Friday morning at 8:00 am, July 3rd, was the opening day of the 2nd annual Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally. The atmosphere in Tulelake, CA was electric with anticipation for the fun patriotic weekend, which after months of careful planning was about to begin. Motorcycles and RVs were already lined up eagerly awaiting the green light to check in, get settled and to let the good times roll – bons temps roulee! Having over a football field of the American Veterans Traveling Tributes “Cost of Freedom” and “Traveling Wall” displays laid out on the emerald green lawn with flags fluttering framing the 400’ entry driveway into the manicured Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds, the patriotic tone was set for the 2nd annual Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally. Countless hours of hard work by our Staff and volunteers was paying off! It looked like we had a nice crowd. Our dream was becoming real.
When it comes to most things in life, including the blueprint for our motorcycle rally, ‘Wings and I subscribe to time-tested wisdom. After many years attending & filming countless events , we think we have most of it figured out.
A great rally must offer bikers the opportunity for great riding experiences. South Bay Biker Productions gives our patrons the Pacific Northwest. Lava Beds Nat’l Park (20 mins), Crater Lake (90 mins), Living Memorial Sculpture Garden (50 mins) & Mt. Shasta (90 mins) and all the beautiful uncrowded back roads & highways that lead to these unique spots.
A great rally must offer a great venue with great camping conditions. South Bay Biker Productions gives our patrons the “2nd to none” Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds – nearly 100 acres of manicured emerald green plush lawns, plenty of shade trees, immaculate restrooms with hot showers, well maintained buildings and great views in all directions. Toss in PDR’s homemade oil drum fire pits with rebar legs and a supply of Johnny Sanders’ dry juniper and whamo! You got it!
A great rally demands plenty of 1st class all-American eye candy. South Bay Biker Productions & the Wings2Fly Saloon delivers again with the Shasta Rally’s “Hot Wings” – Debbie’s hotties sling drinks with genuine smiles & they wear the skimpiest bikinis we heathens love while they carefully wash our scooters for tips! (see photos on our website!!!) Thanks and hugs go out to Tiffany, Christina, Ashley, Marquie, Jessica, Sin, Dirty Di & of course, Wings2Fly.
This leads me to the next ingredient. A great rally must offer a central place to gather with friends to “bend elbows,” swap stories and listen to living legends up close and personal like Pat Travers and Charlie Brechtel and other great up-and-comers like our kick-ass house band, National Dust and local favorite, the Craig Allen Blues Band; so, we furnish our patrons my gal Debbie’s Wings2Fly Saloon – 12,000 sq ft of air conditioned biker bar heaven right there so no one needs to drink and ride.
A great rally should also offer the creations of gifted builders. SS2AMCR delivers here, too. Not only that, we have these talented folks (& their families) park their rigs and display their creations in our “Builders Garden,” an ideal place inside the venue surrounded by huge shady Weeping Willows and lush flower and rose gardens (1000 years of volcanic ash and duck shit in the soil make everything grow real nice.) This year, our featured builders included Mark Daley – Thunderstruck Custom Bikes, Dave Haze – Haze Custom Choppers, John Bartevian – Perfect Past Customs & Tigard Oregon Boss Hoss dealers Ron & Cindy Tangsrud of Wild Rose Boss Hoss.
Main events for our patrons also included the renowned “Boogieman Bike Games” and “Pinky & Sluggo’s Crusin For Ca$h,” National Champion, Eric Petersen of the Oregon Arm Wrestling Federation ran his Arm ‘Wraslin Contest again on Friday evening. Izzy’s Tattoo Contest & a Ride-in-Bike Show were also on the menu. Nice looking biker trophies for the winners are always SOP. Shasta Rally patrons were also treated to several death defying shows by the ALLinFMX stunt team which they could watch in the shade under the overhang at the EzJ Concert Field grandstands.
When 2 states are in the mix for a major public event, across the board support and cooperation from regional law enforcement had to be in place; this year, it was. Thanks to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s office, southern Oregon LE, Modoc County Sheriff’s office & the Tulelake PD for working together this year! It was great to see you guys keeping the founders of Operation Gratitude and the escorting biker procession safe as you lead the AVTT escort and rig from the Klamath Falls Home Depot to the fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon, July 2nd .
In year #2, not one problem for law enforcement related to the SS2AMCR…..NOTHING! Thanks & high fives go out to our patrons who were respectful guests AGAIN in the beautiful region.
With the Rally, regional business had an opportunity to glean economic benefits when they “ponied-up” and sponsored the Rally. I always tell everyone involved in our business endeavors that we are “communist capitalists.” This statement gets laughs, but Debbie and I sincerely hope everyone who supports the Rally will make money as a result of their investments. In spite of a “tanked” economy, South Bay Biker Productions is happy to report that nearly all businesses who supported the Rally “made book.” Thanks and gratitude go out to our good friends Doug “Sluggo” & Christina “Pinky” Brown who put their impeccable reputations on the line in their community to successfully gather a huge number of sponsorships from the Klamath Basin & eastern Siskiyou County business communities.
Early reports tell us that Klamath Falls hotels with affordable rates were full or nearly full of Shasta Rally bikers. Big thanks to the ownership at the Shilo Inn, Klamath Falls for seeing our vision and sponsoring rooms for the founders of Operation Gratitude and Pat Travers. In the future, we hope to see the entire Klamath Basin & eastern Siskiyou County business communities lending their unified support to make the Rally a bigger success each year.
After five weeks of riding our motorcycle rally tsunami, Wings and I are temporarily holed up in a biker friendly northern Nevada casino hotel before heading back to headquarters. We are pleased to let the biker community know that biker traditions and tremendous appreciation for our troops from the biker culture are going strong in Tulelake, CA, eastern Siskiyou County and the Klamath Basin. Everything Seth Doulton said in his February endorsement letter to the biker community came true. South Bay Biker Productions’ Staff delivered exactly what Seth said we would. What we delivered was sent straight-up and with no hidden agenda. We are already preparing for 2010! We are grateful to Bikernet.com for believing in our vision and sponsoring our motorcycle rally.
We are requesting that all Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally bikers tell their families and friends about what they experienced in Tulelake over Independence Day weekend. Please write to the biker media to give everyone your impressions. If you have suggestions, or criticisms, we are humble people and we try to listen to everyone. Please send your input to ezj@southbaybiker.com Wings is posting additional photographs on our website as I write this story – www.shastarally.com www.shastarally.com Check ‘em out!
More than ever, South Bay Biker Productions Staff, Debbie and I have our sights set on becoming the premiere motorcycle event in the western region. Thanks.
–Jeff Kraus – EZJ
