This past September long weekend saw the long awaited Western Canadian Bike Builders' Showcase in Grand Prairie, Alberta. The show was a year in the planning and resulted in a huge success for a first year event.

I was looking forward to heading out to Grande Prairie. I just returned from a two and a half week riding holiday on Tuesday night and was supposed to be flying out of Toronto early Friday morning to Edmonton. I say 'supposed to fly' because my flight was delayed for one hour due to technical issues. I think the pilot's exact words were "We cannot sign-off on some of the safety items. We are assured that each individual item is functioning properly but the computer that controls them isn't working". 'Oh, that's comforting'. I had to wonder if the computer was working when the previous flight landed or if the failed unit went south while the plane was just sitting there?

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On with the Show

The Western Canadian Bike Builders' Showcase is the brainchild of Belt Drive Betty, a.k.a. Renee Charbonneau, who, with a number of dedicated volunteers put on a fantastic first year event. I first met Belt Drive Betty at the Edmonton Motorcycle Show last winter and judging from her energy and determination, I thought from the start that this event she was planning would be a huge success. Belt Drive Betty also publishes 'The Busted Knuckle Chronicles', the only weekly newspaper devoted to serving the motorcycle community in Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. Check out www.beltdrivebetty.com for more information about the The Busted Knuckle Chronicles.

Terry showed me around the site and I instantly knew this was a very well organized event with everything thought out and implemented. The vendors were busy setting up and many of the showbikes were being rolled or driven into place. Belt Drive Betty mentioned to me prior to the event that the weather can be a little iffy this time of year in Northern Alberta, so huge event tents would be in place to house all the vendors and showbikes in case the weather didn't cooperate. Friday was overcast, and to the east there were some nasty black clouds, luckily they were moving away from us.

Friday night was a Meet N' Greet night at the host hotel, Quality Hotel and Conference Centre, which also turned out to be 'Party Central' for most of the weekend. The Meet N' Greet was held in a conference room for the VIP guests, participants and volunteers. The crowd moved into the hotel bar, 'The Pour House', during the latter part the evening for the rest of the night.

Saturday's opening ceremonies started with Belt Drive Betty and Master of Ceremonies, Fort McMurray (yes, that's his real name), acknowledging Alberta's 100th anniversary and introducing Grande Prairie Mayor, Wayne Ayling, as well as a couple Members of Parliament. The ribbon cutting was done by Belt Drive Betty and Mayor Ayling after a few words were said by Chuck from Mid-USA and John Braden of Dayton Boots, two of the many sponsors of the Western Canadian Bike Builders' Showcase. The day started rather chilly but by afternoon the sun had warmed things up considerably to allow a few of the tent sides to be taken down to let the breeze flow through. The event site looked much different today now that all the vendors were set up and all the showbikes were in place.

There were two showbike tents, one contained bikes that were in the 'Capped Class', bikes with a maximum value of $40,000 and the other tent was for the 'Unlimited Class'. Each tent held about 17 bikes and believe me, there was some exceptional iron on hand to say the least. It was very evident to me that there are some extremely talented builders in the west. The tents for the showbikes only allowed spectators to see one side of the bike and there was no hydro available for lighting on the bikes which would have been a nice touch to show off the great detail. The show, however, was held during daylight hours so lighting wasn't a major issue.

Also on hand this weekend was Roger Goldammer from Kelowna, BC. who, along with a couple of his crew, brought three of his custom creations. Goldammer won the AMD ProShow in Las Vegas last year garnering him the title of Best Builder in the World for 2004 for his radical BTR3. The BTR3 is Goldammer's rendition and tribute to the Board Track Racers of yesteryear. Also on hand in the Goldammer camp was a bike named 'LowTek' which utilizes his G Force frame and front end with air suspension front and rear. Goldammer's newest unique creation was on display as well, a 965cc single cylinder engine with a mechanically driven Turbo. The engine began life as an American V-Twin but the rear cylinder was removed and the crankshaft driven Turbo is mounted in its place. This bike carries the engine oil in the front of the frame while oil for the turbo resides in the rear portion of the frame. Goldammer is not only known the world over for his exquisite and finely detailed two wheeled creations but also for his sleek and sexy G Force front end which is used on many of the world's showbikes and daily riders alike (goldammercycle.com).

Goldammer and Gorges were on hand to judge the Builder-to-Builder classes. Goldammer judged the 'Unlimited Class' and Gorges judged the 'Capped Class', both classes where also being judged by a People's Choice ballot vote. In order to try to keep the People's Choice as fair as possible, the bikes were numbered only. By not displaying the builders' names it was hoped that the general public would not vote for a name they recognized but vote for the bike they truly admired. The ballots were simply dropped into a container in front of the chosen bike and the bucket would then be weighed at the awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

There was something for everyone to do or see during the weekend, Freestyle Jumping and Trials demonstrations, burn-out pit, silent and live auctions, ride-in Show 'N' Shine, door prizes, autograph sessions with Goldammer and Gorges and more. Even the toddlers had their own area complete with jumping castle and other kiddie attractions allowing the parents to take a break while the kids got their Ya-Ya's out. There was a wide range of vendors selling or displaying everything for the motorcyclist; motorcycles, new and used parts, leather clothing, tattoos, custom bike shops showing off their handiwork as well as some CMDRA drag bikes on display. Also on hand was Manon Elder, Dean Eskdale and Allen Moir showing off some of their unique motorcycle painting and drawings and Jacki Kortzman displayed her motorcycle photography.

