Gary and Brenda Gagnon are my just some of the old timer biker ties that bind me to New England, forever. Gary, a talented motorcycle mechanic, and his wife Brenda became motorcycle shop owners a couple of years ago. Gary’s forte is old school as in kindergarten. His easel is filled with Knuckles, famous Flatties, steadfast Shovels and particularly Panheads. Although there were several modern Road Kings and Fat Boys waiting their turn at his lifts, as I toured his digs on Main Street in my old stomping grounds of Willimantic, Connecticut.
Gary is a great guy who used to tear apart lawnmowers, as a kid, just for fun. We’ve been friends for over twenty-five years. From eight to 28, this is where I grew up. Almost a born Connecticut Yankee, I moved to South Florida permanently eighteen years ago and while I seem to migrate back to New England every ten years to stay in touch, this trip was the best of new old times.
After years of working out of his garage in Scotland, Connecticut, he began offering his friends coffee and doughnuts on Thursday nights. He offered this thinking that once it got too cold to ride, they would stop showing up. His buds, my bros, continued to show up, regardless of the weather, every Thursday night to sip coffee and talk motorcycles.
So when Gary opened Thread City Cycles, in April of 2004, the coffee night became a Willimantic scooter tramp tradition. (Willimantic is called Thread City due to supporting one of the nation’s largest textile mills, since the 1800s. The mills were run by the power of the Willimantic River.)
Out back in the service department with Gary, is Dana Morin, son of Louie and Pat Morin. Louie was one of the original old school bikers of Connecticut from way back in the forties when most of us weren’t even a glint in anyone’s eye, (Louie passed on last year and his story is for another adventure issue here on line). These young folks experienced the heat waves of a Daytona Bike Week annually, so when I met them again this year at Willie’s Tropical Tattoo Old School show during Bike Week, we knew that the family in the great Northeast could appreciate the same type of old school chopper show. Thanks to Tropical Willie, for the inspiration, we immediately planned a version way north.
The real trees, maples, oaks, and sumacs were putting on their annual foliage show, spectacular in orange, yellow, red and gold. Pumpkins lined walkways and front steps of ancestral homes, ready for Halloween and winter’s stage. Everywhere I went, I knew there was something different about the roads. They were very improved since I lived there. Thanks to the Native Americans and their casinos dominating the employee base of Connecticut’s financial system, the roads are wider, with new black tarmacs to sail along. The familiar curves and sharp hills make the riding experience that much sweeter. But feeling 20 years slip away, now that was indescribable.
I witnessed friends, from my youth, flying along town roads on the same Shovelheads they’ve always had. I experienced one Déjà vu after another, as they came blazing up the driveway of the Franco-American Club off Route 6 for Thread City Cycles’ Ol Skool Chopper Show. It was like I never left. Still gives me the chills.
Since it was the middle of October, this writer/rider was bundled up in layers of leather and fleece. My blood has since thinned in the warm Florida climate, and I admit to being an aging puss with a windshield. But I stayed warm enough. Northeast riders are a hardy lot. With early morning temperatures in the upper 30s, there was frost on the ground and on a crystal clear October weekend, motorcycle thunder still rumbles in the crispy skies. Midnight Mike and the Jersey Sluts rode up from freakin’ New Jersey with temps well below the limits of sane people. Skeeter, John and Mike (the Sluts) came to see me as we rendezvoused now at Smoke Outs and Bike Week in Daytona. The chopper nation came from points south and north, even New Hampshire, everyone saying it was about time New England got a chance to do it right.
Parking was no problem with the spacious grassy area behind the club and the private pavilion was set up with a full bar, band where Brenda and Dawn Morin sold event tees and raffles aplenty. Area Hot Rod clubs were invited to attend and over a dozen stylish, remarkable rides showed up and sparkled in the Yankee sunshine. Frank DeMao, Tim Walsh, Dawn Bartlett, Glen & Katy Jollie, Glen Lee, Bob Avery, Scott and Kurt Marshall all helped out with the parking and as security volunteers for the day’s event.
Michael Dodds, who now lives in New Britain (who I’ve known since I was 15, good lord!), and his girlfriend Karen were in charge of the bike show registration booth. Bikes had to be of a certain criteria of old skool to gain entrance to the judges. That’s a way of combing kool and school. Mike and Karen rode over on his ’68 Shovelhead in the wee hours of the morning, to be right on time, for the nine o’clock gate opening.
