Sundays are great! Saturdays are good too, but they are usually spent taking care of all the things you couldn't get to during the workweek, such as fixing leaky faucets, cleaning out the garage, and taking care of yard maintenance. Sundays, however, are for relaxing and doing the things that you want to do, not the things you have to do. As motorcycle enthusiasts, it's easy to think that Sundays were invented just for us. I mean, what other day is perfect for jumping on your bike and just taking a ride with your friends for a few hours?
I had a particularly good Sunday a few weeks back - well, it actually started on Saturday. Saturday evening I called up one of my STREET CHOPPER cohorts, Ernie Lopez, to see what he was up to. Ernie mentioned that he was in the process of changing the oil on one of our test choppers because he was going to take a trip to Long Beach in the morning with some friends to attend the Long Beach Cycle Swap Meet. Ernie asked if I wanted to go, and I immediately said yes. The swap meet is held on Sundays about once a month. I had heard a lot about the swap meet, but with it being held every so often, I always seemed to miss the opportunity to go. As soon as I got off the phone with Ernie, I called up my neighbor Russ, who I ride with quite a bit, and asked him if he was interested in going. He was in the same situation I was - he had wanted to go, but had never been.
Early Sunday morning, Russ and I fueled up and headed out to Ernie's house. Upon our arrival, Ernie had two hot cups of coffee waiting to warm us from the brisk morning air. While we waited for Ernie's friend, James, to arrive, we laughed as we traded stories and checked out each other's bikes. Once James got there, we headed towards our destination with one last stop to pick up Ernie's other friend, Pat. When we got to Pat's house, he was having some bike trouble, but after a quick fix, we were on the road with pipes blasting.
Arriving at the swap meet was a much different feeling than riding into a rally. I had a hard time finding a parking spot because my eyes kept wandering to all the bikes and miscellaneous stuff that people were selling out of the back of their cars and trucks in the parking lot. Then, when we parked the bikes, I looked around and saw groups of people scattered throughout the bike parking lot, checking out other people's rides and jotting down phone numbers of bikes that were for sale. Just by taking a quick glance, it was obvious that choppers ruled the day. It seemed like everywhere I looked, there were choppers in every form and fashion all around.
Once we finally made our way into the swap meet, it was every man for himself. Being rookies at this event, Russ and I took our time as we perused through the aisles of vendors. As we checked out all the goods, I had to restrain myself, because I felt as though every vendor had something I needed. From new and used tools to motorcycle memorabilia, I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff there and the enthusiasm everyone had.
On the chopper side of things, all the bases were covered. I now know where to go if I ever need inspiration for that project chopper I have dreamed up in the back of my mind. I saw several trailer fenders that would be perfect showing off the rear whitewall of an old-school chopper, as well as a couple Springer frontends that were just waiting to be resurrected. There were also quite a few people selling new and used frames that were ready to be put to use. We also came across a few choppers or potential choppers in various stages of completion that were for sale.
After checking out everything there was to offer, we met up for one last time with the rest of the guys, then Russ and I jumped on our bikes and headed back to our neighborhood. While cruising back, traffic was unusually light for a Sunday afternoon, so we hit the throttles a little harder than usual. Unfortunately, while trying to stretch one more exit out of his gas tank, Russ' bike disagreed with the decision, and we ended up on the freeway shoulder. Luckily, we were close enough to our houses that we didn't have to wait too long while my wife brought us some fuel. However, while we waited, a guy in a pickup pulled over and offered some help. We thanked him for his offer and got to talking and discovered that he was also on his way home from the swap meet. Then, he showed us an old coffin-style gas tank that he picked up for a chopper project he was working on.
When we got back to our neighborhood, we went our separate ways. As I rolled into my garage and took off my gear, I looked at my watch for the first time since we left that morning. Let's just say it was much later than I had expected. At first I was bummed that my Sunday was practically gone, but then as I reflected on the events of the day and how much fun I had, I appreciated that particular Sunday so much more.