Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

A Labor Day Weekend ride across three states for three race events brought a welcome escape from our daily grinds. Friday afternoon we headed towards Davenport, IA for The Mississippi Fairgrounds Annual Antique Bike Swap Meet and Flat Track Races. Our first stop of three. Upon our arrival at the half mile track old friend Mike Abeltins and I took in the dusty fairground atmosphere as a breath of fresh air. Plenty of bikes, swap meeter’s and on lookers abound. Grandstands were three quarter full. The races Friday night were decent but not spectacular. However they were a nice way to kick off the trip.

Saturday morning we hit the swap meet and hooked up with Mike’s old friend Jeff Scherim of Des Moines. He, Mike and I weaved our way through the swap meet discovering things we thought we could not live without. How about a 1915 Cyclone for $30K? Or a girls 1937 Monarch bicycle in excellent condition which looked waaaaaaay ahead of its day for $1700. Or a blue Harley Davidson from an unknown year in prime condition? Probably 1920 give or take. The black 1937 BMW Model R5 in near mint condition was not posted for sale but drew many onlookers. Care for a 1965 Schwinn Typhoon bicycle, Mikey?

Around noon Saturday we headed for Springfield, IL for The Magnificent Mile. Chances of rain increased but the ride was dry until arrival to our hotel. Overnight it poured. Thunder. Lightning. And all that shit. We made our way to The Mile and so did about five to six thousand others. No more rain but the damage had been done. We parked under the canopy of the Food-O-Rama and explored. We visited the classic bike area which holds any bike over 25 years old.

The 1978 Yamaha SR500 looked well ridden. The mint condition XR 750 Harleys were dying for some dirt. Conversely the 1972 Suzuki GT 750 was dying for some pavement. The Grand National was on hand as it was the day prior in Davenport gleaming with gitup and go. We scouted around, spoke with others and had come to the decision the track was just to wet for any racing today. We got up next to turn one and as you can see the black Midwest dirt was gonna need way more sun and time before the Dunlaps saw action on this terrain. NO bikes on dirt heading into turns one and three at just over 100mph.

A bit of disappointment but no sweat off our balls. So we headed to Indy from the Illinois State Fairgrounds to take our chances for some concrete racin’. NHRA Style!

Rain had been and was still in the area but with the help of Mike’s I-Phone we avoided all downpours on the ride. Thank God for the Age of Information. When we rolled into Brownsburg, Indiana early Sunday evening. Our first stop was for fuel. While stopped the sun poked out and a Bitch of a Black 1970 Barracuda pulled in next to us. It was a sign. Everythang gonna be alright! The next morning we got to O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

I was a NHRA virgin. Mike and Jeff teased me about NHRA being similar to Crack. I was like huh? Would I be walking out of this track covered in NHRA gear? My shirt covered in autographs? A foam John Force #1 Finger on my paw? A Brandon Bernstein tattoo on my ass? Lipstick on my collar from Top Fuel Driver Hillary Will? WTF? Well I must say on word about NHRA - MUTHAFUCKNCOOL!!!

NHRA as Mike and Jeff clued me in all day tops all motorsport events I have been to. And this was their Super Bowl Event – The Mac Tools Nationals. NHRA offers more for a fan than I could have ever imagined. Pit access, No problem. A break in the action between classes, No problem. Regular peeps hanging out for horsepower, No problem.

Some Hoosier working security that saw Jeff W. a few weeks ago at the Moto GP, no problem. (He recognized Mike’s shirt.) My NHRA Cherry had been popped. Speaking of poppin’ did you see the vein in John Force’s forehead after he got in to it with Tony Pedregon? Hell I’m like an old school NHRA’er now bitches. Ya’ll betta recognize. No not really. I just like to ramble on - Now’s the time, the time, the time. OK enough Led. One more thing about Top Fuel. It’s not the sound. Not the speed. It’s the feel of all that horsepower that is truly amazing.

The drags in Indy were the icing on the cake of this ride and I want to thank Mike and Jeff for all the insider info in regards to NHRA. Props. After Ashley Force Hood and Tony Shumacher took out the completion we headed for Peoria for our last night on the road.

The Embassy was more than we could have asked for. Back in Des Moines on Tuesday for a cold one with the dog before the wife got home from work.

Some where around 1200 miles give or take. A great weekend for all three of us - besides what are ya gonna do sit around and let your meatloaf all weekend? Cuz two outta three (races) ain’t bad…

...Bobby Hanson