2021 Virginia City Round Up
The first annual Virginia City Round Up set forth to blend custom choppers, FXRs and vintage trucks with a real deal rodeo right in the heart of the Nevada countryside. Custom motorcycle shows can often get a bit redundant following a similar format year after year so the team of Cary Brobeck, Josh Sheehan and the FXR Bazaar crew came together to spawn one of the freshest ideas for a motorcycle show in years, a moto rodeo, setting the stage for all this in the old gold rush mining town of Virginia City. A chopper rodeo is something that we definitely hadn't ever been to so we here at Old Bike Barn jumped at the chance to sponsor and attend this great event and see what Cary and the crew had in store for everyone. Quite frankly we were blown away by how great the format of the show was and the incredible vibe of the town. Chopper show on one side, FXR show on the other, a vintage truck show in the back and a full fledged real traditional Virginia city rodeo right in the middle of it all, with the rodeo even allowing the builders and attendees to ride the bulls themselves. Toss in a selection of amazing vendors, some great food trucks and you have the setting for one extremely unique experience that is packed with nostalgia and charm, just the kind of thing everyone needed in the 2021 post covid lockdown world of moto shows.
We began our experience traveling from the wild night life and bright neon lights of Reno into the winding switchback roads of Nevada's Hwy 341 which ventures through several hollowed out gold rush towns like Silver City and Gold Hill. While some now literal ghost towns Virginia City has kept quite intact and flourishing due to its rich history, incredible nostalgia and healthy flow of tourism over the years. With much beautiful historic architecture, store fronts and a rich culture surrounding the mystique of the city, this made the perfect place for a motorcycle adventure destination point for many to ride to.
I arrived just before nightfall into the main strip of town and as riders began to descend upon the strip with their red, wind blistered faces telling a story of a 1000 words in one passing glance. The elevation made for a chill that not many were quite prepared for as the temperatures dove into the 30's and even 20's the further the sun continued to set. Many of these weathered hard asses unphazed by it all and laughing in the face of discomfort began lining the streets one after another. I watched the shop owners closed their doors one after another, almost in that sort of terrified way that townspeople would close up shop in an old Western movie when the outlaw riders came rustling their spurs into town. Soon did I find out the tourist town just doesn't quite see a lot of traffic after dark so the only places the early bird riders could find some kicks for the night were many of the local bars and saloons that open their doors to them. Places like the "Bucket of blood saloon" or the "Ponderosa" or the "Delta" with its famous suicide gambling table rich with haunted history or my personal favorite the "Silver dollar saloon" a literal underground speakeasy style dive bar that made its own hours into the night welcoming all the weary tired faces that the old grey beard man behind the bar could serve. The night for many ended there and in some of the other saloons and the next day the show was well under way very early in the wee morning hours.
The setting for this collaboration of moto rodeo mayhem was the Virginia City fairgrounds in the heart of the town, surrounded by old churches and rusty train cars. The nearby sounds of an old fashioned steam engine puffing and chugging its way down the railroad tracks began blending with the thumping of vintage V twin Harley Davidson's awakening from their slumber in various parts of the town. Almost in a chain reaction you could hear bikes starting everywhere and echoing through the hills riding one after another into the dusty fairgrounds. The lineup became very clear very quickly as the bike's piled in, this was a very well curated and top tier show. With some of the entire country's most talented builders showing up one after another the fairgrounds filled up quick with rolling 2 wheeled chopper art. The chopper side filled with many show stopping builds that had been seen as invited builders from a few of the big events from various parts of the country as well as some very surprising builds that had not even seen the light of day yet until the show. The beautiful Virginia City mountains and rolling hills in the background made for a perfect setting for the bikes as they continued to lineup row after row filling out the fairgrounds with gleaming chrome and metal flake as far as the eyes could see.
Just as the choppers were filling their side of the lot the FXR show equally kicked things up a notch with row upon row of performance modified Evo big twins and Shovelheads. While the FXR glory era Evos took up the majority of the lot there were some pretty impressive shovelhead FXRs mixed throughout as well. With a blending of 80s and 90s club style and extreme performance upgrades some of the more extreme customs really stood out but the good old fashioned clean stock originals held their own. When it comes to the best FXRs in the country FXR bazaar really knows how to pick them and curated his part of the show very well with the cream of the crop.
