Second Annual Iron Horse Trail Motorcycle Show

Rockin' the Red Horse

Kittitas County ABATE promotes Motorcycle Awareness Month

By beryl nitrate

Originally published in the June 2010 issue of ThunderPress Magazine. Reprinted with permisson.

Custom bike class parked in front of the Red Horse Diner

Ellensburg, WA, May 2 – Spring riding season in central Washington started with the thunder of motorcycles rolling into Ellensburg for the second annual Iron Horse Trail Motorcycle Show. Hundreds of motorcycles and thousands of guests showed up to raise awareness of motorcyclists on the roads and to have a good time. Bikes, dancers, live music, vendors, and a stunt performance kept the Red Horse Diner hopping all day long.

For the early risers, Red Horse Diner was serving breakfast while the ABATE crew were setting up and registering vendors. Transforming the 2-acre site from restaurant and used car lot to a motorcycle event begins Friday afternoon, with moving fences for the beer garden, and finishes up early Sunday morning before the guests start arriving about 9. Vendor canopies, band stages, and show category signs sprouted like mushrooms after a rain.

The event is located at the Red Horse Diner, a 1930s Mobil Oil gas station that has been restored as a Route 66-style diner. Vintage gas station, motorcycle, and automotive signs adorn the walls, and a red neon Mobil Pegasus lights the roof. The artwork and memorabilia that owner Bruce Crossett has collected over the years are scattered indoors and out along the entire property, providing a year-round escape into a world of fast motors, hot bikes, and muscle cars. Bright white walls with red trim and black-and-white linoleum flooring complete the crisp retro look. The menu item names carry through the motor theme, with favorites such as the Panhead, the Knucklehead, and the Woody Wagon burgers. It’s the perfect setting to stroll around and look at chrome and iron and sip a milkshake or a cold beer in the beer garden.

The Seattle Cossacks have standing room only for this trick on two bikes

Well before the announced registration opening of 10 AM, there was a line of bikers waiting to register. Jeff and Debby scrambled to keep the line moving, and soon had a steady pace for processing the riders. The ABATE Chapter booth was conveniently located behind the registration booth, with raffle tickets, t-shirts, and pins for sale. Kittitas County Chapter, ABATE of Washington, presents the show to promote Motorcycle Awareness month and to raise funds for Kittitas County Chapter of American Red Cross. According to one member, “May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and we are making Ellensburg and Kittitas County aware.”

Time Warp 3 livened up the morning with classic rock tunes on stage while the riders were registering. Jeff did give Debby the slip, and joined the ABATE motocade escort to pick up the dancers from Grants Pizza a mile away and across from the Central Washington University campus. Eight bikes arrived to pick up six dancers, and Caleb and Mike went along to road guard. After the dancers received a quick safety lecture and a helmet, the girls hopped onto the back of the bikes for the ride back to the show. Rich and Buck were smiling as they led the motocade for the grand entrance through the gas pump breezeway. Throughout the day, the Grant Girls Dancers wowed the crowd with their precision line dancing in chaps, blue jeans, and bike show tank tops, and they presented the trophies to the lucky winners.

What bike event is complete without dogs, strollers, and ice cream? In a sea of black leather and chrome, the four-legged friends and the kids in strollers stand out. On this chilly spring day, the ice cream also stood out. ABATE was selling Winegar’s ice cream for $1 per scoop. The best gourmet ices cream in the world comes from Winegars, and the Winegar family is a generous supporter of the Iron Horse Trail Motorcycle Show.

Mr. E took the stage about noon and played for the rest of the day (except during the Cossacks performance). Bret on lead guitar and Lisa on vocals are ABATE members, and share their music and love of riding with the chapter.

The Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt Drill Team arrived on site through the gas pump breezeway at noon. After sweeping through the performance area a couple of times, the riders mingled with the crowds until their 1 pm performance of truly amazing unbelievable feats of skill, daring, and control on vintage Harley-Davidsons. If you have seen the Seattle Cossacks perform, then you understand that words cannot adequately describe the way that they pile six or seven or maybe even a dozen riders on two or more bikes and climb on each other and lay sideways almost touching the ground – all while the bikes are moving in graceful circuits of the arena. And the tower they make with four bikes at the bottom and every available man in a Cossacks uniform joins the pyramid that reaches three levels high. I am not making this up, honestly. Kittitas ABATE has a video from last year on YouTube to prove it, and soon enough, the local cable station Channel 2 will be broadcasting the performance from this year.

The youngest bike in the Seattle Cossacks collection is a 1949. Each rider owns and maintains their own bike. Most of the bikes did not join the team in pristine condition. Several of them were restored choppers or basket cases that required a lot of swap meets and patience to bring back to original condition. Together, the guys keep the bikes going, and they keep them all painted to match. There are slight differences from bike to bike, and the Seattle Cossacks are always willing to answer your questions about the bikes or the stunts at the end of the performance.

The crowds thinned out after the stunt performance, and the music wound down when it came time to announce the show winners. Buck Kelley introduced the Grants Girls Dancers again, and together they announced the raffle winners and the trophy competition winners.

The weather had been cool and windy all day, and attendance was down from the previous year. According to Joe Hill, Bike Show Committee Chairman, “a lot of people worked hard to make this happen. It’s a shame that a little bit of wind and cool weather kept some people at home.” Even so, riders from Olympia to Spokane and Oregon had shared the day with Kittitas ABATE and the Crossett family. Good food, live music, live bike stunts, beautiful and rare show bikes, pretty girls, and friendly locals – what more could you ask for to open the season?

The bike show committee is already discussing improvements for next year, including camping on the lawn at the Red Horse. Thanks to Kittitas County ABATE and their sponsors for all the hard work: Faye, Brian 1, Brian 2, Brian 3, Marie, Jeff, Jeff, Joe, Yvonne, Rich, Buck, Jack, Laurie, Mike, Mark, Alisha, Jason, Todd, Stix, and the Red Cross volunteers. Thanks to Bruce, Lori, Nicole, and Breanna for hosting the event and helping with the planning.