Where To Go?
March 28-29, 2009, the Donnie Smith 22nd Annual Bike Show and Parts Extravaganza in St. Paul, Minnesota. Open from 9a.m. to 7p.m. Saturday and 10a.m. to 5p.m. Sunday. See a ton of great looking bikes, and score some great deals on new or used parts for your next project. We’ve covered this show a couple times in the mag and while it may still be freeezing outside, inside the Saint Paul RiverCentre the scene is red hot.

April 22-26, 27th Annual Laughlin River Run, in Laughlin, Nevada. The West Coast’s largest motorcycle event, we haven’t missed this run in years. Top name vendors, the industry’s hottest builders and beautiful women in string bikinis. Set along the banks of the mighty Colorado River, when it heats up too much outside, head inside and test your luck at one of the numerous casinos.

April 18-19, the Arlen Ness 3rd Annual Bike Show, in San Mateo, California. Open from 9a.m. to 7p.m. Saturday and 10am to 5pm Sunday. We were in attendance for the inaugural show and were amazed at the turnout. The place was packed with vendors and great bikes entered in the show. We even found one of our cover bikes there that year. The show is at a new location this year so be sure you’re in the right place.

No Rally, Really?
Effective 2009, the city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will no longer host motorcycle rallies. The city even posted a website called Myrtle Beach Biker Info/Laws. The website opens with a letter from the Mayor of Myrtle Beach, John Rhodes, in which he states that Myrtle Beach is not anti-biker, yet they had to dedicate a second page of the Myrtle Beach Biker Info/laws website to 13 new city rules and ordinances. As this wen to print, we recived a press release from Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson stating, “We look forward to seeing all bikers for the Annual Spring Bike Week (May 8-17), in Horry County (everywhere but the city of Myrtle Beach).

The historic Hollister Motorcycle Rally is another event that has been going through some turmoil for the past several years with the “on again, off again” swish-swash. Seth Doulton, of Horsepower Promotions has been the rally’s biggest supporter putting much time and effort into trying to get the city to stand behind the event. But on his website, there is a huge yellow banner that states: The city council has decided not to sanction the 2009 Hollister Motorcycle Rally. There will be no motorcycle activity in 2009.

Ride Forever
The industry lost another one of its brothers this past January with the passing of custom bike builder Jerry Graves. Jerry owned Graves Custom Cycles out of Boynton Beach, Florida. We had the pleasure of meeting Jerry a few years back while attending Daytona Bike Week. We shot his lime green and purple flamed chop for our sister publication STREET CHOPPER back in January of 2005. Jerry was a great guy and an excellent bike designer/builder with a style that was truly unique. He will be missed.

Spark Some Interest
Harley-Davidson recently announced the Share Your Spark: A Guide to Mentoring tool kit, which was developed for current and aspiring riders. The kit features information on how to be a resource and support system to others during their motorcycling journey. The mentoring kit includes information for both potential mentors and mentees, including a DVD showcasing tips on how to become or find a mentor, stories from successful mentoring experiences, a special Share Your Spark pin and a planning and reflection guide.

Rick Raises Money
Rick Fairless and the team at Strokers Dallas raised $32,000 for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children through the raffle of a customized Dallas Cowboys themed Harley Davidson motorcycle. Teaming up with Miller Lite, they were able to sell raffle tickets from July 4th- October 12th to raise money for the children of Texas.