international motorcycle show...

took the opportunity to attend the international motorcycle show in washington this weekend... we usually attend the show in charlotte but they're not having it there this year. so, i dragged the family up to dc for the show.

with the parking situation in dc and the rain, we decided to take metro to the convention center. of course this thrilled my son because he likes train rides. he's been on the metro before but he was so young he doesn't remember. he was really looking forward to the transition from above ground to underground.

when we boarded the metro, i'd say at least seventy five percent of the passengers were heading to the motorcycle show. not hard to tell the ones heading to the show, wearing all sorts of motorcycle clothing, from hats, to shirts, to coats. if you didn't know where the convention center was, all you needed to do was follow the crowd. while on the ride to the convention center, we met a new friend who happens to be from our home town. we talked the whole ride and hung out together for a majority of the morning. looking forward to catching up with him again.

we tried to get to the show early, although we weren't trying to get there before the doors opened. when we did get there, the place was already packed.

as soon as we walked in progressive had a huge display and a slot car track. well, we couldn't pass up the chance to race before getting into the show...

then it was on to the show... seeing the bikes and talking to the people. first stop was the bike collection ad talking to someone from the vintage japanese motorcycle club... one guy had this beautiful restored honda. i spoke to him a while about the restoration and how i was hoping to one day be able to bring one or two back to life...

of course there were a couple vintage english bikes...

the highlight of the show was probably seeing the guys from the xdl championship series. we saw them last year at the show in charlotte and really enjoyed it. my son got a t-shirt and had the riders sign it. when we found out they were going to be at this show, he grabbed his shirt and brought it along. when the guys began their show, he held up the shirt and got a shout out from them. he was so thrilled.

after the show my son got some autographs for his shirt and also got an invitation to sit in the vip section for the next show.

and finally some bikes and other sites from the show...

that's about it. it was a great day and a great way to spend time with my wife and son...

ims 2013...

took my son to the international motorcycle show this weekend in charlotte and had a great time - lots to see, lots to do....

not estimating the time right, we got to the convention center about an hour early. that gave me time to give my son a lesson in picking out the right person that might want to buy the extra ticket i had since my wife couldn't come to the show. our challenge was to weed out the people that might want to buy the ticket from the vendors (easily identifiable by the name tags around their necks) and the people there for other events going on at the convention center. and do it discreetly enough not to get caught by security - especially since we were less that twenty feet from a sign saying selling discount tickets was prohibited.

now you would think picking out motorcyclist in a group of people would be easy. that might be the case if we were at a harley event. but this wasn't and neither was picking out someone to approach. in the end, i was able to unload the ticket with only the second person i talked to - guess that speaks volumes to my son's ability to evaluate and pick out people in a crowd. and it was a cool experience to share with him.

once we took care of that, it was time to check out the show. first order or business was to pick up some gifts from progressive and have my son take his picture with flo...

next was checking out the motogp bikes...

we wandered around a little and decided to stop at the ride for kids booth. at a recent event for the club i'm involved with, my son was tasked with passing out brochures for the triangle area ride for kids. we chatted with the volunteers, telling them that we're looking forward to helping out for the ride in may. when i was asked who we were volunteering with i told them the name of the club and our president's name. immediately they had nothing but praise for the work and support our president has given to the program. then my son was challenged by the triangle area coordinator to provide ideas for what might be entertaining for kids at the event. while my son came up with a few ideas on the stop, he took the challenge and is looking forward to providing input.

then it was on to a presentation by greg white. i've been a fan of greg's for a few years - since two wheel tuesday on speedtv. lately he's been instructing and working on his soon-to-be released web show greg's garage tv. his talk was very interesting, including discussions of rpm management and reducing danger. his talk about being able to downshift gears by slightly pulling in your clutch and letting your rpms rise and just tapping it into the lower gear was intriguing and something i may have to try. if his school ever comes near me, i'm definitely going to look into signing up. after his presentation, i took a few minutes to talk to introduce myself and talk to greg. our discussion turned into a possible opportunity for greg to get more programming for his new show and for us to get more exposure for the motorcycle safety program in north carolina. now that would be cool...

we did some more walking around and ran into the gieco gecko...

we checked out the xdl stunt show with aaron twite and josh borne. these guys are simply amazing. the skill, coordination and control of the bikes is incredible. i'll have to get the video i have uploaded... after the show, both riders took the time to talk to each of their fans and have their pictures taken. it's nice to see how grounded and appreciative these guys are...

and of course it wouldn't be a motorcycle show without motorcycles...

finally, some hopped up honda minibikes!! just wondering why they weren't in the show. and who rode them to the show?? what will be next??