Two-Wheel_Two-Step

While summer is winding down in some areas, there is little halt to the Texas riding season. And there’s plenty of news to cover, so let’s go. The Original Texas Proud Bar & Grill in Killeen held their grand-opening weekend August 15–17 with live music and free barbecue. The creation of the guys at Texas Proud Custom Cycles (they’re located side-by-side), the Bar & Grill offers music most weekends along with Cookie’s famous burgers and about the most biker-friendly atmosphere in that section of the state. They are at 704 E. Veterans Memorial Drive… The 5th annual Flip Flop Festival was held August 30–31 on Main Street in Port Lavaca. As part of the event, a Flip Flop Bike Run was held at nearby Bay Front Peninsula. The $25 entry fee gave riders a shot at $500 for the best hand, which was won by Paulita Franco, lucky girl… A couple of shout outs to two Texas bike builders are most certainly in order. Kyle Shorey with Shadetree Fabrications in Fort Worth secured a second-place win in the Freestyle class this year during the J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Sturgis Bike Show on August 7. In that same show, our good friend Juan Gandera with Lubbock Custom Cycles captured third place in the Modified Harley class for his ’07 Deluxe. Juan went on to take first place in the Easyriders Show and another first during the Rat’s Hole Show. A Panhandle brother reminding everyone how it’s done—good job, amigo… In the file cabinet labeled “Used but Not Used Up,” another Texan was also recently tearing it up, but in a completely different manner. On August 15, Bob Lewis from Corpus Christi set a new world record at Bonneville in the M-VG Class (Motorcycle-Vintage Gas). Riding a 1945 80″ Knucklehead, Lewis averaged 152.456 mph, besting the previous record of 151.835 that was set by the Vincent Racing Team in 2010. One of the coolest features of his bright orange racer was the tank shift lever. Yep, imagine going 150-plus mph on a 68-year-old bike with a tank shift. True pucker action… A batch of new laws went into effect on September 1, with many centering on increased fines and penalties for various infractions. But SB 181 is geared toward all you techies and allows a motor vehicle operator the option of using a wireless communication device (a cell phone) to display proof of vehicle insurance. But don’t worry; just because the officer views that document, it does not constitute consent for him to access any other content. So all those risqué selfies you foolishly took will remain private… The 4th annual Sputnik Memorial Run will be held October 5 at Porkchops Icehouse in Point Blank. Kickstands are up at 11:00 that morning and the $20 per bike, $25 per couple run fee includes a barbecue plate dinner at the after-run party. There will also be vendors, a raffle and 50/50 drawing with all proceeds benefiting the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association that was founded by Sputnik. Camping is available. For more details, go to www.tmra2.org… The Lone Star Rally in Galveston will be coming up soon (October 31–November 3) and promises to be one of the best ever. First off, we received a call from Blowout the other day to let us know there is finally some decent RV and tent camping for those wanting to forego the expense of fancy lodging on the Island. And this is especially helpful since Galveston recently banned RV parking along the seawall during the rally. Held at the Galveston County Fairgrounds, Blowout’s Lone Star Campground will offer vendors, live music, a bike rodeo, hot showers and late-night adult entertainment (this has been designated as a 21-years-and-older-only camp). It’s located approximately 12 miles from The Strand (party central), but Blowout has made arrangements for a shuttle bus to ease that problem ($5 each round trip or $20 for the entire weekend). Blowout will also be awarding a cool grand in winnings to the best competitors in Saturday’s bike games. And once again Lone Star is bringing back those darlin’ bad boys from the Sons of Anarchy, Tommy “Chibs” Flanagan, Mark “Bobby” Boone and Kim “Tig” Coates. They are slated to sign autographs and pose for photos at scheduled V.I.P. and public meet-and-greet sessions. Plus the rally has recently formed a partnership with the International Master Bike Builders Association (IMBBA) who will be in charge of this year’s bike show. They are presenting nine classes for 2013 (both domestic and foreign). No word yet on where it will be held, but our vote would be for it to return to the dock along Harborside Drive; great photo-op background and usually a nice breeze coming in off the water. Go to www.lonestarrally.com for more details… Cool weather has to be right around the corner, right? Please, someone tell me that’s right. So here’s hoping you have to dig out the gloves sooner than January of next year. Until then, ride safe.

 

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