TONIGHT 10:30 6 OF 7 PM THURSDAY AUG. 9, 2018 FREE 8:30 PM ® STURGISTURGISS RRIDERIDER DDAILYAILY DOn’T MISS 30th anniversary show happens today! • FIELD OF FLAGS • MULLET MADNESS CONTEST RAT’S HOLE CUSTOM BIKE SHOW his is the big one, folks! Big Daddy • VETERAN’S CHARITY Rat’s Grandaddy! Decades of history AUCTION have made the Rat’s Hole shows one Tthat simply can’t be equaled. It’s where gems are discovered, fresh talent is uncorked and STURGIS BUFFALo Chip’S careers are launched on meteoric trajectories. Just ask guys like Donnie Smith, Dave Pere- WOLFMAN JACK witz and Arlen Ness. When Big Daddy Rat STAGE Karl Smith established the Rat’s Hole Show in Daytona in 1973, he made it a showplace for TONIGHT custom craftsmanship. His son Ted has con- tinued that tradition. 10:30 PM And this year it’s even bigger: it’s the 30th KID ROCK anniversary of the Sturgis edition of the show, 8:30 PM marking three decades of wicked steeds and far-out parties. Expect a few anniversary sur- LITA FORD prises! 7:05 PM The revered bronze rat trophies SCATTERED HAMLET will be bestowed on the winners in 16 classes as usual, plus best What: 2018 Rat’s Hole Custom of show includes a trip for two TOMORROW to Switzerland for the renowned Bike Show 10:30 PM Swiss-Custom Customizing and When: Thursday, August 9 JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF Tuning Show. Registration: Online or before And from the celebrity judges 8:30 PM 10:00 a.m. of History’s “Counting Cars,” Tattoo Show: 2:00 p.m. YELAWOLF Ryan, the show’s pinstriper, cre- ated a special one-off award. The Judging & Public Display: 7:05 PM Count’s crew will be on hand to 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. TED Z & THE WRANGLERS hang out, talk shop, and mingle Awards 5:00 PM like the gearheads they are. Buffalo Chip STURGIS WEATHER Where: Of course, Rat’s Hole is more CrossRoads Thurs 8/9 Fri 8/10 than a bike show. It’s a celebra- tion of the chopper and custom scene and it’s perfectly placed at the Chip CrossRoads. The Rat’s Hole free tattoo show and Black Hills Bagger Show- 88/66 92/68 down, two shows within the show, go down at the same time. Sunny Sunny So whatever kind of machine gets you going, roll in to see the best customs of the Rally Courtesy of weather.com at the Rat’s Hole and celebrate their 30th anniversary. ratshole.com. PAGE 2 STURGIS RIDER DAILY THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018 THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018 STURGIS RIDER DAILY PAGE 3 SHOWCASE STAGES Instigated by stealth Street Drags with Crazy John THURSDAY, AUGUST 9TH BIKINI BEACH STAGE 1PM ......................... Head Banging Contest MAA BUILDER SKEETER TODD RIPPIN’ GOOD FUN 1:30PM ..................... Beer & Burps Contest otorcycles As Art is the Buffalo Chip’s 2PM ...................... Whipped Cream Contest prestigious custom motorcycle & art 2:30PM ....................... Rope Swing Contest exhibition, curated by photographer MichaelM Lichter. This year’s theme, “Passion Built” 3PM ...............................Karaoke Fight Club 3:30PM ..........................Slip ‘N’ Slide Relay focuses on people who don’t build custom bikes for 4PM ......................... Frozen T-Shirt Contest a living, they build for the love of the subject. A 4:30PM .....................Ice Cold Jorts Contest longtime fabricator and mechanic, Skeeter Todd 5PM ....................Homemade Bikini Contest could be the poster child for the theme. 5:30PM ...........Homemade Mankini Contest 6PM ...........................Pickle Lickin’ Contest “I’ve been doing this probably longer than any- 6:30PM ........ Air Sex World Championships one else on the list,” said Skeeter Todd when we Midnight .............Live Music: The Hawkeyes talked in mid-June. And even if I didn’t already know that was true, it was starkly evident for this KINISON STAGE reason: Skeeter’s bike was all but complete, weeks 6PM .............................School of Burlesque ahead of schedule. 7:55 PM ...........................Buffalo Dreamers Motorcycle people know Skeeter from his stints 9:55PM ............................Buffalo Dreamers at Rolling Thunder frames, Orange County Chop- 10PM ..................................The Flaunt Girls pers, and NEMPCO (Google that!) but Skeeter Midnight ................Ted Z and the Wranglers never made bike building his business; it has been n the heyday of grassroots street drag racing, the setup was simple: run what ya brung, trash talk your and remains his pleasure. “It’s different when you rivals, winner takes all. It was in this spirit, with a ton of fun tossed in, that yesterday’s Street Drag ROADHOUSE STAGE have no customers,” he said. “I’m just here hav- Invitational with Crazy John was run in