[Snap shot of our banner which employed Scott Toepfer's photo from the It's Better In The Wind Project]
When Rev. Jim Goodrich told Herm and I (Jason) that we really had no idea what we were getting into when we said we thought we were ready to have our grand opening we honestly didn’t know what he meant. Thoughts of people doing burnouts, the cops getting called and brawls taking place in streets just like Brighton Bay filled our minds. Oh the horror! Fast forward to after our event which took place on May 14th and we now know what he meant. It had nothing to do with bikers foaming at the mouth gnashing at one another…rather the overwhelming acceptance of our “different” way of doing things and what it is to live and be part of, cafe racer culture.
That said, we want to thank the most important person throughout all of this. You. That’s right, the guy/gal sitting on the other side of the screen right now reading this BLOG post. Without you and your support and belief in what The Wing’d Piston stands for Herm and I would not be able to do what we do every day. You say we inspire you well, you inspire us…and thus is displayed the beauty of what we can all accomplish together!
And for those of you that are local, an extra twist of the throttle goes out! You braved wind, water and the washing away of band equipment and despite the elements trying to shut things down, you stuck it out, with us, and made the Dime City Cycles grand opening a fantastic event that will hopefully go down in the history books as one of the best gatherings of legit vintage speed machines to ever take place in Florida. We had everything from a 37 Knuckle to a one-off hand-made factory works MV Augusta! Where else has that ever happened in Florida? You guys and gals rock and we are forever in debt to you for all that you do to help us keep the dream alive.
[Louise and Chris Dutton from Vintage-Rider.com braving the rain]
[One of the Miss Dime City USA Pageant Contestants and the stunning MV Augusta that was brought out]
We would also like to thank Rev. Jim Goodrich, Terry Hopkins, Zane Kuhle, the entire team from Preachers Motorcycle Promotions and Winters and Yonkers. Rev. Jim was instrumental in guiding Herm and I through the process of planning a proper grand opening. Spending countless hours managing tasks that really didn’t even belong to him, Rev. Jim took charge and made the event one to remember. All the way down to driving around and physically putting fliers in peoples hands, Rev. Jim was there every step of the way. Guys, you’re the best- there’s no way we could have done this without your help! Your fresh ideas, involvement in the process, financial investments and authentic interest in what we’re all about made the event what it was. Bruce, you’re the man! Thank you!
[Rev. Jim doing what he does spreading the word]
Next we would like to thank all of the vendors that took the time to come out and share their products and services with the event attendees. We had (in no particular order) the crew from Lowside Magazine who rode over 1,000 miles to partake in the event, Rusty Knuckles out of North Carolina and Loser Machine Co. out of Los Angeles to name a few that came from a distance! Locally, we of course had the entire team from St. Pete Powersports onsite with some awesome new Triumphs, we had On The Trashy Side and Pin Up America promoting classy pin up clothing and the lifestyle as well as the rockin’ Dive Bar Stalkers who drown out the storm with some killer rock-a-billy tunes!
[Debbie Fitch, Dan and Rich from Lowside enjoying a reprieve from MD's weather]
[Ralph Miller from Rusty Knuckles and Soda Pop from Pin Up America discussing rock n' roll]
[The Dive Bar Stalkers doin' what they do]
Folks, it’s important to know that these guys all come out for you and without their financial and back-breaking support prior to and during the event, we wouldn’t have been able to create such a unique and diverse offering for everyone to enjoy. Give it up for them and the next time you need a helmet, motorcycle, some rad pin up digs for your lady friend or an awesome band look ‘em up, first. They’ll appreciate it and so will we!
[Another lovely contestant in the Miss Dime City USA Pin Up Pageant]
Shifting gears and getting closer to the ton, we would like to thank the staff of Cafe Racer TV as well as Mark and Linda Wilsmore from the Ace in London. The involvement of their brands was instrumental to the success and “air” of the event throughout the day. The crew of Cafe Racer TV truly does believe in and love cafe culture, they’re not guns for hire shooting from the hip to collect a bounty. These guys spend over half the year away from their families on the road staying in hotels living out of their suit cases to bring real quality motorcycle content to your TV screens, (and soon computers) so give it up for them. They’re the real deal and deserve some applause! Season 2 begins soon and it’s guaranteed to one hell of a ride!
[From left to right; Ed Caughlin, Producer Cafe Racer TV, Mark Wilsmore, Ace Cafe London, Alain Bernard, Santiago Choppers]
As for Mark and his fantastic wife Linda who came all the way from London, what can we say? Having them here for our event with the mini-Ace Cafe setup serving coffee, tea and beer was such a delight. Just listening to Mark talk of days gone by in London where Rockers and their vintage speed machines ruled the streets left us speechless. To be able to ride next to Mark through and around gorgeous Clearwater Beach with him at the front of the pack on a brand new Triumph Thruxton, now that was amazing! After the ride, and during the event to share in laughs and moments that will be imprinted in our memories forever, that made the days happenings EPIC.
We can only hope that as time goes on and Americans adopt cafe culture that it’s kept as close to the roots as possible and that we can continue bring a smile to Marks face. Even if it be an old joke about Johnny Kidd vs. Johnny Cash… Mark, you’re the best sir. We thank you from the bottom of our petrol burning souls!
[Mark Wilsmore leading the morning ride from Dime City out to Clearwater Beach]
Last and most definitely not least I’d like to take a quick moment to note all the awesome photographers who were on-site the day of the eventsnapping away despite the wet camera damaging rains that we started off with. Without them capturing all the images you’ve seen above and here at THIS LINK there would be no way to share and re-cap the event.
We’d like to thanks Debbie Fitch, Chuck Carroll, Doug Barber aka: Q-Ball, Vickie Smith from Ducati.net, Zane Kuhle from Preachers and Staci Hocket. All of your images were stellar! Please click this link for the “Best Of” photo gallery being hosted on our Facebook Page and click their names above for their full albums (1,000+ pics.) And, if you’re ever in need of professional photography give one of them a call, it’s how they make their livings and we know they’d appreciate the opportunity.
[Devon's awesome So Cal style v-twin bobber from Sake Bomb in St. Pete]
As for us and what we feel about the event? The feedback from the community has been fantastic and that’s all the matters. From what we gather you all loved the diverse showing of bikes and the prizes for those who entered the legit vintage bike show, having The Ace onsite was super-cool and something no one expected and everyone loved, the Miss Dime City USA Pin Up Pageant. Which would NOT have been possible without the support of St. Pete Power Sports and their gracious GM, Donny Wilson. Donny shares the vision with Dime City and we were proud to have them as the main sponsor of the Pageant. More on that soon, Miss Dime City is getting doll’d up and heading to her first photoshoot soon and will be making an open request for vintage bikes in Tampa Bay to be part of her new calendar! Stay tuned for more details on that!
[The gorgeous ladies of the Miss Dime City USA Pin Up Pageant]
We’re glad everyone enjoyed the afternoon and evening as much as we did and we feel both honored and privileged to have hosted for such a ground breaking event. We look forward to seeing all of you again next year for another big bash…
Ride fast. Live well.
The DCC Crew
