Summer Bike Fest in Carlisle Pennsylvania started off rainy with a downpour late in the afternoon on Friday, July 23rd, but Saturday turned out to be amazing! Not only did the sun come out, but so did an estimated 56,000 bike fans. This event broke records for the Carlisle Fair Grounds, and we think it may have a little something to do with the Orange County Choppers gang. Rumor had it that the Carlisle Fair Grounds forked out 100K for them to attend, but there is no doubt they made it all back by Saturday.

     Paul Sr. and the guys spent most of Saturday signing their names on everything and anything their fans put in front of them. At one point there was a six-hour wait, just for a signature - crazy! The traffic was so bad it backed up Interstate 81 for nine miles! All this for the O.C.C.!

     Back to the bikes... The machines on the grounds were insane! You could find anything from the bare essential Harley to a four wheel Hyabusa. There was so much to see and special events were happening all over. Behind the P&OM Garage booth was the auctioneer pavilion, and we listened to them sell bikes at incredibly low prices. To the right of us was a trailer where anyone could test their bikes' RPM's and many hours of the weekend we also heard powerful engines being pushed to their limit. -awesome- Directly ahead of us was the O.C.C. tent. By mid-Saturday afternoon the line actually met the end of the street where our booth was set up.

     Contests to attend and enter.... Well there is always a beauty contest at these events and this one was no exception. Lucky for me I got to cover this particular contest! The girl who took home the title of Miss Carlisle was a gorgeous Delaware hottie named Nicole Iacono. Of course it was her answers to the terribly difficult questions that gave her the win. Despite her wit, she seemed to have the crowds' vote the moment she stepped onto the stage. Check out the pictures if you want to see why!

     Carlisle Summer Bike Fest also held a Custom Builders Competition. The winners were Rod Jones and Ed Kerr of Jonesy's Custom Cycles in Carlisle, PA. The Burn Out competition was won by Bill Foster of Hanover, PA; he was also awarded $500.00 from Koupe's Cycle Shop.

     Those of you that weren't present for the announcement of the winning tickets may be interested to know that Lea Gable of Elizabethville, PA was the winner of the 2004 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6RR given away on Saturday. On Sunday Todd Burrows from Muncy, PA took home a 2004 Harley Davidson FXDI Dyna Super Glide Injected. Thank you to Appalachian Harley Davidson for the Harley and to Koupe's Cycle Shop for the Kawasaki.

     Shows to see and things to do...... Aside from all the competing there were plenty of other exciting things to see and do. Michael Lichter, well known for his talent in photographing motorcycles, held seminars throughout the weekend. He explained the stories behind each unique picture and if you were paying attention there's a good chance you learned a little about how to get good shots of a bike.

     The owners of Cumberland Valley Harley hosted an auction to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association and a job well done for raising a total of $1,871.00. Many of the items were Harley related, from apparel to accessories, and were donated by Appalachian Harley Davidson out of New Kingston, PA.

     Buell supplied the equipment to test your own bikes' horsepower. BattleTrax provided a course for all ages to safely test out different types of motorcycles, which was fun for the kids and entertaining for everyone.

     Another exciting event was the Starboyz Stunt Riders show. If you love to see someone just beat the piss out of a few thousand dollar bike, this is the show for you! They showed off their talent by speeding up to 100 miles per hour then stopping just on their front tire inches away from a block wall. After several tricks one guy decided to trash his bike by blowing out the back tire and then finishing it off by spinning out until there was nothing left! Another rider actually laid the bike over and using one hand he hammered the throttle until the bike spun upright. After a few moments of swinging the bike around in circles by the handle bar, he tossed it to the wall like a pile of garbage! These guys are mental, but very entertaining!

     No matter how involved you may have been with all the activities going on, there was really no resisting the food. Buckets of fries and spicy hot sausages filled the stomachs of some 50,000 people. It was a great show, with lots to see and do and everyone at P&OM Garage had a good time! We thank the Carlisle Fair Grounds for having us! Whether you made it to the show or not, you definitely won't want to miss it next year. It has already been scheduled, put it on the calendar for July 22-24, 2005!