Being that it's on Father's day weekend and the fact that I'm a father now make it so that I CAN make the event. I just say "Hey, it's fathers day and I'm doing what I want". I was shocked at the amount of people the first year I went in 2005. Since then I have become used to it and I don't really mind the small hike to get back to the car. I'd want to walk around the race anyway and see what's going on so either way I'm in it. I also don't think the event would have the same energy if it were on a different weekend.
I do like the 1/4 pipe idea. I'd also second a spot/pit for racers that belong to vintage. There seems to be leftover space near the big VBMX truck, maybe it could be there.

To whom it may concern: I built the copper Redline to honor Rockford and all of the guys that ride, build, race, or show these great old school bikes. I am sorry that some of you think that the build was so outrageous. I easily could have tossed some NOS parts together and called it a day. I spent countless hours (over 200 man hours of polishing) and dollars to bring something different for all to enjoy. Back in the day and still today it was and is all about thinking out of the box and expression of personal taste. Last year Woody brought a 24k gold bike and no one had a problem with that. Jason Jenson had a copper bike BITD. Yes my decals were repoped but 99% of the bikes restored have a repop set on them. BIG DEAL! Yes mine were different but it was a very special build. As far as "But under that copper plating there was no originally available color or finish on many of the parts" that is ignorant because I started with original aluminum (silver) parts. Also for the record my number plates are what I ran BITD at my local tracks. I tried to incorporate allot of different aspects to this build. Bottom line guys I tried to bring a beauty for you guys and to honor you all. The bitching and nit picking hurts when the motive was innocent and sincere. I will NEVER bring another blingy show bike back ever again accept the two I already have. Next year I will try to pull out a historical piece to blow your minds with because I don’t want to upset the "purist". Sorry Mike for causing such an uproar. Jeez-o-peat. ~MX-III

Okay, I withdraw everything except the sorely needed more space due to the explanations that make sense to me now. Everything at the show/swap is so crammed in... if that could be fixed, it would all be perfect, IMO.

Lighten up, your bike was fantastic. I thought it was the coolest thing I've seen yet with all the copper. Nothing like it. Who cares what other people comment about, all that matters is that you like it. It didn't get to the banquet without being worthy.

Craig,
Your Redline was absolutely beautiful, as evidenced by the fact that it won. I think you're missing the point though. No one is slamming your bike, it's just that it does not seem right for show bikes to be in the same class as restored bikes. And no matter how it's labeled, your bike is indeed a show bike. Don't get me wrong, I still think it came out beautiful and I told you that at the show, but it is so far above and beyond what a restored bike should be that it should not be in the same class.
I don't know how to remedy this, as I don't know how many classes Mike wants to contend with, but the majority of guys are restoring their bikes to accurate condition and the classes should take that into consideration. This was the same thing that happened in the pit bike class up until this year. The guys with real pit bikes had to compete against fabricated pit bikes and it simply was not right.
You did a phenominal job on that bike, and I'm glad UPS came through and we all got to see it. Like Cash said BMX is in it's infancy, and this show is too, and it will all get worked out in time.
Pete

"Issues with the bathroom door"..... I can laugh about it now...!

Pete woke up early Sunday morning to go ride the skatepark for a bit, and I stayed behind at our room at the Clocktower. Well... I went to the bathroom and closed the door. When I was finished, I couldn't get the door to open. The knob mechanism broke inside, and I had no way out until Pete came back and got the maintenance guys to come get me out over an hour later! That SUCKED!
Pete had a good time laughing about it on the way home......!

In any case- I think Rockford 09 was one of the best ones I've been to yet! Stu was awesome, and it was great that he actually hung out with all of us Saturday during the day between motos for pics, storytelling, and autographs. The new "format" of tagging the bikes with color coded tags was a GREAT idea, and made the job of searching for different types of bikes easier. The tags themselves in the plastic sleeves was great too! (Good job Mike!)
Although it's nice to be in suspense until Saturday night to see who the class winners were, it was cool to have all of the winning bikes there at the banquet to vote on for Best Of Show. The sit-down "Tonight Show" format was cool, BUT.. as mentioned here already, it would have been cool to see the slide show and to hear stories. All the more reason to have Stu come back again in the future!
On the other side of the coin....
I do like the Clocktower, and I think we should remain there, BUT it would be nice if the rates were a tad better. (And if the doorknobs all worked!)
The food at the banquet was not that great, and it sucked to have to pay a buck for every small glass of Coke that I drank.
At the gathering on Saturday, the spaces assigned to us were a bit small. Maybe next year, spaces can be at least 12x12, instead of 10x10. Many canopies don't have legs that come straight down, and if you had a canopy that had legs that were at slight angles outward, you invaded your neighbors space quickly! I know that in years before, we had more space out there, so it seems to me that maybe we can get just a little more breathing room per space.
The classes still need to be dialed in a bit. Although the copper Redline was freakin' beautiful (I voted on it too! - It was AWESOME!), maybe it didn't really belong in the 80's class due to the amount of cosmetic changes that were made. I see both side of the coin on this one, though. But it's hard for anyone to compete against a bike that's had that much work done to it.
The "Open" class really did feature a wide range of bikes, so the "Mid-School" bike class should be addressed next year. There are alot of mid-school bikes out there that deserve the recognition.
I think that once a bike has won a class at Rockford, it should be "retired from competition" and should not be eligible again in following years. I've followed that rule the last few years, and although I "register" the bike online, I've always crossed out the number so nobody votes on it. Maybe we can have a way of registering past Rockford winners in a non-judging class that will still give the bike info to onlookers checking out the bikes on display.
Well.... that's my 2 cents worth.
Great job, Mike!

ps... a "Winter Rockford" in Florida sounds good to me! LOL....

