Volunteer Riders 2012 Club Banquet

The Volunteer Riders dirt bike club had their annual Club Banquet this past Saturday night and it was very well attended. Held at the Bearden Banquet Hall on Kingston Pike, over 50 club members and spouses were in attendance for a great time, good food, and a lot of door prizes provided by the club and donated by some of the very generous local shops and suppliers who continue to support the club year after year.

Current club President Greg Thomas won the 2011 Club Points Championship, and the healthy gift certificate that comes with it. Greg also presided over the evenings events with the help of new Vice President- David Scraggs , Secretary-Patrick Klepper , and Club Treasurer Jason Edwards. When Greg named off all of the rides and events the club has hosted or been involved with over the past year it was really impressive. The truth is there aren't many clubs of any kind that are more active than the Volunteer Riders. The most important thing, it's just a good group of people. I've been in the club for nearly 20 years, and can't tell you all of the friends I've made and good times I've had.

If you are a dirt bike rider and you would like to make some new friends and meet new people to ride with, you owe it to yourself to check out the Volunteer Riders club in Knoxville. The club always has a ride or event planned,  and is the reason that many of the motorcycle only trails in this area exist. The club meets the Third Thursday of each month, but someone is riding every weekend. Check out the website, www.volunteerriders.com, and check them out on facebook.

Santa rides through Knoxville!

Tuesday night Santa was caught on film by the Cycleblend photographers! Evidently Santa visited the Time Warp Tea Room for bike night  to give out some gifts, and remind people to be good and change their oil this year.

Of course, if you want a picture of Santa you just need to hang out around the cookies, which our photographer did, and sure enough, SNAP! Busted!

He was also spotted across the street at the Chop Shop, apparently fighting off Cindy Lou who had was trying to talk him into a beard trimming!

 
The paparazzi got one last shot as Mr. Claus took off. We'll post more pictures if we get them.
Go to www.timewarptearroom.com for more pics from Tuesday night.

Old Bikes are still out there / Be careful what you wish for

You've heard he saying before, 'Be Careful what you wish for...you may get it." Well, that may very well be the case for me. After talking big for about a year that I would like to find an old Triumph, dang if I didn't ended up finding one. A completely original, but not running, 1976 750 Bonneville. The only way I found it was that I found the one person in the world who hasn't heard of E-Bay or Craigslist.
It's spent the last 10 years of it's life hidden under a pile of trash in the back of an old Dodge van in North Knoxville, which is probably the biggest thing that saved it.  It's all there, and even still has the little sticker on the frame that says made in England. It also has blue duct tape wrapped around the gaping rust holes in each exhaust. I used the old trick of taking a picture of it while it was wet so that it looks shiny, but the paint is well past the point of holding any gloss. It's a survivor, unmolested as some say. You can still see the hand done pin-striping on the tank, what hasn't been washed of by spilled brake fluid. Granted, it's one of the less desirable Oil in Frame models, but the tradeoff is it has disc brakes, and shifts on the left side, so maybe when (and not if) the day comes that I can actually ride it, I won't tear out the transmission stomping on the shift lever trying to stop. I plan on riding it, not making it a show bike. As they say, it's only original once.

So now I get to spend the winter days learning about such strange things as Whitworth fasteners and Positive Ground. One person graciously offered to end my misery before it began and give me what I paid for it. Who knows, at some point I'll probably wish I I took him up on that offer! I'll let you know when I get it running.

