It all began when the mail arrived, and we opened an invitation to show a bike at this year's The One Motorcycle Show. We knew we had to be there and that this was not an event to miss. After much consideration, we decided on a 1967 Triumph T100C Street tracker to enter in the show. We were down to the wire and making last minute improvements up until the night before, but we managed to finish with enough time to pack up and haul out. Despite the late night and early morning, our drive was expected to be relatively easy with three drivers, and it was until we crossed the state border into Oregon. Everyone making the trek from California up to Oregon flooded social media with photos from the road ahead, and the snow covering it. As night fell 12 hours into our drive, we became faced with those snowy images and were immersed in the same storm, without chains or 4-wheel drive, and a show bike in tow! The roads went from black to white as traffic slowed down and stopped at some points. There were cars, trailers, and big rigs slipping and sliding off the road. Not wanting that same fate, we white knuckled it for another 7 hours to cover that last leg of the road. Upon late night arrival at the show location, everyone was stoked to see people were actually getting there in one piece despite road conditions. So we grabbed a burger at the closest local hang out and off to our hotel we went.

After getting some rest in our crowded hotel room, we headed back to the show for photos. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, people were still arriving after getting stuck somewhere in the "Snowpocalypse" as it was now being called. Being from Southern California, it's not often that we get to see a city covered in that much snow, so of course we started snow ball fights, and slipping and sliding around as often as we could. Portland is full of awesome coffee shops and places to eat, so we took full advantage of free time to grab some good grub from the few places that stayed open. The city felt deserted. Since the streets weren't being plowed, it was either chains, cross country skis or staying inside. None of those three being an option for us, we hit the town exploring. Better yet, the usually crowded spots were now empty and we never had to wait for a table or worry about parking. Back at the show, opening night made for a fully packed house. Live music, pizza, brews, and tons of good people filled up the entire two levels of the show, where you couldn't really take a look at the motorcycles on display.

The "Snowpocalypse" continued throughout the weekend and the town was still pretty shut down. Expecting that the show would be less crowded, we headed back early the next day to check out the motorcycles on display, but the show was still packed with people. Driving around town, we saw some local kids sledding through the parks and knew it was time to join in on that fun. So we picked up a few more hooligans across town and upped the ante on your typical "sledding" by taking advantage of the empty streets, the van, and the tow-straps we had in back. It made for a grand entrance back to The One Show, or as it was now being called "The One Snow". The night festivities at the show concluded with a ridiculously perfect performance by Purple Rain (a prince cover band) and many bad dance moves. Then like the hooligans we are, we had to get some more sledding in and went to a local park to get some more ice sliding in.

Unfortunately, the last day of the show was cancelled due to frozen road conditions that were deemed "unsafe" to drive in. All the bikes were being picked up and the roads were still empty. Of course some folks make good use of the snow and empty streets and rip around on their show bikes, most notable the Bixby Moto dudes in their mini side hack. The show had come to an end, but it was one hell of a weekend for everyone in Portland. The "Snowpocolypse" was over and we had survived an epic weekend that we will not soon forget. If you have the chance to make it to The One Show next year, make it a point to get there and be ready for a good time.

Photos by Samson Hatae & Cierra Cegielski

February 24, 2014

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