The earliest bmx bikes were Schwinns that were modified in every possible way. We cut off bars, added shocks and monos, we welded cranks together, etc. I loved the Redline and hope to see more like that. Of course I also loved the original Redline Pit that was "as is" from way back. I guarantee you if someone showed up with a mono modified Schwinn that in no way resembled the original Sting Ray, it might have had a chance to win something.

So that's the issue? The cool RL had some copper parts? I'm gonna bring up my cheese coated Kawasaki bike and a bag of chips and we can just go to town!

How about a "Masters" Class for bikes with 1 or 2 prior wins. Mustang Club of America does it with cars that win National Shows. Or Just show for fun like prior comment, once you win with a bike it is not that important to get another win. Just my two cents worth. No problem linking to Race weekend, I can see now how important it is. I was only looking for more space to display with a place "assigned" nearby to park. Some got close, we carried our stuff 850 steps each way. Took two of us a full two hours back and forth. Thanks for letting me get in my 2 cents.

I voted for the Redline, if for no other reason than the chain. That was dedication, attention to detail, etc.

I just saw this back on page 2 of this thread



Cash, you crack me up. I wish we had a video from Friday afternoon at Arby's. That was some funny stuff going on there !!

My overall rundown was that the weekend rocked as usual. I had a great time. I'll put my pros and cons on later, but I pretty much agree with what everyone else is saying.

The event SHOULD NOT be removed from a National race venue. Period.

I like the idea of a buffet too. Earlier in the evening.

Wow, I feel bad I ever even suggested making it a different weekend! I totally understand now! It was just due to being so squeezed in. It's not even that it's so busy or the parking... to me, that wasn't too bad... just the lack of space for the displays is really a bummer. It seems like it's always contained inside that little arbitrary ring of trees. Or am I imagining a ring of trees?

Don't feel bad, you were just expressing your feelings on the subject. I think that's why Mike started this thread, to get a better understanding of everyone's experience as a whole. It's cool.

i say do away with the awards all together and bring it back to a bro down atmosphere.

man... i didnt read ALL of what has been said... but got a few ideas of my own and some of my thoughts....

thursday nite at hooters...i had a blast! dumbest bunch of broads around! wow it was great! but buffalo wild wings would do good...better service normally and usually a little smarter.
fridays breakfast ...tooo early.. 10 am would be a great time... for me.. THIS was my vacation! wanted to try and sleep in just a little...make the swap meet at noon.. everyone has a spot and thats it..
have either a volunteer in the lobby on thursday if not for any other reason just to point people where to go once they check in to get their welcome bag...and in teh bag.. an itinerary for times and rooms about whats goin on... that was my biggest issue .. always had to ask someone and seemed like noone knew anything....another hotel that could accomodate us wouldnt be so bad...the layout of that place blows IMO...and they overcharged me and it took a few days to get straightened out and a huge lack of communication on their part...
spaces...there were so many different things about how one gets a space ...annoying! thats why i ended up with my dude brian... i didnt have a space.. didnt really understand how it worked
chill session w wilkerson ..on point! a few more chairs...but that was an awesome idea!
also maybe even talk to a few different strip clubs ... like free admission with weekend pass.. i know alot of people went(myself included) and i know alot more wanted to go...just throwin it out there...
saturday just ruled! a few minor adjustments that have been addressed already and sounds like the banquet will be even smoother! and its all about "THE TABLE!!!!"
an overall itinerary of whats goin on where and when would help us all... i would have loved to have some photos taken.. but didnt know about it until i stumbled on it and then it was kinda too late ... tryin to do other things... and a map from hotel to track
a map would be awesome... alot of us didnt bring a laptop and printer and nav systems are only as good as knowing the area...

overall i have a few ideas of what I am changing for next year and look forward to seeing alot of the same faces and even a few new! count me in!... and put me down for a spot!
im in!

Guys, I am blown away with the quality of the event you have going each year at Rockford. Looking from afar in Australia at the photos from the event each year really make me wish that I can get there one year to enjoy it in person. One thing that puzzles me though, and I don't believe this is an original view point, but why do you have winners and losers for the quality of bikes that people bring along? It seems strange to me to limit the potential enjoyment of some of the participants with lower budgets by attending the event without a hope of winning anything for the builds they bring along.

We recently had a little gathering in Brisbane Australia, and there is a thread with a link to some photo of the bikes and people and fun going on http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/index....wtopic=27033559 but it didn't occur to me until a week later when someone pointed it out, that the best part was there were no winners or losers. No prizes for who spent the most money or spent the most time working on their bikes.

We all brought along our bikes, lined them up, met and chatted, had a drink and a feed, tried to still ride them the best we can, fell off and bled (well some of us) and had a fantastic day all around.

So I guess, there is one small potential change you could make for the better, which has nothing to do with how much effort people put into organising the event. But congratulations for the effort you guys do put in to making the event happen! Well done!