The 2007 Hamilton cruise was the perfect bike event for family and friends of all ages! In  addition, the "Freak Bike Militia" members of Ontario really know how to make cruise participants  feel welcome and appreciated! Anyone lucky enough to take part in a kustom cruise (like Hamilton)  will look forward to the opportunity of attending similar events, again and again. The Hamilton  cruise is one of the "highlights" of the kustom cycling calendar in this part of the country, and  I would recommend to anyone that they try and experience the event first hand. The Ontario "Freak  Bike Militia" deserves a round of applause for their dedication in hosting this event.   Congratulations on a job well done!

Coverage for BikeRod&Kustom by John Brain

The Freak Bike Militia's 2nd annual Cruise in Hamilton, Ontario can again be marked down as a  totally successful event! Participants gathered from as far as four American states and two  Canadian provinces! With attendance figures noticeably up over the previous year, the cruise  itself proved to be both exciting and successful!
Coverage for BikeRod&Kustom by John Brain

The Freak Bike Militia's 2nd annual Cruise in Hamilton, Ontario can again be marked down as a  totally successful event! Participants gathered from as far as four American states and two  Canadian provinces! With attendance figures noticeably up over the previous year, the cruise  itself proved to be both exciting and successful!
The weekend's activities started on Friday, with an impromptu gathering at the home of Tony DeBellis. Tony was one of the head facilitators for the weekend's program of activities. Dubbed the  "Midnight Madness Cruise" this Friday gathering was like a pre-Saturday practice run. Many  "out-of-towners" made it a special point to arrive early for this Friday get together; thus  avoiding a tiring overnight drive the following morning. A tent on Tony's lawn, or a sleeping bag  on his basement floor, helped the "out of town" visitors negotiate the distance in a much better  way. All were thankful!
I decided to crash at a nearby "Motel 6" and booked in Friday afternoon. Located in the town of  Burlington, the motel's location was central to the events happening that weekend. I thought it  would be cool! I don't sleep well at the best of times so I thought that it was my best option.  This particular "Motel 6" turned out to be more like a maximum security detention facility than a  rest stop! The problem was I couldn't figure out how I was going to sneak a 9 foot long chopper  bicycle up to my room on the second floor! Luckily, a solution presented itself later, and I took advantage! The solution had a name, and that name was "Eric Hannan"!
I checked out my room, and temporarily gave up on the idea of bringing my bike up!  Instead I got  back into my car and drove off to hunt up some "Twinkies", and a "Tim Horton's" drive thru for a  cup of coffee. I managed to bag my prey along with some Hawaiian pizza, and considered myself set  for the evening. I phoned Tony at about 7p.m. then headed over to his house. My Motel was nearby,  and it didn't take long for me to arrive at the DeBellis' driveway! Tony, Hannan and Xtreme were  there already, Budzilla too! I arrived just in time to watch everyone assemble.
I love Nicknames, some of the ones that showed up for the Friday evening session were Budzilla,  Giggles, Chainsaw, Mike Jones, Frisbeeguy, Big Daddy, Mamma Cat, Xtreme, Hannan, Brain(me) and  the all others. I was especially impressed that the Quebec crew came such a  long way to be  there! Hannan Customs and Xtreme cycles do it right and ride what they do. I had never met Xtreme  before, but, I was familiar with his work from pictures I saw on the internet! I was looking  forward to the opportunity to test drive his machine. Xtreme turned out to be one hell of a nice  guy, and one hell of a good builder!
As the night wore on more people arrived, and bikes continued to be assembled right up to the  point of cruise time! All eyes were on Budzilla as he assembled his new green creation out on the  grass! Budz' new frame was a wild assemblage of found tubing! Extremely radical and cool!  Impossible to forget!
Eventually everyone assembled out on the street, just as the sun was going down over the houses.  Tony was at the helm of the Friday pack, ready for some action! With one last look at one another  the silent start began, and about 20 kustom bikes headed down the road. The scenery was suburban,  1950's and 60's vintage, and the air was warm and comfortable. We were in the city of Oakville, a  place where I attended College for a while, back in the late 70's. And we were headed for the  downtown core, which promised to be intense!
Midnight madness was the appropriate way to describe the scene! As we approached the town centre  I raised my eyebrows at what I saw! Wall to wall people, barricades, bands, police, screaming,  yelling, and madness! Tony took the plunge and headed straight for the mob! A long line of kustom  bikes following each other like baby ducks, into a sea of insanity! I was looking especially  hardcore that evening with my Chopaderos vest and a cigar dangling out of my mouth, I too plunged  into this human throng, my 9 foot chopper and axle spikes taking people by surprise. The scene  was so thick that at one point I lost the bike ahead of me, it was like a wall to wall soup of  bodies!
Not everyone was impressed by our parade, and they made their feelings known, but not in a  forceful or blunt manner. Except for one old guy, who was thrust into our path by the crowd!  Stumbling upon us, he loudly blurted out: "What in the name of god! Jesus Christ! You people must  be out of your minds, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"  My response was to smile at  him, and snort a big puff of smoke out my nostrils! He suddenly became silent and rolled his eyes  in disgust, immediately reversing course he made his way back into the crowd. Ah! Memories are  made of this!
I continued blindly, until I could see a couple of the guys ahead of us at the next corner. We  were noticed, and they waved us down to an area just ahead, near the city centre. A refuge was  found, a place to park our bikes, and for a couple of hours we rested, took photos, and talked  bikes to each other and the people on the street.

Eventually the group itched to move again, our destination, a classy little tavern a few streets  over.  Again we rode, up one street and down another; not far, thankfully! For another hour or so  we caught up on the news and each others lives.

