With St. Patrick’s Day being celebrated, the Annual Tejano Music Awards Fan Fair show going on downtown, and spring breakers everywhere I was surprised at the turnout. San Antonio and the surrounding area supported this event well with over 19,000 people in attendance. The motorcycle community was well represented.

What was really impressive was the quality of the vehicles which had a large contingent of cars and trucks. I grew up street racing an old El Camino so my personal preference were the late ‘60s muscle cars, and I really liked some of the new model trucks that were loaded to the max.

Now we will get down to the nitty-gritty — the entertainment. The Busted Knuckles Stunt Tour put on a helluva show and as the Barnett Harley-Davidson Warranty Administrator, I had to wonder if that Sporty was still under warranty. All I could smell was the clutch and tires roasting away. There was The Shamrock Strength Showdown where a lot of weight got lifted and big tires moved around. This went on throughout Saturday and Sunday and drew a large crowd on both days. Sons of Anarchy’s actor David LaBrava, aka Happy, drew a large crowd and stuck around until the last picture taken and autograph was signed. What I found interesting is that David writes a column for Hot Rod magazine and owns a tattoo shop in Oakland, California, called Evil Link. The San Antonio Roller Derby Girls were out in force and to the best of my knowledge did not hurt anybody. And last but not least, the bikini contest on Sunday drew the biggest crowd of all. I didn’t know so many dirty old men knew how to use their cell phone cameras. Some of these ladies were part of the bike wash outside so they had a good following before the contest began. As with any bike or auto show, the vendors were out in force and there sure were a lot of new items on display along with cooking demonstrations going on through out the show.

This being my old stomping grounds, I had to hit some of my favorite places to enjoy some cold beverages and great food (you didn’t think I was going to eat hot dogs everyday?). The famous River Walk is for tourists, so I went to Carmens de la Calle Café that serves great Spanish food with live Flamingo dancing on weekends. The Dry Dock Oyster Bar (an actual boat turned into a land-bound restaurant) has some great seafood and ice cold cervezas. I tried a new place called San Antonio Burger Co and that was one bad-ass burger.

Quincy Barnes and Jay Ruelas from SMC Events put on quite a show. I was amazed how everything ran so smoothly, this was obviously not their first rodeo. They mentioned they plan on doing an event in El Paso so I’m anxious to see what kind of wheels we can put on display. Thanks guys, it was very enjoyable.

And I have to thank all the ladies who allowed me to take their pictures and to the ones that shared some chatting with me —a special thank you!