As is my custom, I was early and therefore, one of the first ones there. The Blind Lizard Club was still setting up their tents, the free chili, lemonade and water; the narrow brick streets empty and still quiet.
The first 3 with the food stand and center of activities beyond......
Our friend Jack's Honda, he with his back to us directly beyond the bike. Jack rode one of these to Sturgis from Minneapolis and back again.
Scott, one of our VJMC members showed up with his dog, taking one of the few parking spaces where his ensemble could fit.
Harvey's BSA, Pam's Yamaha.....
The tree-lined, picket fenced neighborhood...
Pins made from melted Honda pistons, or so the story goes.....I got mine a couple of years ago.
One way to look at it......
I wasn't quite this dapper, in fact, I'm never quite this dapper. Pam was discussing something very important with him.
Commerce on one side of the street.....
Mike and his wife Colleen have 100 lapel pins made up every year for the event and sell them street-side for $5 each. Mike comes up with a new design each year (creates ongoing demand). Colleen has them in a cigar box and 'markets' them along the sidewalk until they're gone. Every year, folks seek out the 'Pin Lady' to take advantage of the limited supply.
Regarding that Special Presentation mentioned earlier, unknown to Colleen, last fall, hubby Mike found a beat up old 1958 Lambretta in a garden shed.
All winter and up until just a few days ago, Mike along with a huge amount of help from Bob as well as others, put the finishing touches on the scooter to present it as a surprise to Colleen at the Lizard.
Mike got a friend, another Mike, someone that knows Lambretta's better than the rest of us and whom offered much help as well, to ride the scooter in, park it next to Colleen and present it to her while the rest of us filmed and took photos. She was selling pins and it was very obvious that she had no clue what her dear partner had been up to over the last few months. It was tough because more than one of us almost let the cat out of the bag since we were all busy asking, offering help, checking on the status and so on.
Colleen knows this Mike and only upon hearing it more than once and checking out the personal license plate on the back did it soak in that she's now a scooter owner.
Note the large Wind-up Key on the back, it was actually turning via an electric motor as the scooter made its entrance.
Colleen had to get back to business and continue her marketing of pins.
One of Chip's fantastic Suzuki collection.......
Minneapolis downtown skyline....
