Texas Fandango, Fredericksburg, TX
Texas Rain Dance
There are breakdowns that can be fixed with tools you have around – and then there are breakdowns you just can’t fix: Welcome to the Texas Fandango. This year they were battling the broken down weather, and had loads of fun anyway.
When we set up camp on the Thursday, erecting a tent to serve as a sun shade for our Baja Twins and a selection of the parts we had brought, all was Texas style sunny and hot. Just the right warm up for a chopper dance that has waltzed to the top of our personal bike show calendar. It’s the mix of swap meet and camp out party that does it. The show and swap meet is organised by the AMCA Cherokee Chapter and the chopperista youth were bringing their bikes, parts crates and camping equipment on their clapped out pickups, looking forward to the chopper flat track and dirt drag races, and the kick start contest with a few live bands for the perfect mix thrown in. Which sounded like a solid plan.
BUT: the Friday afternoon saw temperatures plummet
from 30°C down to a refreshing 18°C. If you have side walls for your tent you were glad you brought them. The sun came out a few more times though, which was the perfect time to check out the swap meet: bare frames, engine parts for IOE Harleys from the 1910s to 20s, and a whole bunch of stuff for Shovels, Pans and Knuckles, all at nice down-to-earth prices.
In the evening the action gravitated to the camp ground, with live music warming the heart and beer keeping the cold out. Until the rains set in with flash and thunder. A night to forget.
The Saturday dawned with the grass
and the tracks being sodden and wet., and the flat track and dirt drag races were postponed till Sunday. The weather being really nasty, still a few diehard bikers kept arriving during the day and parked their pre 1990 machinery in the chopper corral and started hoping for one of the prizes.
The AMCA was giving out their notoriously hard to get prizes too in many different classes across motorcycling history. Luckily they have a really big barn for the show.
By now temperatures had fallen to barely above double digits (°C), but there were rumors that the Danger Dan kickstart contest would take place among the tents in the evening. Another rumor had it that some "unofficial" drag racing would happen after all, and sure enough a few hard boiled Fandangeros plowed the wet dust with their chops until the bands started Saturday evening’s party.
Sunday’s temps were nothing
to write home either: they hovered barely above freezing, and a lot of people opted for an early return to their cosy homes. The races were started anyway, but only a few participants showed up. And who’s to blame them.
In spite of the weather related misfires this Texas Fandango again proved to be the "Shine, Show, Share and Smile Event” not least because of stories like this one: an octogenarian gent came to our booth and told us that he had been stationed in Germany as a helicopter pilot (all in fluent German!). Now he was here, together with his son, selling a large collection of the most ancient of Harley parts. Or how about Reed, who told us that he’s the man to call when you have a Stewart Warner speedo to adjust, repair or rejuvenate. (www.texasspeedometerservice.com). He also swore that he had seen a Knucklehead case for $ 280,00 on Thursday. Darn – we didn’t!
The Texas Fandango is in a class of its own – first class vintage machinery, many young dudes in front and behind the swap meet counters, temperamental weather, great vibes. We’ll be around to dance the Fandango next time for sure.