Saturday evening once again proved to be exceptional with a steak dinner back at Party Central in the parking lot under crisp blue skies. The parking lot at the Quality Hotel was blocked off for this private party for participants and volunteers and allowed easy access between the conference centre, for those who wanted some peace and quiet, and The Pour House for those who were into Saturday night party mode. This blocked off area also offered secure bike parking for those staying at the hotel. The Pour House attendance proved to be a Who's Who of Western Canada's motorcycle industry. It's impossible to name all those present but some of the vendors and participants include Thomas Mann and Heather Ireland from Biker TV who were on hand filming the event, Gerry Merchant, internationally known engine builder and owner of Merch Motorworkz, Tom Varga and his crew from HawgZotic from Langley, BC. and Len Creed and Art Murphy from Canadian Biker. Creed is celebrating his magazine's 25th anniversary this year. Congratulations to Len on such a milestone. Also on hand was Rick and Scott from Magna-Charger Canada as well as JD Boyd from Alberta based motorcycle magazine Northern Rider. Representatives were also on hand from Titan Motorcycles in Arizona. The weekend's Emcee, Fort McMurray, was not only spinning tunes most of the weekend but his band, Fortitude, also played at Party Central on Saturday night followed by local musician Carson Cole.

At one point in the evening I noticed a couple guys walking through the bar toward the door with a piece of plywood and the first thing I thought of was a burnout in the parking lot was underway. Boy was I wrong, at 1:30am someone brought a bike onto the dance floor, the piece of plywood was put in place and they proceeded to entertain the crowd with a brief smokeshow. It's still legal to smoke in the bars in Alberta but I'm not sure which was worse, the thick grey cigarette smoke that hung in the air or the blue haze of melted rubber. Surprisingly though, the bar didn't totally empty out after the smoke show but it did thin the people out a bit. As we stood outside in the cold we were entertained by the Northern Lights. A much appreciated sight and relief from the smoke filled bar.

On Sunday morning, the show opened with a church service by the Biker Church and a bike blessing was offered to those who wished to participate. Once again there was a ride-in Show 'N Shine as well as all the sights and sounds of the day before. The weekend wouldn't be complete without purchasing tickets on the hottest biker raffle on the planet. First prize is an instant biker package that includes a 2005 Ford Harley-Davidson Superduty 4X4, a 2005 Harley-Davidson FLH Standard with helmet, Rider Training Course, Leathers and a Tattoo. Second prize is a custom painted 2005 Boss Hoss V-8 motorcycle and the 3rd place winner will receive a 2005 Victory 8-Ball. The raffle is in support of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Grande Prairie and only 9000 tickets are for sale. Check out the Busted Knuckle website (www.beltdrivebetty.com) for more info or to purchase tickets if any are left.

Around 4:30 the awards ceremony began with the builders lined up in front of the stage with their voting buckets in hand. The builders proceeded to walk on stage single file to have their buckets weighed and after tabulation the People's Choice winners were announced.

All of the bikes entered in the both the classes were exceptional pieces of iron of the highest caliber. Congratulations to all who entered bikes in the competition. As evident by the weights of the voting buckets, the People's Choice voting was very close indeed.

The winner in the People's Choice portion of the awards in the 'Unlimited Class' saw Cycle Boyz (Brandon, MN) taking first place with Axe Custom (Grande Prairie, AB) taking second and Unlimited Choppers (Beaverlodge, AB) clinching third spot. In the 'Capped Class' category was Cycle Boyz once again taking first, second place went to Iron Cycle Choppers (Dawson Creek, BC) and third place belongs to Trickfactory (New Westminster, BC).

The winners in the Best Paint for the 'Unlimited Class' was Cycle Boyz and in the 'Capped Class', Poorboyz Chopperz (Red Deer, AB) took the Best Paint award.

The winners in the Builder-to-Builder awards for the 'Unlimited Class' went to Afterdark Motorcycle Repair (Edmonton, AB) while the 'Capped Class' was won by Cycle Boyz, interestingly this is the same Cycle Boyz bike that took the People's Choice in this class.

One thing worthy of note is that all the builders had to prove their bikes ran before entering the show tents and the winners had to ride their bikes up to the front of the stage.

That night was the 'Wrap-up Party' at a downtown bar called BJ's Q Club and Sports Bar who put on an outstanding roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. There is nothing quite like a slab of tender beef and both Saturday's steak and Sunday's roast beef were exceptional. Seeing that we were in the heart of Canadian beef country, how could a person expect anything but perfection.

After dinner, many returned to The Pour House at the Quality Hotel to hear Fort's band, Fortitude, once again. Does this man ever sleep!

The weekend, according to everybody I talked to, was a huge success. Belt Drive Betty did an amazing job. Of course the event could not have happened without the help of the many volunteers who took their jobs seriously, the Quality Hotel and the many show sponsors to make sure it all came together.

The successful execution of such a large first time endeavour I'm sure was because of Belt Drive Betty's refusal to settle for second best. I heard many people describe her as tenacious, determined and persistent. It just goes to show that dreams are within reach with hard work and determination. I was told the attendance for the weekend was 10,000, a very impressive number for a first year event. Belt Drive Betty was adamant that everybody from participants to volunteers to spectators were looked after. She put Grande Prairie on the biker map and drew people from as far away as New York, Michigan, Arizona and many Canadian provinces.

There is a lot of very talented people in this great country and it's events like this that help these builders get recognition on both sides of the border and the world.

Be sure to check out Biker TV coverage on CH and Global www.bikertv.ca

PS. Thanks to the guy who told me I dropped a twenty out of my pocket in a food line. I may have never known without his honesty. MMM