The ride back to Tony's was through the cool air of night. It was memorable, because "Hannan" (at  speed)  would blast up to me from behind, and then while passing would suddenly lock up his rear  brakes and yell out "Here's Johnny!", it was funny though, and wild, I have to admit! Seeing  Hannan's big rear tire locking, rubber screaming in protest, and the bike going sideways under  the strain! I wish that someone had taken a movie of it!
Back at Tony's the group took inventory of the day's events, till 2 a.m. which was the call to bed  for most everyone. It was a memorable evening all around. I told Hannan of my "bike plight" at  the "Motel 6 " to which  he offered a solution: he would keep my bike overnight and take it to  Hamilton the next morning in his van. I agreed and thanked him for his solution. I was free to  crash at my motel, knowing my bike was in good hands!
I woke up to cold pizza and Twinkies on Saturday; along with free coffee from the motel lobby.   After checking out, I headed for the QEW highway (the road to Hamilton). I passed over a large  bridge and turned off at a billboard advertising a local Go-Kart track. I quickly made my way  into Hamilton's "Confederation Park" where I saw a number of people gathering and assembling  bikes.  This is the Hamilton event, young and old gathering together; all interested in the same  thing! 
I noticed immediately that there were many more riders taking part this year. It  reinforced my belief that growth in kustom cycling remains strong and unabated! One of the  highlights of my day was to meet Kenny Prather and his brother. Kenny was the subject of a recent  BR&K interview, and one of the main movers in the kustom bike scene down in Florida. Not only  that, but Kenny is one of main players in the North American "Freak Bike Militia", the local  chapter of which, under Tony DeBellis and other members runs the FBM Hamilton cruise.  Shortly  after I arrived, Mike Jones pointed Kenny out to me, and I went over to meet him. Kenny and I had  a lot to talk about and we instantly hit it off! He said he had flown into Pittsburg P.A. (I  believe) to meet his brother and they busied themselves to make it up to the Hamilton meet. Kenny  and I talked turkey and fake gas tanks, and I told him I was envious of his winter sunshine.   Kenny had a lot to check out, so I left him alone for a while. Then, I busied myself with taking  pictures, and saying hello to those I came across.  At one point I was corralled by "Giggles",  wife of Jim "Chainsaw" Johnson.  She was offering "Freak Bike" shirts that glowed in the dark! Of  course anything that has "glow in the dark" skulls is right up my alley, so I bought one!

It didn't take long for the cruise group to assemble. The route would again be the Waterfront  trail, which winds for miles along the lake's edge. It's a wide trail, and paved, no worries  about getting jammed up anywhere. Our route was fairly flat; we rode through park areas and along  the waterfront. Around a bend at one point, through a tunnel, and we came out upon the face of a  giant lift bridge. It was a great big iron monster that was built at least 50 years ago. We  passed across, riding on a narrow walkway as long as a football field. Then back on the pathway  riding, and we eventually came to the Waterfront Park in Burlington. Here everyone started to  assemble on a large circular pad of concrete, overlooking the blue expanse of lake just over a  wall.
We soon learned that a large group of riders got stuck at the big lift bridge, waiting for a  garbage scow to pass, no doubt. Eventually the stragglers caught up, and could be seen winding  out of a treed area along the path, pedaling their way down to the concrete meeting area in the  park. It was impressive seeing so many kustom bikes lined up in one place, the quality of builds  seems to get better every year. This was photo taking time for me! My camera wasn't going to miss  out on the visual opportunity that presented itself! Others did the same thing, and still more  mingled, discussing the kustom bike movement and where it was going.

Burlington's downtown was next. Its streets began at the peak of a steep inclined pathway ahead  of us. The riders gathered speed as they approached the incline, hoping to get to the top without  having to walk their bikes up. Luckily most were successful at reaching the summit without  putting their feet down, including me! Again we cruised along; in single file, down the main  street, past its boutique shops, and causing a lot of people to give us head-turning stares! We  eventually stopped at a line of shops that included a convenience store and a bar with an outdoor  patio. All the bikes and riders assembled on this stretch, and soon kustom machines were leaning  on every available post. The younger members of the group hit the convenience store for ice  cream. Some of the older set parked themselves under the umbrellas, for a cold brew. At one point  some of the riders, and "Freak Bike Militia" organizers, settled in for a newspaper interview,  with pictures taken by the reporter. All in fun, and seriousness! The reporter even promised to  participate in the 2008 Hamilton cruise, and ride along for the experience.
After a leisurely cruise back to Confederation Park,  the group was ready for the challenge of  the Pixie bikes.  Pixie bikes are small bicycles with 16 inch wheels. The challenge was  especially interesting, for both riders and builders this year. The first competition was a  series of races, with finalists (from each heat) being pitted against each other to determine an  overall winner.  The next competition was in the time-honoured tradition of "jousting"! Each of  the "pixies" in this competition had "side hack" carriers welded on, so that a partner could sit  alongside the driver, and hold a jousting pole: two teams against each other per round, two  riders and two pole jockeys. The jousting poles were long and had padded ends. Then, approaching  from opposite ends of the parking lot, the teams competed to see who could knock the opposing  players off their seats and onto their behinds!
The 2007 Hamilton cruise was the perfect bike event for family and friends of all ages! In  addition, the "Freak Bike Militia" members of Ontario really know how to make cruise participants  feel welcome and appreciated! Anyone lucky enough to take part in a kustom cruise (like Hamilton)  will look forward to the opportunity of attending similar events, again and again. The Hamilton  cruise is one of the "highlights" of the kustom cycling calendar in this part of the country, and  I would recommend to anyone that they try and experience the event first hand. The Ontario "Freak  Bike Militia" deserves a round of applause for their dedication in hosting this event.   Congratulations on a job well done!