Ding's Custom Cycle Blog: No Boo-Hoo here!

BOO BENEFIT THOROUGHFARE, JEFFERSON, TEXAS --- I'm not overly religious but I'm humming the phrase "God Bless Texas" a lot. This rally was excellent! Just like the young man in the photo who's toting his first place trophy (granted, he won for having the coolest metrics bike), we too grabbed a gold here. All day Saturday and Sunday we had the bikes "racked and stacked." Our rubber inventory is heavily depleted after changing A LOT of tires, and we did a big recovery operation out of town, as well as several oil changes, brake pads, batteries and minor repairs.

For two solid days we worked solid, and only survived with the help of Billy Gray and his wonderful bride Deb. The timing of the customers and the work that needed to be done was as smooth as Laconia - while Billy changed oil and tires on the rack, Ding did front tires on the ground while Deb handled all the invoices, money, QuickBooks and copying. This freed me to spend a lot of time writing estimates for potential buyers, hawking the merchandise on the tables and hangers and advertise. The rent rate was excellent for a prime location with great access for the riders in and out. We could send folks to easily shop and hit the beer garden and we had great live music from a stage nearby.

Despite a heafty unemployment rate in this Republic, and humidity that could choke a chicken, many riders attend this event. It's smoothly run and family friendly; the"patch' guys can prowl at their leisure; and the cause is a huge draw with all proceeds going to hospital burn units, Shriners hospital and kids who are burn victims. We even worked on Boo's bike --a bad ass ride that needed some adjusting. He gave me a great hug and asked us to come back next year.

In Texas - here and many places we have and will go - folks say the need for motorcycle tires and repairs is big. Dealerships are not location-friendly for most. So, we've decided to stay here and finish the season. We will headed to Point Blank, Texas for a small Porkchops Icehouse rally; then on to Galveston for the mega Lone Star event and then over to Camp Wood for the Three Sisters Veterans rally.

Some highlights from Boo were a fun couple named Tex and Melissa who set up next door. He's a well-known pinstriper who's been on television a bunch. He looks like Guy Fiedi from Diners Drive-Ins and Dives with his blond spikey hair. They gave us great info on future rallies to attend. Some old carnie buddies from Algona who sew patches and sell leather were here and we hung out with them. Don's longtime Marine buddy John and his very funny wife Chris came down from Paris, Texas for the day, too.

Heavy rains ended the rally Sunday but that was OK. Granted, we sustained some water damage to the BFT but it is repairable. We buzzed over to Marshal and took Billy and Deb out to a great Japanese dinner and some fun conversation. Bob and Thumper were a big hit here an it helped to have a big swath of green grass out back.

Jefferson, Texas is a very quaint town reminiscent of old world Lousiana places. Brick streets are lined with great antique stores, old-school candy mercantiles, cafes and bistros and a pretty river runs through it all. The area is very green, hilly and filled with old trees. Ding said from the start he had a good feeling about this rally. I should have known, considering several merchants have giant pink, wrought-iron flamingos outside their shops.

Hugs from the road.....Hol, Ding, Thumper and Bob