We take you inside the metro’s bike nights and other motorcycle events

By Amber Williams

I have a plump, purple Harley that vibrates me awake. I ride it only on special occasions and only in my dreams. But I’d like to think those are the premonitory kind, and one day I will ride that dream machine in real life (despite a lifetime of threats and warnings from my elders that a “wild child” like me should never get on a motorcycle). Until then, I remain a scavenger biker babe, waiting for my next opportunity to hop on back.

I love them all. And for a backseat biker like me, bike nights at the local bars are where it’s at — a crop of chrome and leather waiting to be raked. I slide up next to a bike that calls to me, run my reverent fingertips lightly down the tank, look up at its owner (who never wanders too far from his steed), and with sincere admiration I ask, “Is she yours?”

That’s how I met Katey Gardner. I first spotted her reflection in the chrome primary cover as she came up from behind me like a protective mother — protective over her bike, not me.

“It’s a ’99 Indian Streetburner with an S&S motor,” she informed me.

Gardner grew up on motorcycles, starting with a Honda 50 her dad bought her.

“He said if I can learn to ride a dirt bike on sand, I could learn to ride anything,” she said. “I have a crotch rocket, too, and an old-school Harley — a ’71 Ironhead. Crotch rockets are different when you’re riding in a group. Harleys are more laid back and tight-grouped, riding two and two and two. They stay together. Crotch rockets are more independent, and the guys like to do tricks. They’re mostly younger kids, and it’s just riskier riding with them.

“My crotch rocket makes me feel sexy, though — Bam!” she laughed, popping her ass up as if she was riding. “You got your G-string on, and it looks sexy. That’s why I like it.”

Crotch rocket or not, Gardner has sexy down to a science no matter which bike she’s riding. And the fact that she’s female, or even that she sometimes likes to ride her non-Harley model, doesn’t prevent her from being one of the guys. Most of the bikers I talked to said they don’t discriminate against rice burners. “Them dudes gotta have something to ride,” one snickered.

Katey Gardner bought her Indian Streetburner from a fellow biker in Centerville who was desperate for money three days before Christmas. He died a few days later, so she remembers him every time she rides, she said.

They all say they don’t discriminate, but rather “give a little hell” to the guys on the Japanese models. But at the rallies and the bike nights, an invisible line is drawn in the parking lot much like the one drawn between a brother and sister in the backseat of a car on a long road trip: You stay on your side, and I’ll stay on mine.

“I had a guy ask me once, ‘How do you approach a girl who’s on a Harley?’ ” Gardner said.

Her answer: “You gotta have a Harley, too,” she smirked, but the name brand model is less important than the code by which the biker clan follows — riding in pairs, for example, even if the two bikers aren’t travelling together, and the one-finger-pointed-to-the-road exclusive wave they give to each other as they pass on the roadways. It is a show of mutual respect.

Gardner was raised on the code. On a Tuesday night, you’ll find her rendezvousing with a tribe of biker friends at Ron’s Dawg House on the east side before parading in pairs down University Avenue to the “Gathering on the Grounds” at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Gathering at the Grounds

This is the spot. That sweet, sexy spot where bikers, babes and gearheads gather like a gaggle to gossip about engines, models, makes, custom jobs, great deals they scored and anything you can think up with regard to bikes or cars, as the Gathering includes both, every Thursday night at the Midway.

A clan of riders gather at Ron’s Dawg House on Tuesday nights before heading to Gathering at the Grounds at the fairgrounds. Pictured: Katey Gardner (far right); Kristy Stoneburner on her ‘85 Harley Sportster; Andy Hall on an 883 Harley Sportster; Brian Potter rides an ‘02 Honda Shadow; and Randy Arndt on the Harley Roadglide.

One old-timer had a bike almost his same age that he’s had “through five wives,” he said, a robin egg blue 1957 Harley Davidson that’s in pretty good shape considering the miles. Another Harley rider, Clem Vestal, has had so many bikes it would take the rest of this page to list them all, but last Tuesday night he rode out on his 127-cubic-inch L.A. Chopper 290 (purple, just like in my dreams).

“I never thought I’d own a purple bike. Never really liked the color, but I love this bike,” he said. “I got into a big fight in Conesville (the dirty old man of bike rallies in Iowa), and all I know is I wanted that bike. I wanted that bike, and two years later I saw it at a car lot and bought it for $9,000.

“I’m going to turn this into my memorial bike,” he said.

The first of the memorial bike’s members is depicted on the back fender: a Harley-Davidson logo bearing the name “Shalan-Ray,” a fallen comrade of the biker clan — the fatal first of many who live to ride and die trying — along with the signature “515 Forever.”

