It has been a long winter up here in the Northwest, but spring has arrived as is evident in the bikes on the road. Although many of us up here haven't yet had the chance to make a major run or long weekend trip, there are some great after hours "Short Hops to a Hot Spot" going on around the Seattle area.

Welcome to Planet Hot Rod.

One of these is at Planet Hot Rod in Milton Washington, just north of Tacoma. It's located about 1 mile south of where Hwy 18 meets up with Hwy 99 in Federal Way on Hwy 99. On May 10th, I'd decided to make the run down to see the crowd. There, I met up with Bikernet Drag Racing Correspondent and Photographer Helen Wolfe. She was easy to spot in the large crowd with her camera in hand.

Helen and I got a chance to catch up while everyone else paid their two bucks for a basket of Tacos, had a few beers, and enjoyed the sunset.

'The Leather Bike' - Covered entirely in exotic skins. Built and owned by Rich O'Connor of Rich's Custom Upholstry, Seattle WA.

Green Machine

A big group of 'Downtown' and 'Destination' - HD boys can always be found. This night, we were lucky enough to catch Steve Huff on his top fuel drag bike leaving some rubber on the pavement at the far end of the parking lot.

This crowd shows up every Thursday, starting at about 4:00, and typically disperses sometime after dark. Estimates were that about 400-500 bikes showed up for the informal event on this night, and the only recorded incidents were the 1/2 dozen heart attacks that occurred when Steve wrapped up the throttle on the drag bike.

Digital's Softail Sportster. Next time you spot it, stop and say hello.

Helen shot about 3 rolls of film. There are to many photos to show here, so we've placed a bunch of them in our 'Freedom Film' section. You can view them by clicking on the links below.

"Killer Shades"

"Zena & Suzanne"

"Fat Silver"

"Good Day to Be Out"

"Silver & Gold"

"Blue Boss"

"The Gang"

"The Red Duece"

"Commin' Atcha"

Steve Huff Readies the Top Fueler

"Hell Bent for Leather"

"Puttin' One Down"

"Softail Sporty"

"Good Buddies"

"Thumbs Up!"

As Helen says - "Good Times....." See you there next Thursday.

- Digital.