Breakfast was available for a mere four dollars and plates were overflowing with eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, toast and coffee. Lunch was bigger than any festival foods, with Burgers, dogs, whole chicken, sausage and onions, corn on the cob, potato salad AND clam chowder for only five bucks! Now tell me that doesn’t make your insides warm! Thanks go to Shasta and Tyler Bushey, Brandy Quick and of course, our favorite mom, and grandma, Pat Morin. All sizzling chow and service was incredible.
Didn’t I mention a full service liquor bar was available? Add to that the tune played by The Night Crawlers Band, who is a funky blues group. They played BB King riffs as well as esoteric Molly Hatchet covers. Now that really sounds like your kind of ANYWHERE biker party, doesn’t it?
Thirty-five bikes paid ten dollars a piece to enter the show. Homemade trophies by Gary and Dana consisted of used clutch baskets, primary chain, cams, and a Harley-Davidson spark plugs. Except the best foreign bike trophy had a Champion plug. Only the truly tuned-in will understand that.
The winners were:
Best Sporty Bryan Bessette, a ‘78 Ironhead.
Best Evo, Ryan Hennessey of Thompson , Connecticut.
Best Pan was Russell Isch, the 1948 Panhead, recently excavated from the Hotel Hooker in downtown Willimantic.
Best Foreign, Billy Connelly, a tasty 70 Triumph.
Best Knuckle went to Scott Grenier with his 1938 knucklehead in the largest and more discerning class of them all.
Best Flathead Brian Banks and that red 1938 ULH Flathead.
Best Shovel was Gary Wooley’s 1980 chopper. Gary rides with local boys and girls of the MurderCycles Association.
Best Twin Cam went to Mark Queiros and his ‘04 Bobber.
People Choice was Middletown’s Paul Hubbard with his‘54 Panhead chopper, all dressed in bright white.
The trophy girls were courtesy of local attorneys Trantolo and Trantolo who also had a promo booth set up. Trantolo’s own, Kowalski, who does a Biker Report on WCCC out of Hartford every weekend, was the MC for the trophy ceremony. Northeast Rider’s editor, Mary, was there as was Kyle from Reading, Pennsylvania, of The Horse BackStreet Choppers and Old Skool Rodz magazine who works with the subscription department. Kyle and her husband, Rob, drove up in their awesome 1932 Ford Roadster and said they had a great day. It was an added bonus for these local thoroughbred bikers to get in on the trade magazines with an industry leader.
The vendors were few, since a long time ago, there were very few vendors at a bike shows. Today we all know that the vendors are a necessary part of any show, so the ones here were kept in the same vein as the event. Josh, a budding young pinstriper kept busy as did Jay Crum and John Martin with their X-treme Graphix digital photography. These guys make posters of the bikes on site. This was very awesome and a modern means indeed. Over 400 people attended the event, most all of them rode in.
The parking lot yielded more eye candy on two wheels, and if you knew what he looked like, you could chat with Robert E. Pradke. A member of the Road Agent Car Club, Robert, is one of the most prestigious and sought after custom auto and motorcycle painters in the country right now. He is also the most humble. Riding in on his prime striped ’48 Panhead, with Lock Baker of Eastern Fabrications, we know him best as the guy who paints for Indian Larry and the Indian Larry Legacy crew. His own shop is in Eastford, Connecticut, which is less than fifteen miles up the road.
But the icing on this cold but mighty morning, was seeing my riding partners of yesterday. Tommy Simmons, Mike Mekuto, Fred Cates, Sharon Potter, Rodney “Ice Man” Watson, Harry Serge, especially Jerry Doubleday, who now also lives in New Jersey, came all that way just to see me. Keith Baton couldn’t make it this year because he was killed last year at this time by a drunk driver, while riding home on his FLHT. Proceeds from the party will be going to the local chapter of MADD in Keith’s honor. His widow Carli Baton and their 11 year old son, Joe, did come out for the day and we all took the time to cry, hug and laugh. Just like the old days, even through the tears, after all those years.
Thread City Cycles can be encouraged to do this bike show again next year. I vote for warmer weather, like, yeah right, September. Please call Gary, Brenda and Dana at 860-456-2453 week days from nine to six and tell them what you thought about it. The shop is located at 255 Main Street in Willimantic. Coffee nights will resume in April when the weather breaks and the bikes are free to roll again. Well, unless you’re one of those lunatics who tries to ride all year long through the snow and slush. Yeah, I used to be one of those lunatics. Now I go back home to visit them. Who says you can’t go home again?