“All of our fundraisers and benefits have 515 on them. It stands for Iowa,” he explained.

Although they may seem like hardened outlaws (and a few of them are), nowadays the biker culture has a softer side. Despite the traditional reputation of infamy, that rebellious-outlaw-terrorist image has changed over the years as the demographic of riders has transformed to what some east side riders affectionately call “the penny-loafer bikers.”

The softer side of a softail

While pop culture influences from TV and movies, such as FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” and even the classic bar-dancing biker scene from “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” continue to tout bikers as the contrary, in reality, most are retirees, veterans, American Legionnaires, yuppies and aristocrats, and “it’s been that way for the last 30 years,” according to Patriot Cycles co-owner Steve Turpen.

Clem Vestal plans to turn his L.A. Chopper into a memorial bike in honor of his fallen fellow riders. Vestal is credited for his focus on charitable efforts throughout the metro as a key motorcycle event organizer.

“Harleys run anywhere from $2,500 to $150,000. You can’t be some bum on the streets to own one,” Turpen said. “You still have a few groups around that are a little tough, but most people who ride nowadays have a six-digit income.”

And, it’s “the caliber of the people” who have transformed the image into one of charity, fellowship and community, he said.

“Bikers are very giving, and most have money,” Turpen said. “They enjoy weekend riding, getting away from their jobs, and it’s a relaxing thing to do. That’s why so many out there are doing it. The people are just phenomenal.”

Although the image has changed, the spirit of the motorcyclist is timeless. The kinship that exists among a tight group of bikers is as undeniable as the intimacy between two lovers who cruise the scene on a shared pair of wheels, like the couples I met while visiting Trophy’s Bike Night last Tuesday.

“She talked me into buying it,” said Steve McLaughlin nudging his girlfriend, Carol. McLaughlin might be mocked as one of those “penny-loafers” by the east side boys, but he doesn’t care. At least his 2003 Heritage Softail is “U.S.A-made.”

“If you’re going to get on one, it might as well be the best,” he said. McLaughlin is a safety specialist for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, but he’s also a free spirit, and that’s why his girlfriend, a business analyst for Iowa Health, likes him.

They’ve travelled the country on that bike together, “anywhere along the Mississippi River,” and they’ve made a flock of bike night friends at Trophy’s and Indianola Bike Night and have recently been branching out to the new Krazee Kafe Bike Night, but that’s as crazy as they’re going to get, McLaughlin admitted.

It seems the farther east you travel in the biker scene, the crazier the crowds get. Krazee Kafe is the middle of the road between the business bikers and the badass bikers. Continue on to the fairgrounds, and you’ll find a few of the latter, such as the El Forestaros, a proud east side biker club that invited me to be one of their “bitches” the night I met a few of them on the Midway.

“We’re the 1 percent — the only 1 percent club in Des Moines,” said club member Billy Witter. “The El Forestaros have been on the east side all our lives. Any biker on the east side wants to be an El Forestero,” which has 12 local members, he said.

But you don’t have to be an official affiliate like the Chopper-riding El Forestaros to be accepted into the tribe. You don’t have to ride a Harley or even an American model motorcycle, and you don’t have to be a native east-sider. A genuine appreciation for motorcycles is often enough, at least, that was the case for me at Ron’s Dawg House.

“You should ride over to the fairgrounds with us,” Gardner had finally suggested. Ten minutes later I found myself pressed up against the shoulders of my new friend Randy Arndt on the back of his Harley Roadglide — a magnificent machine he had bought from the Harley Davidson Big Barn only two days before.

“That’s a custom paint job,” he boasted, as I zoomed my camera lens in on the intricately airbrushed human skulls over a blood red paintjob that covered the bike from head to tail. Like his friends, Arndt is an avid bike night-goer. After surveying riders at several different bike night events throughout the city, I learned that only God could possibly know about them all. But here are the bike nights the pros I met recommend.

A week of bike nights

Carol Sweeney and Steve McLaughlin cruise on a 2003 Harley Davidson Softail to Trophy’s and Krazee Kafe’s bike nights on Thursday, as well as Indianola’s monthly Bike Down to I-Town.

On Monday, the Fireside Bar and Grille, 523 S.E. 8th St., in Altoona, is a hot spot for bikes of all sort. The five-year-old event has gained a reputation among the riders as a “pretty good time and nice, little drive.” It runs from 6-9 p.m., occasionally featuring live music.