The show didn't stop with the bikes, as you made your way past all the great vendors and onto the horse stables or you just wanted to get an early seat to the rodeo, the vintage truck portion of the event was a welcome bonus. With everything from clean, well accented originals to decked out rat rods the variety of trucks that continued to show up throughout the day was pretty impressive and fun to scope out up close. Being it was the first year for the event the focus was mainly on the bikes but there were definitely a couple trucks that stole the show.
The rodeo portion of the event was originally scheduled for the night before the big bike show but mother nature muscled her way into things Friday and pushed everything back so the rodeo ended up taking place the day of the show Saturday. Well, that ended up being a blessing in disguise and really made for a fantastic turnout for the rodeo and gave a lot more riders a chance to jump into the competition for bull riding. For a small fee and a waiver you were able to get signed up for the amateur bull riding competition where anyone brave enough was able to strap a helmet on and take a crack at riding a real live bull. This was no mechanical bull malarkey. We are talking about one ton of massive grade a pissed off prime rib ready to launch you into the grandstands for it's own amusement and amusing it was as everyone tried their best to ride them out. They warmed up the rodeo festivities first with some family friendly rodeo clown shenanigans and some professional riders coming out first to show everyone how it's done. While riding the bulls looked intimidating enough as it was, the bucking Broncos showed absolutely no mercy to these pro riders when it came to launching them 20 feet across the arena only to land on their butts and take to a dead sprint not to get trampled. The rodeo worked up some fun with a few field games as well like the pull behind Drag Racing where people got a good mouthful of dirt being drug around the arena by horses and then some good old calf wrestling where people lock horns with young calves and tried to wrestle them into submission. The calves were the victor in almost every bout and made for a hilarious time watching the toughest of the tough get tossed in the dirt. The amateur bull riding really kicked things up a notch and gave one heck of a show launching riders in every direction, some sustaining minor injuries while others escaped with only bruised egos. We found ourselves itching to jump straight into the fire and give it a go as well and found the nearest bull to ride, held on for dear life and ended up going a full 12 seconds to make the best time of the day. We even walked away with the coveted prize belt buckle for amateur 1st place and lived to tell the tale without a single scratch. A serious victory in our book and one with a handsome well made reward we'll cherish for years to come.
The judging for the bikes got under way as the rodeo wound down and the best custom bikes were awarded their own Whiteknuckler brand knives and a very awesome assortment of handmade Virginia City roundup traditional belt buckles that had been made just for the event with each category engraved on them
The awards ceremony left many with a tear in their eye getting some well deserved prizes and the recognition of their peers. As the day came to a close each rider kicked over their bikes stirred up a little more dust and moseyed on down into the town to the various saloons to celebrate their victory with friends. The bands played into the night and the town really came alive with the sound of bikes roaring up and down the strip in all directions. The refreshing sights, sounds and feel of the Roundup is something everyone there was really needing and we cant thank Cary, Josh and FXR bazaar enough for bringing this little slice of chopper heaven to the forefront for everyone to enjoy.
Photos and words by Mike Vandegriff
I arrived just before nightfall into the main strip of town and as riders began to descend upon the strip with their red, wind blistered faces telling a story of a 1000 words in one passing glance. The elevation made for a chill that not many were quite prepared for as the temperatures dove into the 30's and even 20's the further the sun continued to set. Many of these weathered hard asses unphazed by it all and laughing in the face of discomfort began lining the streets one after another. I watched the shop owners closed their doors one after another, almost in that sort of terrified way that townspeople would close up shop in an old Western movie when the outlaw riders came rustling their spurs into town. Soon did I find out the tourist town just doesn't quite see a lot of traffic after dark so the only places the early bird riders could find some kicks for the night were many of the local bars and saloons that open their doors to them. Places like the "Bucket of blood saloon" or the "Ponderosa" or the "Delta" with its famous suicide gambling table rich with haunted history or my personal favorite the "Silver dollar saloon" a literal underground speakeasy style dive bar that made its own hours into the night welcoming all the weary tired faces that the old grey beard man behind the bar could serve. The night for many ended there and in some of the other saloons and the next day the show was well under way very early in the wee morning hours.
