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KCBS News FeedBBQ Tour Stop #21 - Bikes, Blues & BBQ
October 6, 2009 Chris and I headed south to Fayetteville for the 10th Annual Bikes, Blues and BBQ event. Someone told us that this is the second largest bike rally after Sturgis and by the end of the weekend, I would have to agree. I don’t think I have ever seen so many bikes in my life.Each bike being customized to the owners’ liking compared favorably to the BBQ lifestyle. Each pit and cooking area is unique to match the pit master’s unique personality. The Slow Hand BBQ team across from us built their own smoker, which was covered with Arkansas Razorback logos. The guys from Flintco had multiple cookers and a large decorated area to entertain family, friends and clients.
We pulled onto the parking lot across the street from Baum Stadium (home of the Arkansas Razorback baseball team) on Thursday. The lot was still fairly empty so set up was nice and easy. As we were unloading, we noticed that we didn’t have access to electrical outlets. This meant an evening trip to the gas station was in order to fuel our generator. The bikes, helicopter tours and train whistle frequently drowned out the humming of the teams’ generators though. Our parking lot was also the drop-off site for the train. The train shuttled people from Dickson Street, where most of the motorcycle action was located, to the cook-off and motorcycle vending area across the street.
Original expectations of around 40 teams in attendance were exceeded, as 55 teams loaded into the parking lot and the organizers found spots for them all. The quality level of teams was evident as we looked around the KCBS trailer and saw Pellet Envy, Habitual Smokers, Smokin’ Bones, Learn2Q, Hog Tide, Butcher BBQ, Buffalo’s BBQ and The Smoking Hills.
Friday night was the People’s Choice competition. The People’s Choice sold over 3,000 tickets last year to raise money for the event’s charity. The nice thing about the people’s choice competition was that it didn’t have to be BBQ. Our neighbor, Slow Hand BBQ, had a never-ending line for their gumbo. I also saw Habitual Smokers start with chicken and then work their way through samples of every other KCBS category for the massive crowd.
It is always nice to see old friends, especially the people closely associated with the BBQ Tour. Beth Freeman, with Kingsford Charcoal, stopped by with her husband and little boy. We also had Jamie Britton, Dan Cummins and his wife help us pass out SCOTT Shop Towels, Rapid Dissolve and Wypall. Wypall is one of SCOTT’s newest products. It is a washable heavy-duty towel similar to the red cloth towels mechanics use.
At the end of the day, The Smoking Hills walked off with the Grand Champion pig trophy while Butchers BBQ won Reserve. A couple of teams even placed in the top ten in all four categories which really showed the level of competitors at the event. For BBQ Lovers and bikers alike, this was the place to be!
Mike (& Chris) Peters
