June 23-24

Our first day at the Honda Hoot was just to become acclimated with not having to ride all day as we have for the better part of the last three weeks! We took time to walk around the large vendor areas and just chatted with folks that recognized us from the magazine articles and other media.

Mikes wife Brenda and his daughter Amber came into town via jet propulsion and we met them at the airport.

We met for an interview with The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club President Pete Boody and had a nice conversation about the trip, Honda history and the direction that he is trying to guide the club. He has many great ideas and we hope that he is successful in his endeavors as president of the club. Preserving the heritage of Honda as well as the other Japanese manufacturers is no easy task with today’s change in corporate focus with all makes.

We rode to the Hoot on Thursday and it was time to try to let loose on the bikes. I couldn’t get past a buck-ten so Mike worked on a draft maneuver on me and hit the goal that we know we could attain. So, even though I didn’t get the shot or the speed, Mike Ross, this is for you!

While we were there today, we stopped over to see a demonstration of Trials riding by past World Champion Tommi Ahvala. This guy is great to watch and is a credit to the sport of trials with his excellent job of showmanship.

These bikes are the polar opposites of street bikes. Those that ride trials are spectacular to watch as they ride up walls, over rocks the size of a house and any kind of obstacle that the normal human being would do anything just to go around in stead of over! It is truly art in motion when you watch this type of competition. Mike has attended numerous trials events including World Championship rounds here in the United States.

We looked around at some of the manufacturer demo areas and had heard some folks talking about the Victory brand. Reliaable sources told us about a ride that Kyle Petty does yearly for his wonderful charity "Victory Junction". Last year he had to exchange his Victory motorcycle no less than 5 times before he could complete the ride across the United States! Maybe we need to get him on a vintage Honda for his next ride!

We parked our bikes at the Honda Display area and folks immediately started talking about the bikes. One gentleman came to us and said that he had heard about the bikes from all sorts of people at the event. One of the most asked questions on the trip is “Where is your support Vehicle?” Well, this is what we do when that question is asked!

All of our support was loaded on our bikes. As we mentioned after we arrived in Knoxville, the items we brought for support and what we used is quite a different picture!

Thursday evening, my wife Carin and kids, Anthony and Nicholas flew into town to see what all this ruckus is all about.

After we picked them up we all went to the Honda Hula Hoot at the convention center to have a great time. There were a few thousand people in attendance and plenty of food and fun.

The folks from the HRCA ended the evening with a fantastic fireworks display. I learned how difficult it is to get good pictures during a fireworks show!

Friday morning we will be in the Hoot Expo Center handing out posters and talking Honda History to folks coming by.

On Saturday, we will wind down by riding in the Cycle World Concours. We'll be writing about those events and then will follow up with an epilog of our journey.

Stay tuned!