J and P Cycles Hits a Grand Slam in Iowa 2009

J and P Cycles Hits a Grand Slam in Iowa Event Page

One thing for sure and that is the Monster visits lots of events. If he's not doing the Monster Yellow Guy detail at some event in Miami or Las Vegas, he's taking photos in some far off biker joint in London or most recently Germany and Russia.

Some biker events attendance are truly down a bit because of all of the doom and gloom on the television. By in large, riders are still doing what they do best, gathering and reveling together, enjoying their favorite hobby, motorcycling. In fact, the Monster's opinion, is that events are producing numbers far better than expected in the spring, at the really grand events. Folks are maybe limiting their stays or camping more to save a couple of bucks or maybe even doing the Monster "Cheerios thing out of the box" for breakfast, but they are still showing up at the important venues in good numbers.

Whether seasoned experts (biker counters) can really tell the difference in 300,000 or 350,000 bikers in a large city, with a casual drive by, always seemed a little suspicious, but this week the Monster re-visited an event that is definitely on the climb.

This past week-end not only did the bikers revel, they did it in unheard of numbers in a place that is not known as the most populated urban area on earth.

Another thing for sure is you can get a good count on this event and another sure thing is this event is growing like crazy. With a worthy helicopter and a steady camera it's pretty easy to count bikes and vendors when they are all together in on 100 plus acre area, especially when that 100 acres is located in the middle of several thousand acres of prime corn country.

Where did Motorcycling have maybe the best event of 2009 you ask, Mr. Evo breath? Well it's a charming town in mid America that becomes the capital of the Motorcycle Universe every June during J and P Cycles annual open house.

You ask "Where the heck is Anamosa Iowa?" We'll it's a short drive from Cedar Rapids, 4 hours from Chicago and a half days drive from lots of other mid western cities yearning for a great bike event without driving three days to Daytona Florida or two days to Sturgis.

The best part of this event is it has all of the great elements of any major motorcycle event without any of the negative stuff. Let me explain.

1. All of the Food was free and provided by hosts Jill, John and Zac Parham of J and P Cycles.
2. Bottled water was also provided at no charge to all guests.
3. Entertainment was also provided for free. Music, Stunt Riders, Drill Teams, etc were all scheduled for the attendees for no charge.
4. Top Motorcycle Celebrities were everywhere and more than willing to share a cool drink, a story or two, and sign a t-shirt, poster, 8 x 10 or any thing else you might want signed. If you wanted to hang with biker build off pro Rick Fairless, legend builder Cory Ness, American Thunders Michele Smith, or Jason Britton from Speeds' Superbikes , all were available for conversation and autographs. Heck, even that old Yellow Monster guy was available to have a little fun with the kids or take advantage of a Kodak Moment or two.
5. All the top parts manufacturers were also available for demos and troubleshooting for anything you might need from your Harley, Metric Cruiser, Street bike, or vintage bike.
6. Anamosa also has one of the best Motorcycle Museums in the world at the National Motorcycle Museum. If you're looking for the last original Easy Rider Captain America Movie bike or vintage board trackers from years gone by, this is a place where true enthusiasts can relive the history of the motorcycle with one of the top collections in the world.
7. Even top notch accommodations were available next door to the event at a new hotel , perfectly located next to the J and P facility, complete with bar, pool, hot tub, and beer tent. Yippe, everything a Monster biker could want, and believe this or not, at very reasonable prices.
8. Even traffic was not an issue as legions of J and P flag waving pros got everyone in and out without incident.
9. You could even chat with the Parham family members as they were available for the entire week-end welcoming and helping in all ways possible to make visitors feel welcome. Jill and John are probably two of the most hugged folks in America as 100's of customers re-united with these true motorcycle legends.
10. Probably the best part of this event is the people who work at J and P Cycle. If you haven't experienced the kind midwest folks and the fabric of true good Americans, Anamosa Iowa is a must stop on your life travels. It doesn't matter if your looking for a set of pipes for your vintage bike or a tail light bulb for your GSXR, you get the same attention and consideration you can only find in special places around America, like Anamosa. One local customer told the Monster. "You get the same fine folks here, that you get on the phone when you place an order. They call you back when they say they will, and it's always on the money".

In closing, the Monster crew would like to thank the folks at J and P Cycles, especially Jill, John, and Zac Parham for a great event.

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we have awarded this event 5 Monsters, the highest rating ever for an event on the Motorcycle Monster.

As we left our good friends in Anamosa and flew out over the corn fields of Iowa, I couldn't help but think about the movie line.

"Build it and they will come". Well Jill and John spent 30 years building it and "boy did they come".

See you next year in Anamosa.