Friday morning at 8:00 am, July 3rd, was the opening day of the 2nd annual Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally. The atmosphere in Tulelake, CA was electric with anticipation for the fun patriotic weekend, which after months of careful planning was about to begin. Motorcycles and RVs were already lined up eagerly awaiting the green light to check in, get settled and to let the good times roll – bons temps roulee! Having over a football field of the American Veterans Traveling Tributes “Cost of Freedom” and “Traveling Wall” displays laid out on the emerald green lawn with flags fluttering framing the 400’ entry driveway into the manicured Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds, the patriotic tone was set for the 2nd annual Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally. Countless hours of hard work by our Staff and volunteers was paying off! It looked like we had a nice crowd. Our dream was becoming real.

When it comes to most things in life, including the blueprint for our motorcycle rally, ‘Wings and I subscribe to time-tested wisdom. After many years attending & filming countless events , we think we have most of it figured out.

A great rally must offer bikers the opportunity for great riding experiences. South Bay Biker Productions gives our patrons the Pacific Northwest. Lava Beds Nat’l Park (20 mins), Crater Lake (90 mins), Living Memorial Sculpture Garden (50 mins) & Mt. Shasta (90 mins) and all the beautiful uncrowded back roads & highways that lead to these unique spots.

A great rally must offer a great venue with great camping conditions. South Bay Biker Productions gives our patrons the “2nd to none” Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds – nearly 100 acres of manicured emerald green plush lawns, plenty of shade trees, immaculate restrooms with hot showers, well maintained buildings and great views in all directions. Toss in PDR’s homemade oil drum fire pits with rebar legs and a supply of Johnny Sanders’ dry juniper and whamo! You got it!

A great rally demands plenty of 1st class all-American eye candy. South Bay Biker Productions & the Wings2Fly Saloon delivers again with the Shasta Rally’s “Hot Wings” – Debbie’s hotties sling drinks with genuine smiles & they wear the skimpiest bikinis we heathens love while they carefully wash our scooters for tips! (see photos on our website!!!) Thanks and hugs go out to Tiffany, Christina, Ashley, Marquie, Jessica, Sin, Dirty Di & of course, Wings2Fly.

This leads me to the next ingredient. A great rally must offer a central place to gather with friends to “bend elbows,” swap stories and listen to living legends up close and personal like Pat Travers and Charlie Brechtel and other great up-and- comers like our kick-ass house band, National Dust and local favorite, the Craig Allen Blues Band; so, we furnish our patrons my gal Debbie’s Wings2Fly Saloon – 12,000 sq ft of air conditioned biker bar heaven right there so no one needs to drink and ride.

A great rally should also offer the creations of gifted builders. SS2AMCR delivers here, too. Not only that, we have these talented folks (& their families) park their rigs and display their creations in our “Builders Garden,” an ideal place inside the venue surrounded by huge shady Weeping Willows and lush flower and rose gardens (1000 years of volcanic ash and duck shit in the soil make everything grow real nice.) This year, our featured builders included Mark Daley - Thunderstruck Custom Bikes, Dave Haze - Haze Custom Choppers, John Bartevian - Perfect Past Customs & Tigard Oregon Boss Hoss dealers Ron & Cindy Tangsrud of Wild Rose Boss Hoss.

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