THUNDER ROAD, THE CUSTOM CAPITAL OF STURGIS ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE OF 2008 EVENTS, INCLUDING BIKERNET BROUHAHA FRIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA-- STURGIS, S.D. -- April 7, 2008 -- Thunder Road, the custom capital of Sturgis, will again be the place to be and be seen during Sturgis Bike Week 2008. This year’s Thunder Road lineup combines all the Sturgis essentials — the best bikes, builders, and babes — all under one roof.

For six years running, Thunder Road has become famous as the place to go for anything custom in Sturgis. This year’s bike show schedule combines some of Thunder Road’s favorite custom names with some new ones:

Sunday August 3rd - Trike Wars: The Battle of Three Trike and Sidecar Show; Monday August 4th - 2ndAnnual THE HORSE Backstreet Choppers Sturgis Bike Show; Tuesday August 5th - 6th Annual Metzler Custom Bike Contest; Wednesday August 6th – Dave Perewitz Custom Paint Bike Show, sponsored by PPG; Thursday August 7th - Rat’s Hole will celebrate its “20th Anniversary in Sturgis;”

Friday August 8th- Bikernet Brouhaha will close out the bike shows with the best trophies, Metric Classes, Tattoo Contests, Wet T-shirts, Girls of Bikernet, House Band and wild skits.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith will be making an exclusive appearance at Thunder Road to support his new line of Redwing Motorcycles and meet the bikers. Thunder Road will be the only stop in Sturgis for him so if you are an Aerosmith fan or want to meet Steven, be sure to stop by.

Michael Lichter’s famed motorcycle-themed art exhibit will also make Thunder Road its home again this year. The exhibit, titled “Stay Gold,” focuses on garage builders and artists who maybe haven’t seen much or any of the limelight but still produce breathtakingly detailed work in the same spirit as the late Johnny Chop.

The Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse will celebrate its second year at Thunder Road, once again showcasing one-of-a-kind custom motorcycles, master bike builders, beautiful women and great entertainment throughout the week. This year, the Roadhouse will feature several top name builders.

Thunder Road will also be home U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and Eric Gorges of Voodoo Choppers. This will be the culmination of the online Cope Chop Shop contest where 5 winners will be chosen and flown to Sturgis. On Friday one of those lucky winners will be selected and will get the opportunity to have Eric build him his dream bike, which will be unveiled in Daytona.

Thunder Road will also be home to some of the top names of the tattoo industry. H2Ocean Art Fusion Experiment will take place throughout the week. This will be a session where artists get to work together on stage and produce a collaborative original piece of art that will then be auctioned off for charity. On Wednesday Ami James will be hosting the “Art of Tattoo” tattoo contest where the public will be encouraged to participate and show off their ink.

New this year will be three industry sessions open to the public where the audience can watch top names in the industry talk about the hottest topics, from the history of motorcycles to how Rock and Roll has influenced custom bike builders. This is sure to be a groundbreaking live event that will allow the public to see a new side of industry icons as they talk about today’s top issues and trends.

“We’ve worked hard to make sure Thunder Road is a stop on everyone’s Sturgis schedule,” said Gary Lippold, owner of Thunder Road. “With six days of bike shows and incredible events, we will surely prove our reputation as the Custom Capital of Sturgis.”

About Thunder Road

Located 3 miles east of Sturgis on Highway 34, Thunder Road is hard to miss. With six acres of paved vending space full of high-end, custom, aftermarket vendors and the nearly 40,000 square foot Thunderdome, Thunder Road is the “Custom Capital of Sturgis Bike Week.” During the course of the week, Thunder Road is host to the most custom-bike themed events in Sturgis. In conjunction with all the events, Thunder Road will have the best attractions around, including Miss Sturgis and the Girls of Sturgis Bike Week (who will be autographing free calendars), as well as even more great entertainment. Thunder Road is a part of the Glencoe Nation and is located directly in front of the Glencoe CampResort, the host of Rock’n the Rally. There’s something for everyone at Thunder Road. And, of course, there’s plenty of free parking!