a huge swap meet, bike shows, rides, and other diversions. Some 30,000-40,000 people take it in each year. The site lists BRP to have their Spyder demo trailer there, but their main Website is down, so I couldn't confirm that.

Nancy and I will be in the bike show area (which has moved this year) near the AMA tent, on Friday and Saturday. We will be camping on the grounds. Nancy will have her Spyder, but there is not room for mine in the trailer (our home after we unload), so I will be riding my '72 BMW. Hope to see some of you there.

Gotta finish packing the truck and trailer. C ya.....

 

[arntufun]

Safe travels Scotty !!!!!! :thumbup:

Don't worry, if anyone calls you a trailer queen I'll set them straight. :roflblack:

 

[CyncySpyder]

Teddy & I may pop in for a visit

Hey Scotty, I remember you guys going to this last year and I think Nancy found a special bike then, didn't she? If I can rearrange our weekend schedule, Teddy and I just may stop by for a day and visit, would be great to see you again. Its only a little over 170 miles from home for us, so maybe I'll see if any other locals wanna join us. Hope to see you and Nancy, and ride safe my friend

 

[Bob Denman]

Soooo... Is this year's trip going to become a shopping event? Are you actively looking for anything special?
have a safe and fun trip! :2thumbs:

 

[TicketBait]

Have a great time & post a pic of your 72 BMW

 

[draboo]

nostalgia?

I found this on a vintage Sportster forum.

 

[ARtraveler]

Have a great trip. Please send some pictures along for us to see. Thanks. :2thumbs::2thumbs:

 

[NancysToy]

We're Home

Back home in Michigan tonight and looking forward to sleeping in a real bed again. the A/C isn't unpleasant, either, after several days without it.

I did not buy a thing. I would have bought some gloves if they had my size. I won't say I wasn't tempted, but I have no room, and it will take me until ten years after I am dead to finish the projects I have now. Nancy didn't buy anything, either. During the event we passed a couple of milestones. Thursday was my son's 30th birthday. We called him in Florida. Friday was our 38th wedding anniversary. We celebrated as we often do, by working our tails off for the AMA. :roflblack:

During the event we worked two ten hour days, plus. If we missed any SpydeLovers there in the process, I apologize. I staged two bike shows, judged two bike shows, handed out trophies at the award ceremonies, staged a track ride, and did setup and messenger work. I am tired and sore! Nancy worked setup and did registration both days. Today she watched some races and I walked the swap meet and rode the track on her Spyder, just for giggles. Hopefully I will have a picture or two and maybe a video after I unload everything.

The Spyder demo truck was there and did gangbuster business for three days...as usual. All the rides were filled early in the day, and a steady progression of demo rides passed us when were were in the Ride Staging area. When we were eating dinner tonight at a rest stop on US-23. the BRP demo truck passed us by going north. That was kind of cool!

 

[SpyderAnn01]

:2thumbs:

 

[GloryRyders]

Being tired is good as long, as you had fun!:2thumbs:

 

[CyncySpyder]

We tried, we were there but sorry we missed you

This trip was ill-planned for us, but I didn't care, as we just needed a nice long ryde to help chear the soul and even tho we missed you, the trip did as I had hoped.

Let me say first, I had NO CLUE how big of an event this is as we've never been to anything like it, but upon arrival, I had to remind myself to close my jaw. Total Amazement I tell you.

I've never seen so many different bikes in my life, and the different generations of people riding them, from little kids that looked barely old enough to walk, to the ancients it seemed.

In one part of the camp area they had an area caution-taped off for the little kids to ride their tiny ATVs & dirt bikes that made Teddy & I stop in our tracks, litterally. That is until the one little kid on an ATV caught sight of Teddy and ran right thru the caution-tape & off the course to come and see him up close. Scared the cr*p outta both us, as I wasn't confident he was going to stop, but he did about 2 feet from us. Cute kid, very nice & tallented, guessing only 6 or 7 years old and was very polite as he asked to pet Teddy.

As I said at the beginning, I didn't really plan this trip, just kinda went with it. Saw on their site about the $35 fee but I thought that was for registration for the shows or for camping, I didn't realize that was just to enter for one day. When I told the folks I was just there to see a buddy for a few minutes and say hi, it didn't matter, still would be $35.

I couldn't justify that, so I put Teddy to work on the problem, and with a little creativity and slyness, Teddy was able to get us in under the radar (so to speak) albeit, sans Spyder. So we walked about half the campground trying to find you, but with no success. We still had a great time, and many of the campers loved Teddy and we were offered many drinks and some good times socializing.

Was kind of surprised, as we did have one negative guy comment as we were walking by his campsite, "Thats a damn shame you did that to that poor dog, you know he's got a conscience, right?"
referring to his Red Mo-hawk & pom tail. I just chuckled and said, "Yup, right you are." as we kept on walking. The man has no clue how much joy this little dog brings into the lives of just about anyone he meets, so I just let it go like a grain of sand.

Anyways, I think we're going to put this on our schedule for next year, as I totally understand how awesome of an event this is and it would take a couple of days to actually take it all in. Thanks for suggesting this, and I just wish we were able to connect.

