Road Trip: Harley Davidson's 95th/HOG's 15th Anniversaries

Early in 1998, I read on Harley's website that they were looking for antique bikes for their bike show at the 95th celebration. I sent in a picture of my '66 Bobcat, which is unrestored, hoping that it would be chosen. I never really thought it would be, but one day in early May we were checking the mail and found a large envelope from Harley Davidson. I periodically get "stuff" from them so jokingly said "gee, maybe they picked the Bobcat for the bikeshow" and stuffed the envelope into my jacket and rode to the house. When I got inside, I opened it and pulled out a letter. All I read was "We are happy to inform you..." and I started screaming & jumping around. They picked the Bobcat! There was a gate pass to the Summerfest grounds and instructions to deliver the bike on Friday, the day before the Big Event. This created a problem. We were going to be at the HOG 15th Anniversary Rally the three days before the 95th celebration. We were only staying the day on Wednesday (we live 100 miles from Milwaukee), but would be getting a swanky hotel room for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. How would we get the Bobcat down there without making extra trips? Problem solved! I redefined trailering.

I received some goodies for participation in the bike show, including a belt buckle/pin/key fob set in a laser-engraved wooden box, a nice white "STAFF" shirt to wear to the 95th, and an admission ticket. Since I'd already bought my ticket a yeat before, I kept it as a souvenir. There's a couple pics of these items in the bikes section.