Shows .....
Bike Shows .. Car Shows.. I enjoy checking them out, I've entered a few but yet....... for the hard core entrants, I don't get it. Case in point. Rolled into Caddo Mills today for a local car club show out at one of the Caddo Mills school parking lots. Half dozen rows of cars (several dozen all together), a single vendor, an auction table
and a group grill up some eats. I didn't expect much since this is a small town, a local car club.. but yet.. reinforces some of my beliefs. A lot of folks roll in with their pride and joy, pop out the folding chairs, and ..... sit for the hours and hours.. sometimes.. all damned day. Hey, to each their own. But to compound the issue, only a half dozen vehicles there were the 'quality' I'd expect to be entered in a show. I only took pics of the nice ones that tripped my trigger. There were another 1/2 dozen newer/modern vehicles entered, but I didn't go there to see a brand new challenger with a 3.6 liter - 6 cylinder motor ( yes, there was one entered). I want to see the classics. Hot Rods. Rat Rods. Cool stuff. I rolled up in my '17 Jeep Wrangler that would probably have taken first in its class.. .but... felt wrong. Thought of rolling in with the '67 Camaro was an option, but .......then I'd have wished I'd entered it and that wasn't the purpose of the visit.
Hard part for me , especially with Bike shows is ... first, I don't' want to waste my entire day or night there waiting for a $10 trophy to be handed out. Secondly, I don't always approve of the judging methods. If the shows are for charity, sometimes they put a cup/bowl/pail in front of the bikes and folks that want to vote, contribute funds to each one. One with the most funds, wins. I've seen folks buy their own trophies this way. I've seen friends buy the trophies for the bike owner. Just feels wrong to me. Other methods are bike show attendees vote, and if a large group that hang together roll in, they can tilt the voting in favor of their own bikes. Last issue and the biggest to me is... I love my bike(s). That's why I own them. If I wanted a different bike, I'd have gotten it. If I wanted my bike to look differently, I'd do it. So, you are now at the mercy of others opinions and we sit there and hope/assume everyone will agree with our own tastes in bikes, which isn't always the case. I've got my share of trophies ( Firsts , Seconds, and Best of Shows), but I've also come out empty handed riding in a bike that have people gawking, but a POS bike won because a group of buddies voted for it.
So, I try to not enter shows as a norm. However, If I roll into a bike night and they have one, I'll throw my hat into the ring .... but, I don't get butt-hurt when it doesn't go my way. When it does, just reinforces what I already knew? Hell, I hope you feel the same way ... if you don't think your bike is worthy of a trophy you possibly .... ride the wrong bike. Or .. maybe .. just maybe.. you simply enjoy riding and doesn't matter what the bike looks like ( nothing wrong with that!).
So .... today I walked the aisles, took a few pics ... and skipped many others over due to lack of flair, quality, ... or .. just not tripping my trigger. These made the trip worthwhile .. but... I think I try to stick the bigger shows next time; more bang for the buck
Hard part for me , especially with Bike shows is ... first, I don't' want to waste my entire day or night there waiting for a $10 trophy to be handed out. Secondly, I don't always approve of the judging methods. If the shows are for charity, sometimes they put a cup/bowl/pail in front of the bikes and folks that want to vote, contribute funds to each one. One with the most funds, wins. I've seen folks buy their own trophies this way. I've seen friends buy the trophies for the bike owner. Just feels wrong to me. Other methods are bike show attendees vote, and if a large group that hang together roll in, they can tilt the voting in favor of their own bikes. Last issue and the biggest to me is... I love my bike(s). That's why I own them. If I wanted a different bike, I'd have gotten it. If I wanted my bike to look differently, I'd do it. So, you are now at the mercy of others opinions and we sit there and hope/assume everyone will agree with our own tastes in bikes, which isn't always the case. I've got my share of trophies ( Firsts , Seconds, and Best of Shows), but I've also come out empty handed riding in a bike that have people gawking, but a POS bike won because a group of buddies voted for it.
So, I try to not enter shows as a norm. However, If I roll into a bike night and they have one, I'll throw my hat into the ring .... but, I don't get butt-hurt when it doesn't go my way. When it does, just reinforces what I already knew? Hell, I hope you feel the same way ... if you don't think your bike is worthy of a trophy you possibly .... ride the wrong bike. Or .. maybe .. just maybe.. you simply enjoy riding and doesn't matter what the bike looks like ( nothing wrong with that!).
So .... today I walked the aisles, took a few pics ... and skipped many others over due to lack of flair, quality, ... or .. just not tripping my trigger. These made the trip worthwhile .. but... I think I try to stick the bigger shows next time; more bang for the buck
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