Tuesday was the day I met the gang at Ron’s Dawg House, 2117 E. University Ave. From 6-9 p.m., it’s become a rendezvous location to put back a few before heading to the Gathering at the Grounds, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, to close out the night with a motorcycle and car show, more beer and live music.

Hump Day is a good day to get away for bit. So Latitude 41 Bar and Grill on Saylorville Lake has been a popular bike night destination for years. It’s far enough away to open her up, and includes scenery on the lake that includes more than just Mother Nature (meaning there are often half-naked drunk people there). However, due to road construction, this one doesn’t officially start until later this month.

Thursday was a tad tamer, at least at first, as most the bikers meet at Trophy’s Sports Bar and Grill, 2701 Douglas Ave. (Plaza Lanes Family Sports Complex), from 5-10 p.m. for live music at the tiki bar in the parking lot. Trophy’s may not have a lake, but “the view” is very similar to Latitude 41, as the adult co-ed volleyball leagues take place at the same time. Several people pack it up and head to Krazee Kafe, 1410 N.E. Broadway Ave., for a grill-out before the night’s over, if they’re feeling frisky enough.

The new owner at 4th Down Sports Bar, 207 Fourth St., loves his biker crowd. He got permission from City Hall to close off the block downtown so the bikers can take over the entire street every Friday night. Not a lot of the regular riders have caught on to this debut bike night yet, but they will.

For bikers, the weekend often means road trips, and the rolling hills of Madison County make Winterset Bike Night a scenic cruise before arriving to a carnival of activities that includes thousands of motorcycles around the historic square (see “Weekend Road Trips” sidebar).

If the road is still calling your name by Sunday, check out Team 36, 117 Center Ave. N., in Mitchellville, for “Bike Night All Day.” The kitchen is always open, and a tiki bar on the patio with live music from 4-8 p.m. draws hundreds of bikers who are often passing though en route to Red Rock and other hot spots around central Iowa.

“We’re a small community, but once you start getting to know everybody, you become family,” Gardner had said to me. Get yourself a bike or a friend to wrap yourself around, and before you know it, you’ll have “515” tattooed on your neck. CV

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WEEKEND ROAD TRIPS

Bike Down to I-Town. On the third Friday of the month, from April to September, the town of Indianola becomes a beacon for bikers from all over the state. Considered one of the Midwest’s largest bike night events, it draws more than 6,000 bikes and a crowd of 10,000-plus. I-Town is a free, family-friendly occasion, running from 6-10 p.m. on the historic downtown square. In addition to the many standard and custom motorcycles on display, there is live music, food and beverages, vendors and exhibits, a live radio broadcast and award presentations. Learn more at Bikedowntoitown.com.

Winterset Bike Night. Partnering with the Indianola Bike Night this year, Winterset Bike Night continues to grow. Held on the third Saturday of the month (the night after Indianola’s event) means bringing a tent or booking a room might not be a bad idea, as each event offers unique festivities to fill the weekend. Find the event page on Facebook.

Iowa State HOG Rally 2012. This national event is coming to Des Moines this year, June 14-16. Check out the awesome rides and fun events. Learn more at iastatehogrally.com, or call 661-4438.

The Inaugural Iowa Grand Motorcycle Rally. The July 25-28 event kicks off with a meet and greet with “Sons of Anarchy” stars Katey Sagal and Charlie Hunnam, followed by live music by Joe Diffie and Rev Theory, Hairball and others at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. Other Rally event highlights include:

The Wall that Heals and a Military Tribute Ride sponsored by J&P Cycles;

John Lehman Tribute Ride;

Baker Smoke Down Show Down the Ultimate Race to Fifth Gear;

Miss Iowa Grand with cash prizes;

National Motorcycle Museum and J&P Cycles Vintage Bike Show;

S&S Cycles Circle of Honor Tribute to the Troops;

Jay Allen Bike Builders Invitational;

Iowa Grand Tattoo Competition;

Iowa Grand Ride-In Bike Show;

Ride the Speedway and Da$h for Ca$h Drag Racing;

Motorcycle Cowboys Bike Rodeo and Grand Swap Meet;

The Northeast Sportbike Association (NESBA) Track Days; and more.

Learn more at Iowagrandrally.com, or call 641-791-8000.

Operation Heroes Car and Motorcycle Show. On Sunday, May 20, head out to Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino, 1 Prairie Meadows Drive, Altoona, for a car and motorcycle show where the proceeds go to benefit Operation First Response, which serves wounded veterans and their families. Registration is $20 and starts at 11 a.m. The show is from 1-4 p.m. followed by a benefit auction at 4:30 p.m. and concerts and awards at 5:30 p.m. Find out more details by calling 986-5211. CV