 

[NancysToy]

Sorry we missed you, Dave. As you learned, Mid-Ohio is a huge place, with a lot going on. We don't land in the campground much, except to sleep and unwind at night. Daytimes are filled from 7 AM until dusk. Here's an example of what goes on:

Thursday - Get credentials, set up camp, coordinate with AMA about bike show. This was critical this year as the bike show location changed.
Friday - Set up registration tent, lay out Ride 'Em, Don't Hide 'Em show layout, move raffle bike in and out of tent, direct registrants to staging area, coordinate staging, work ride staging, stage bikes on show field upon return, judge classes, hand out awards at ceremony. Nancy worked registration.
Saturday - Visit friend in swap meet, set up registration area and show field, lay out concourse show, spot bikes on field, judge classes, present awards, clean up show field placards and cones, help friend load bikes, attend VJMC BBQ. Nancy worked registration.
Sunday - Walk entire swap meet, register for Laps for History, ride track, watch some races, tear down registration area, say many goodbyes, tear down campsite, load trailer. Nancy packed in camp, watched races, met me for lunch, watched races, said goodbyes, then helped tear down camp and load.

If you come again, and know ahead of time, let me know and I'll give you my cell number. It is the best way to locate me, other than coming to the bike show field. BTW, the best deal is the 3-day pass. It doesn't include camping, which is extra. Lot of information and the schedules on the Websites above. Vintage Motorcycle Days is a great spectacle. There is more to do there than we have been able to take in over the last 12 years. You are right about the age spread, it takes in everything from toddlers to "ancients" (older than me). The racing includes motocross, trials, flat track, and road racing. The motorcycles cover the spectrum from antiques to racers, to dirt bikes to Spyders. We complained all the way home that it was just too hard on us and that this would be our last year.....but next year we will be there again, without doubt.

 

[Bob Denman]

You're going to have to get rested up; you've sure been missed in here! :shocked:

 

[dancogan]

Congrats on contributing so much effort to another great Vintage Days. Boy, I sure hope to get there one of these years! Never heard anyone come back disappointed. And the work you two put in is surely one of the reasons it's so well run and so much fun.

Here's an idea for next year: would it do any good to get some Spyderlovers together to volunteer for a few hours? Don't know if Vintage Days has all slots filled beforehand or not, but that would be a fun way for some of us to learn about the event while attending.

 

[CyncySpyder]

You NEVER cease to Amaze me Scotty

:firstplace:WOW is all I can say:bowdown:You da'Man:firstplace:

I should have taken a ton of pics, but since we were walking & it was so hot, the only ones I took were of a campsite I thought might be yours, but I couldn't see if the plate was from MI or not. I was surprised tho, as we only saw two of the motorcycle-trailer-tents like you have. Mind you, we only walked the perimeter of the outter campsites and didn't even venture any further in. Highly doubt it:roflblack: but this wasn't yours, was it? :dontknow:

 

[NancysToy]

:firstplace:WOW is all I can say:bowdown:You da'Man:firstplace:

I should have taken a ton of pics, but since we were walking & it was so hot, the only ones I took were of a campsite I thought might be yours, but I couldn't see if the plate was from MI or not. I was surprised tho, as we only saw two of the motorcycle-trailer-tents like you have. Mind you, we only walked the perimeter of the outter campsites and didn't even venture any further in. Highly doubt it:roflblack: but this wasn't yours, was it? :dontknow:

No, that wasn't ours. We tricked you...we took the enclosed trailer. I can fit Nancy's Spyder and another bike or two in there, and it is quieter at night. We were in the second row after the campgrounds entrance, close to the beginning of the row, but without the Spyder there when we were away, you wouldn't recognize our site unless you looked for my F-150.

 

[Bob Denman]

Oh! :congrats: on 38 years together... :clap:

 

[NancysToy]

Oh! :congrats: on 38 years together... :clap:

Thanks, Bob. She's a patient woman!!!

 

[NancysToy]

I finally got unpacked and downloaded my pics. Sorry, but the video of riding the track just wasn't good enough to share. The sound was pretty cool, though. It was the first time I had used the camera case, and I don't know if it fogged up in the sun, or what. I'll have to play with it some more, or get a better setup. Not too many pics here, as I was very busy and the crowds were big and made it tough to get up close sometimes.

First, for those of you who prefer three wheels but want a pit bike, here's a Honda Z50 Mini-Trail with a sidecar. Note the stock seat added to the sidecar. Neat stuff!

Here is a neat homebuilt, old-fashioned replica with a sidecar. I chased this one on foot a half mile to catch up with it to take a pic. The detail on this thing is incredible. I wish I was that talented.

I hate to diverge from the 3-wheeled theme, but this was too neat to ignore. This 1914 Harley "replica" is homebuilt from mostly modern parts. I can't imagine the number of hours tied up in this one. By the way, that's my '72 BMW "Toaster" in the background on the left.

And now, for those who are missing their tadpole trike, Spyder roots, we have a rat rod built on a familiar theme. This one was in the swap meet, and could have been in your garage for the right price.

 

[DynamoBT]

Belated Happy Anniversary to you and Nancy!!!!!