the Chip amphitheater. ing fun in the woods!” There’s no stress, either, so ISooty fumes filled the air on an already sizzling, sunny day; an excellent day to smoke the compe- 10PM, Midnight Live Music: Charlie Brechtel you have to be driven from within. “When it’s not get out the smart phone flashlight, he knows he’s I hate it. It’s tough to hide the sensors and wires tition. And when the smoke cleared, performance proved key. Pipes Gilliland, Brock Davidson and JVC CROSSROADS STAGE a business, when you’re on your own motivation, got them. so I worked all that into an industrial theme. I did Dustin Markwald ruled the strip! Noon ..................... Mullet Madness Contest ingenuity and creativity, it’s all out of your own The bike he built for Motorcycles As Art is FXR- everything else I could in carbon fiber: the wheels, But everybody won, really, said Crazy John. “The bikes were all running well. Once we got some rub- 1:30PM .....................Live Music: Big Skillet being,” he said. style—a.k.a. Skeeter-style. There’s not a lot of frills, body panels and more. And I used some metric ber down, the track got faster and faster. It was a free for all! 50 bikes registered and everybody ran hard.” 3PM ............................Freedom Celebration And Skeeter’s motivation over many years can it’s heavy on street attitude, and the neat stuff is all stuff because it’s lightweight and efficient.” 4:30PM ........ Live Music: Crossroad station best be described as maintaining stealth. Seldom hidden. “If you find it easy, then it’s not well done,” Then we get back to motivation. Why build such 6:30PM ....................... Biker Games Hosted flashy but always remarkable, Skeeter’s designs he says. a light, slight motorcycle with all that power? He by Tumbleweed make the complicated appear very simple indeed, “It’s not an FXR—it’s a figment,” he said, then explained, “I built the bike I was lusting after when though he’ll tell you it’s all simple. explained: he drew up the frame and sent it to Roll- I was 20. I would have given anything for a motor- He figures there are two kinds of people who ing Thunder to be built. Then he had Brock make cycle like this back when I was TT’ing.” SHIP TO THE CHIP Tell us what you love aboutLet’s spending the Connect! Sturgis Motorcycle Rally at the Buffalo Chip. Or CROSSROADS EVENTS 7–11AM ..................Free Pancake Breakfast look at his bikes: those who get it and those who the swingarm from a design he’d massaged years o matter how much a cross-country JM Logistics PA shoot us a picture and show us how your rally adventure is playing out. We may print your words 9–10AM ............CrossFit at the CrossRoads don’t. When people give a casual glance and walk ago. The bike has an S&S 145” engine, 180 rear See Motorcycles As Art: Passion Built in the Buffalo road trip beckons, it’s not always fea- jmlogisticspa.com or photos in the Sturgis Rider Daily! 9–3PM .............................Blade Aces Axe & by, who needs them. But he delights in watching tire and stainless exhaust by Greg Dahl. “It has as Chip Event Center. Enter free at the EAST gate. Chip sible. Enter companies such as Daily 267-538-6466 Text: 828-205-8482 • Email: [email protected] people do double takes, come back and look more much engine as I could put in it,” he said. campers can enter through the amphitheater. Daily 2 - NDirect/Haul Bikes and JM Logistics PA. Letters to the Editor: [email protected] Knife Throwing Championship 9AM–6PM ..............Miss Buffalo Chip Bikini closely, then stoop down to peek under. When they Other considerations: “I love fuel injection but 10 p.m. August 4-10. Admission is FREE. These two firms transport all of the dynamic Where’s Woody? Scan every issue to find Woody then head to the Chip Daily Direct/Haul Bikes Bike Wash custom bikes in the Buffalo Chip’s Motorcycles Chamber of Commerce to collect your prize. First three finders win! 9AM–6PM ...................... BMW Demo Rides As Art exhibition again this year. They can help haulbikes.com/ 10–5PM .....................Rat’s Hole Bike Show Grab a deal! you, too, when you want to ride your own bike 1-888-HAULBIKES 11:30–Noon ..... Ives Brothers Wall of Death at the rally but can’t afford the time to pilot it ® 11:30–Noon ......... Stunt Show: Clint Ewing there yourself. SHOPPING AT THE CROssROADS JM Logistics PA runs a “Sturgis Express,” an STURGIS RIDER DAILY Noon–1:30PM .....Live Music: Pat Terranova Co-Publishers Editor Advertising Sales Design & Prepress 1–1:30PM ........ Ives Brothers Wall of Death on’t head back home on suspect tires. loaner bikes on hand for your use—FREE—while east-coast-to-Sturgis service that gets your bike to Continental Tires has a deal for you: Buy your tires are installed.