The setting for this collaboration of moto rodeo mayhem was the Virginia City fairgrounds in the heart of the town, surrounded by old churches and rusty train cars. The nearby sounds of an old fashioned steam engine puffing and chugging its way down the railroad tracks began blending with the thumping of vintage V twin Harley Davidson's awakening from their slumber in various parts of the town. Almost in a chain reaction you could hear bikes starting everywhere and echoing through the hills riding one after another into the dusty fairgrounds. The lineup became very clear very quickly as the bike's piled in, this was a very well curated and top tier show. With some of the entire country's most talented builders showing up one after another the fairgrounds filled up quick with rolling 2 wheeled chopper art. The chopper side filled with many show stopping builds that had been seen as invited builders from a few of the big events from various parts of the country as well as some very surprising builds that had not even seen the light of day yet until the show. The beautiful Virginia City mountains and rolling hills in the background made for a perfect setting for the bikes as they continued to lineup row after row filling out the fairgrounds with gleaming chrome and metal flake as far as the eyes could see.
Just as the choppers were filling their side of the lot the FXR show equally kicked things up a notch with row upon row of performance modified Evo big twins and Shovelheads. While the FXR glory era Evos took up the majority of the lot there were some pretty impressive shovelhead FXRs mixed throughout as well. With a blending of 80s and 90s club style and extreme performance upgrades some of the more extreme customs really stood out but the good old fashioned clean stock originals held their own. When it comes to the best FXRs in the country FXR bazaar really knows how to pick them and curated his part of the show very well with the cream of the crop.
The show didn't stop with the bikes, as you made your way past all the great vendors and onto the horse stables or you just wanted to get an early seat to the rodeo, the vintage truck portion of the event was a welcome bonus. With everything from clean, well accented originals to decked out rat rods the variety of trucks that continued to show up throughout the day was pretty impressive and fun to scope out up close. Being it was the first year for the event the focus was mainly on the bikes but there were definitely a couple trucks that stole the show.
The rodeo portion of the event was originally scheduled for the night before the big bike show but mother nature muscled her way into things Friday and pushed everything back so the rodeo ended up taking place the day of the show Saturday. Well, that ended up being a blessing in disguise and really made for a fantastic turnout for the rodeo and gave a lot more riders a chance to jump into the competition for bull riding. For a small fee and a waiver you were able to get signed up for the amateur bull riding competition where anyone brave enough was able to strap a helmet on and take a crack at riding a real live bull. This was no mechanical bull malarkey. We are talking about one ton of massive grade a pissed off prime rib ready to launch you into the grandstands for it's own amusement and amusing it was as everyone tried their best to ride them out. They warmed up the rodeo festivities first with some family friendly rodeo clown shenanigans and some professional riders coming out first to show everyone how it's done. While riding the bulls looked intimidating enough as it was, the bucking Broncos showed absolutely no mercy to these pro riders when it came to launching them 20 feet across the arena only to land on their butts and take to a dead sprint not to get trampled. The rodeo worked up some fun with a few field games as well like the pull behind Drag Racing where people got a good mouthful of dirt being drug around the arena by horses and then some good old calf wrestling where people lock horns with young calves and tried to wrestle them into submission. The calves were the victor in almost every bout and made for a hilarious time watching the toughest of the tough get tossed in the dirt. The amateur bull riding really kicked things up a notch and gave one heck of a show launching riders in every direction, some sustaining minor injuries while others escaped with only bruised egos. We found ourselves itching to jump straight into the fire and give it a go as well and found the nearest bull to ride, held on for dear life and ended up going a full 12 seconds to make the best time of the day. We even walked away with the coveted prize belt buckle for amateur 1st place and lived to tell the tale without a single scratch. A serious victory in our book and one with a handsome well made reward we'll cherish for years to come.
The judging for the bikes got under way as the rodeo wound down and the best custom bikes were awarded their own Whiteknuckler brand knives and a very awesome assortment of handmade Virginia City roundup traditional belt buckles that had been made just for the event with each category engraved on them
The awards ceremony left many with a tear in their eye getting some well deserved prizes and the recognition of their peers. As the day came to a close each rider kicked over their bikes stirred up a little more dust and moseyed on down into the town to the various saloons to celebrate their victory with friends. The bands played into the night and the town really came alive with the sound of bikes roaring up and down the strip in all directions. The refreshing sights, sounds and feel of the Roundup is something everyone there was really needing and we cant thank Cary, Josh and FXR bazaar enough for bringing this little slice of chopper heaven to the forefront for everyone to enjoy.
Photos and words by Mike Vandegriff