We made the rounds and wound up at the town center for a much needed rest, a very classy area! For the people in the square it was like a rolling bike show had just blown in!  Eric Hannan was bombarded with questions about his bikes; they were instant crowd pleasers! The rest of the group found Eric's plight amusing, and thought that he should have prepared a handout that answered all the regular questions.
.
All in all it was an amazing and memorable day, that won't soon be forgotten! This year's big summer Freakbike meet in Ontario will be held on July 20 and 21. Keep your calendars free; it's something you don't want to miss! John Brain
">
">
">
">
Hamilton, Ontario
FreakBike Militia Meeting, 2006
By John Brain, with photos by the author
The conspiracy was planned by three individuals: Tony DeBelliss, Mike Jones, and Dustin Fournier. Main players in The Golden Horseshoe chapter of the "Freakbike Militia" founded earlier in the year. This was the first time bike builders from Ontario, Quebec, and some of the neighboring American States came together for an international Freakbike happening!

The morning of Saturday July 15th 2006 was the day everyone converged on Hamilton, Ontario Canada! The precise destination being "Confederation Park", near the waterfront. Of course I was a bit late, my sense of direction being the culprit, again! When I finally got my bearings, and some good directions to the meet site, I finally got myself there. It's the sight of that first bike when you arrive in your car that gets your adrenalin flowing! Then I could see the groups of people, sitting, riding, and conversing around open trunk lids of cars. People were assembling their bikes in the shade of the big trees next to the parking lot, others who had arrived earlier were making the rounds checking out the action, and the people along the waterfront trail!

11:30 a.m., and it was hot! I got out of my car and went looking for something to drink. I recognized a couple of faces and a couple of bikes,
there aren't too many rides that have 300mm of rubber in the back so you know where they come from!  I find Mike Jones talking to a group of people at the back of one truck, Mike introduced me to everyone, and I find I am already familiar with most of them, and they are familiar with me; this is the legacy of the Internet. Mike came well prepared for the day, and I managed to raid the cooler in the trunk of his van for a bottle of water! I was back in business after my 80-mile trip!

Two weeks of scrambling to get a bike together for the cruise and there I was! I went back to my car eagerly, looking forward to getting my little yellow bike together. I was near a shady tree (thankfully) so I didn't have to fry in the sun during the reassembly. The bike needed very little to get put together, just the forks and the handlebars put back on. The whole thing took about 5 minutes, and I was off.
.
The event was buzzing, everyone checking out the fine details of everyone else's bike. A lot of conversation, picture taking and test piloting!  Eric Hannan from Montreal was at the meet with his rolling arsenal of street machines, amazing all those who dared to take up his offer to ride them. Everyone who got the chance to ride Eric's machines came away a believer!

After a couple of hours of getting acquainted the "Freakbike Militia" way, the call went out that the ride was about to begin. Everyone assembled on the bike path called the waterfront trail. The man many know as Budzilla made the trek up from Michigan with his kustom rides,
including a "tall bike", a machine that could only be mounted by climbing a tree or similarly "tall" starting off point! It was interesting watching "Budz" do his thing with this skyscraping beast, including his successful ride over an enormous bridge that had a narrow pathway meant for one cycle at a time. The luckiest man of the day was Jim (Chainsaw) Johnson who had the pleasure of test piloting the wild "Hannan Customs" bike that sported 300mm worth of rubber on the back. The 20-mile trip went off without a hitch and no breakdowns. The heat was still pretty intense during the ride and many stopped for a brew on the way back, at a local watering hole with outdoor seating.


ridable by children, let alone adults! Seeing as how the Pixie races were going to be mainly a contest for the men in attendance there was quite a bit of interest in how things were going to go! It turned out to be pretty wild, with a lot of energy spent by the 200-pound guys riding these tiny little death machines! Some participants really got competitive, took it to the extreme, and, drew blood! All to much cheering and laughter from the spectators! Special thanks go out to Jim (Chainsaw) Johnson and his wife Dora (Giggles), they organized the event and handmade the prizes that went to the winners!

After the cruise the fun began! Everyone congregated to watch the pixie bike races! Pixie bikes are tiny little bikes with 16-inch wheels, barely
Adults and children alike attended the Freakbike cruise, and many went away with one of the many door prizes provided by companies and individuals like "Atomic Zombie", "Firebikes", "ChoppersU.S." and "Marty Eden".
.Tony DeBellis was able to invite a few of the "out-of-towners" back to his place in the evening, for kind of a summit meeting and hotdog fest!  Tony, Mike Jones, Eric Hannan, Budzilla, Chainsaw, Giggles, Frisbeeguy (Dustin Fournier) and me, all sat back (with our sunburns) next to the pool, and talked shop!  Tony and his wife were marvelous hosts to this band of weary and eccentric individuals.
.
After the meal, and unable to stay away from the bikes, the male members of the group decided to go on a night cruise to the local downtown area. I think to work off the calories from the mountain of burgers and hotdogs provided by Tony and his wife!
.
I'm sure it was a helluva' sight for onlookers, observing this group of desperados on freakbikes descending on their downtown like a swarm! The double takes from pedestrians was a sight to see! One little kid yelled out to me in astonishment, and pensively asked if we were a "bike gang", I yelled back "no!" that we were just out having a good time, the boy smiled! Everyone needs to witness big Jim (Chainsaw) Johnson approaching them on a wicked kustom machine, it's truly an awe-inspiring sight!

We made the rounds and wound up at the town center for a much needed rest, a very classy area! For the people in the square it was like a rolling bike show had just blown in!  Eric Hannan was bombarded with questions about his bikes; they were instant crowd pleasers! The rest of the group found Eric's plight amusing, and thought that he should have prepared a handout that answered all the regular questions.
.
All in all it was an amazing and memorable day, that won't soon be forgotten! This year's big summer Freakbike meet in Ontario will be held on July 20 and 21. Keep your calendars free; it's something you don't want to miss! John Brain
.