Black Friday Shopping Party at Dual Sport Touring Friday 25th

The only Black Friday / After Thanksgiving sale I'm interested in, and I don't have to get up at 3am to be there. Megan from Dual Sport Touring has sent out word that they are having a killer sale on their riding gear, suspension parts, accessories, Shoei and Arai Dual Sport helmets (30-35% off), and everything else in the store... But it gets better. They are also going to have food and drinks!  Yeah! ... But wait, there is even more.. they are going to show motorcycle movies too! Can life get any better?  Sale time is from 10:00am till 6:00 pm, pizza around 12:30.
Dual Sport Touring is located at 2887 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Friendsville Tn 37737.  If you can't find it give them a call at 995-9505, or look at the map on their website www.dualsportouring.com

A Simple Day of Trials Riding! (no, not trails, TRIALS)

On November 19 and 20th Joe Terry is going to host 2 days of beginner Trials riding at his place in Lenoir City. These are fun days, no competition, just the opportunity to come out and play on your old Trials Bike, or on someone elses. Have you ever wondered how slow you can go, and how much fun it would be? Here is your chance to come try it. No Fees. Nothing to Join. No Admission.
Feel free to bring your modern trials bike, vintage trials bike, or any other old bike you would like to try out trials riding on, There will be some simple sections marked out, plus places in the field where you can just practice tight turns. There will be logs of every size to practice crossing, woods sections, and free play areas. For those who want advice, there will be people there to give tips on the finer points of going slow. There will also be motorcycle games such as "Ride the Plank" "Jump the Log" and "Wheelie down the Hill".

This is all about having fun, gettting to meet people, and riding slow!
Kids under 12 are welcome to come and ride the woods loop if they wish. The woods loop is also open to adults on Trials bikes with trials tires. The goal is to have stuff for the younger riders and "those with age".

At 3:30 on both days there will be a Wienie Roast and Bon Fire. So bring whatever food  you would like to burn over the fire.

Where: The Terry Farm - 950 Hwy 70, Lenoir City Tennessee
When: Saturday November 19th 10:00am till ?. Sunday November 20th 10:00am till ??
For more info Call Joe Terry at 865-988-4379, or e-mail him at jbterry1@charter.net
Rain Date Nov. 26th and 27th

Pictures of Hollerpalooza Vintage Motorcycle Show Available

There are some GREAT pictures of the 2011 Cycleblend / Hollerpalooza Vintage Motorcycle Show available at
http://wagonerphoto.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Vintage/Hollerpalooza-2011/19698926_d8tfHN
These pictures were made by Jim Wagoner of the Time Warp Vintage motorcycle club, and you will see real quick that he has an eye for a good photo. You can also purchase pictures form this site. Enjoy!
By the way, the Twin Engine Triumph that won the Best British Class (Pictured above) is in the December issue of Cycle World magazine. It won the "Street Special" class at the Indianapolis Rolling Concours show this Summer.

Happy Hollerpalooza Vintage Motorcycle Show Results

The second annual Cycleblend / Happy Hollerpalooza Vintage show was blessed with great weather and great bikes. The quality of bikes that turned out was superb, and I want to thank every one of the owners who brought their bikes out to share with the crowd. Here are the Winners.

 The People Choice award, chosen by the public, went to Wendell Cooper and his just restored 1973 Honda SL 70

 The Best British Class was extremely close, and had several almost perfect bikes. when all the votes were counted,and re-counted, The winner (by 1 vote) was Steve Pieratt and his Twin Engine 1974 Bonneville (2nd place went to David Hurst and his 1966 Triumph Bonneville TT Special)

We had a repeat winner in the Best American Class. It was won again this year by Ted Bortner and his 1946 Indian Chief. (2nd place went to Charlie Cox's 59 Cushman Eagle)

Kent Trimble took the top spot in the Best Japanese Class with his super clean 1973 Suzuki GT-750 Lemans. (2nd place was Charles Gault's 1969 Bridgestone 350 GTR)

The Best European Class showcased some incredible machinery, and Clark Stewarts 1966 Benelli won by 3 votes. Truly a beautiful bike. (2nd place was Chris Howard's 74 Moto Guzzi V-7 Sport)

The Old Dirt class was won by the very special 1960something Triumph "Chrome Cub" owned by Dan Moriarty. This was another bike that was just completed in time for the Hollerpalooza show. (2nd Place was Wendell Cooper's 73 SL70 )

Here are a few pics from the show.