I thought I would pass on a true story that happened to me last fall.

During the summer and fall here in South West Ohio there are numerous festivals and events going on every weekend. Well, while riding one evening I passed through a small community that was having a pretty good sized festival. They even had a large stage set up with a killer band playing. There were plenty of food and drink booths and quite a large crowd checking out the sites and events.

The thing looked interesting so I thought I would stop in and check it out, grab a bit to eat and drink and enjoy the sites and tunes. The only problem was the event was being held in the city park and parking for the event was quite a few blocks away. Being the non energetic type who hates walking blocks on end just to get to an event I scoped out an entrance with a big sign that said "Bike Entrance Only". With a bit more investigation I noticed many bikes parked right on the grounds of the event. BINGO! No walking. Life is good or so I thought.

I pulled the ole Sabre up to the entrance and two of the cities finest stopped me and told me that the entrance was for the bike show participants only and I would have to park way over in BFE land.  Being quick on my feet I proudly said that I was entering my bike in the Bike Show. The two cops actually laughed out loud and finally let me enter the grounds.

I pulled up to the rest of the motorcycles and parked the Sabre. I have to admit there were some great custom bikes there and the ole Sabre did look a bit out of place but what the heck. I was just a few steps away from the food and drinks and the band was about to begin playing again. I got off of the bike and started walking to the food booth when a man stopped me and said the entry fee was $10.00 and he would be taking my money. I asked what the fee would be going for and he told me all proceeds would be going to the local Childrens Hospital. How can one not donate to Childrens Hospital? I gave the man my $10.00 and filled out an entry form. Once finished I took a few moments to check out all the great bikes.  In the background I could hear a few comments and snickers concerning my Honda but I just acted as if I did not hear them and then headed toward the food and drinks.

Once I had my meal in hand I got me a good seat at the stage and sat down and enjoyed the food and music. The sites were not bad either if you know what I mean.....

I sat there for about 30 minutes listening to the local band and let me tell you they were a great show. They had an intermission and a lady came out on stage and grabbed the microphone and began to announce the winners of the bike show. She announced the winners of few catagories and the winners walked up and crossed the stage to get their little trophies. I along with the rest of the crowd gave applause.

Then with only two catagories remaining and those two catagories had the largest trophies on the table. The lady grabbed one of the large trophies and called out the catagory. "Best of Show Stock Metric Cycle" and then announced my Name and then announced the bike as an 07 Honda Shadow Sabre. I went up on stage grabbed my prize. When I left the event I made sure that the two cops that laughed at me when I entered the event saw the trophy as I left the event. The looks on thier faces were to say the least priceless.

So, it turned out to be a pretty good night. I did not have to walk, I supported the local Childrens Hospital, had some great food, enjoyed some great music, and took home a prize.

So in closing. Never under estimate the Metric bike........