Shaun needed a hand to get the bike to the show including unloading it and giving it a spit and polish as it had travelled in the back of his truck/ute for the last 1000 miles. Even though it was covered it was in need of some TLC. So we left Two Rivers early, parked our truck and trailer at the motel in Sheboygan and then all headed into Milwaukee. The interstate from Sheboygan to Milwaukee would have to be the worst interstate road we have travelled on - couple that with sitting in the back of a one ton truck - it's a wonder we did not end up with sore kidneys! The road is made up of 12 x 12 foot slabs of concrete, with no two slabs on the same level and a gap of 2 inches between them! Not a pleasant ride at all!
We unloaded the bike and spent about two hours cleaning and shining it including detailing the tires with some cotton buds (as suggested by our friend Bill from Wisconsin). We wanted this bike to win!
Detailing the Tires
One Very Clean Bike
This was one tough competition - all bikes were here because they had won another competition somewhere in the USA. There were 10 entrants in the freestyle section including Chopdeville. This event was completely different to Sturgis - no body painting, wet T-shirt or bull riding competitions here - much more civilised but no where near the fun! Every thing here was Harley Davidson. For the most part we just checked out the Harley Davidson shop and stalls and chatted to the other bike builders. We were going to visit the Harley Davidson Museum but the line up time was over an hour and a half - maybe next time!
The winners of the bike competition were being announced on the Saturday - tension was in the air as we, and all the other competitors, headed to the main stage. I am certainly no bike building expert but I was quietly confident that I knew who the winner would be. As in Sturgis I was tasked with filming the presentations. It was wonderful to see all the builders get the recognition they deserved for the hours of work and dedication they each put into their bikes. Finally it was time for the big announcement - who would be representing the USA in Germany next year for the world championships? Shaun Ruddy from Chopdeville!! He had done it - a young bloke from Bunderberg, Australia, had won! And we were there to witness it! Presentations over we, in true Aussie fashion, grabbed a beer and toasted Shaun and Sheree's win. They head to Germany in April as part of Team USA - all expenses paid including shipping of the bike to compete in the AMD World Championship Of Custom Bike Building.
A Fantastic Moment
Cheers!
Team USA's latest Member
We spent the rest of the afternoon watching Shaun being interviewed by reporters from various bike magazines. One of the benefits for us 'groupies' / support team was we got to accompany Shaun and Sheree to the reception which was held at the Harley Davidson Museums VIP area. Whilst there we got to meet none other than Mr Harley Davidson him self - Willie G Davidson and also his son. I will confess I would never have known who they were - both were very down to earth and happy to chat and pose for photos.
Willie G Davidson with Rose E Navigator
William Godfrey "Willie G." Davidson" is an American businessman and motorcycle designer, and the former senior vice president & chief styling officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. He was also the head of Harley-Davidson's Willie G. Davidson Product Development Center in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. While being generally responsible for approving Harley-Davidson motorcycle designs, he also personally designed several motorcycles for Harley-Davidson, including the Super Glide and the Low Rider, which pioneered the factory custom motorcycle and created an intermediate line of motorcycles between their large touring models and their smaller Sportsters. Now you know as much as I do.
After the formalities were over a group of us headed into town to celebrate the days wins some more. A round of Jaegermeister bombs to begin with and the rest was history.
Daniel and Heather from Cut Throat Customs
One Great Night
Me Pretending to Know Something About Custom Biking
Having now met some of the best custom bike builders in the USA I have a new admiration for their passion and their craft and wish all of them every success in the future.
Celebrating done we ventured out to look for a cab to take us back to our motel - not an easy task given that the UFC fight had just finished. We spoke to one bloke at the taxi rank who had been waiting 40 minutes. We left the taxi rank and walked further up the road and intercepted a cab that had stopped at the traffic lights. An offer of $40 plus a tip was all the encouragement he needed - homeward bound!
Taxi Time For Rose!
To say we were all a little worse for wear the following day would be an understatement - we spent the day sipping water and talking to each other in hushed tones. The winning bike still needed to be picked up from the show so Shaun and I headed back into Milwaukee later that day. A final farewell to our many new friends, an early dinner at Applebee's saw the end of a remarkable weekend. We parted company with Shaun and Sheree once again - they were heading back to Sturgis early the following morning and we were going to Chicago. We will definitely miss these guys!
We are constantly amazed at the friendliness and hospitality of the American people. On our way over to Applebee's we stopped to say hi to 2 couples who were sitting outside the motel having a few drinks. They were obviously bikers and were really impressed when we told them of Shaun's win. We had only just ordered our (soft) drinks at the restaurant when the same people came and sat at the table next to us - they wanted to know more about this bike and also learn more about these Aussies travelling around their country. They very generously bought a round of strawberry vodka shots (elbows up said as you gulped them down). Rose and Sheree just looked at each other - more alcohol was not on their menu after the night before so I did the honours and drank all 3! We were also invited to visit and stay with these wonderful people any time we are in their state of Kansas - something we will definitely take them up on next trip.
Posted by RnR on their IPad
Location:Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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