Road Trippin’ to the Hog Wild Rodeo - Conesville, Iowa

We stopped for fast food at an Arby’s near Chipp’s Harley-Davidson in Osceola, Iowa, where we had a good visit with the service manager from Chipp’s who was taking his lunch break. The Osceola dealership is a satellite store of C&C Custom Cycle in nearby Chariton. We made brief stops at C&C and Fat Baggers, Inc., next door before resuming our ride. Although the property owned by Circle of Pride features many acres of camping space, Mike and I elected to spend our nights at the home of my long-time buddy Mark “Zick” Zickefoose who lives in Washington, Iowa, only a half hour from the rally site. We arrived in Zick’s driveway just a few minutes before he came home from work. The first order of business was to take a look at the custom scoot Zick is building around his ’81 Shovelhead motor. The project was just getting started when I saw the bike a year ago, and now it is nearly complete. It’s going to be a super-cool, one-of-a-kind ride, and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

We were soon joined by Zick’s friend Mike Rousch who rode in on his Sportster chopper with his girlfriend Brenda. Mike has fabricated a number of custom parts for his own bike and those of his friends, including Zick. We all enjoyed dinner at a Mexican restaurant where the food is great and the margaritas are HUGE. Back at Zick’s our conversation covered a wide range of topics from motorcycles to our mutual love of rhubarb cobbler.

On Friday morning, Mike and I ate breakfast at a truck stop at the intersection of highways Iowa 92 and US 218 on the eastern edge of Ainsworth. Since we had time before any rally events began, we decided to backtrack after breakfast to check out a new motorcycle shop in downtown Ainsworth. Zick and Mike told us we would be impressed with Papa Clutch Customs, and they were right! We were intrigued by the concept of a motorcycle shop in a one-half square-mile town with only about 525 residents. The store is located in a remodeled bank building on Railroad Street between Janene’s Hair Cottage and Leroy Brown’s Bar. We learned from the proprietor, Tim Anding, that Papa Clutch Customs is Iowa’s exclusive dealership for Sucker Punch Sally’s old-school factory custom choppers and bobbers and is also a full-service motorcycle shop featuring custom bike-building, clothing and parts sales, and repair and maintenance for all motorcycle brands. Lots more information about Papa Clutch Customs is available in their business review.

When we arrived at the Circle of Pride grounds, it was immediately apparent to me that there had been big changes since my visit a year ago. The large yellow and orange canopy that had provided shade for bike shows and other activities for many years had been replaced by a huge permanent open-air structure called One-Eyed Jack’s. This venue housed a stage, bar, and a special spot for one of the rally’s favorite mainstays, Bob the naughty mechanical bull. One-Eyed Jack’s is now the centerpiece of a large vendor area where rally attendees can shop for a wide variety of products including T-shirts, leather goods, jewelry, and other items. Boobie beads and sex toys were also available. Several vendors provided food on the midway, and the Thirsty Camel was open for those who preferred an indoor, sit-down meal. The Possum Lodge is another on-site venue featuring live musical entertainment and adult beverages. For those looking to decorate their skin, tattoo artists provided permanent art while an airbrush artist painted colorful body decorations that would last for the weekend. A center of major activity is the on-site eighth-mile drag strip where racers practiced on Friday in preparation for Saturday’s elimination runs.

I was pleased to introduce Mike to friends like fellow photographer Terry Orr, Circle of Pride President “Possum,” and Keith McAlpine who owns and operates the mechanical bull. We were also pleased to see “Clean” Dean Shawler, Editor-in-Chief of Biker. We met people from all over, even including some from back home in the Kansas City area. We enjoyed the comedy of Bag Lady Sue and music from many bands including Skin Kandy, Randall Zwarte Band, and Ross & Rotten. In the evening, there is always a large crowd gathered around Bob the Bull, where the applause for the lady riders increases in direct proportion to the number of articles of clothing they remove. A late-night feature at the rally is the “What T-Shirt?” contest. For Mike and me, it was a late, cool ride back to Washington.

On Saturday morning, we again made a stop at Papa Clutch’s and enjoyed meeting Tim’s wife and business partner, Dana, a.k.a. “The All Mighty.” We missed the morning poker run, but got to the rally in time for the noon opening ceremonies at the drag strip. Following the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a V.F.W. color guard marched down the strip followed by a group of current military personnel and veterans who had been invited to participate. They received a resounding, well-deserved ovation from the large audience lining both sides of the strip. In addition to the afternoon drag racing competition, there was an arm-wrestling tournament contested in the main bar. The bike show featured great-looking scoots in every class. There was no shortage of scantily clad biker babes who were happy to pose for photos with the show bikes.

Meanwhile back at the drag strip, eliminations were being hotly contested in eight Harley-Davidson index, five import index, and eight heads-up classes. The track announcer is Charlie, the “F*ck Man” who earns his nickname by the colorful language he uses while describing the races and hassling the import riders (all in fun). During breaks in the competition, several fire-breathing nitro drag bikes made exhibition passes. The burnouts and launches were spectacular, but on the narrow, short strip, these bikes had to be shut down pretty quickly. I was pleased to visit with one of the riders between passes.

CC: First, what’s your name and where are you from?
Alvin: I’m Alvin Kobernusz from Manly, Iowa, just north of Mason City.

CC: You and your buddies are here doing exhibition runs on this one-eighth-mile strip.
Alvin: Yes, we’re all from northern Iowa. Alan Peterson from Titonka is a legendary veteran of this sport. His son is here also. Tony Galendo is from Mason City. He’s a legend, too. I’m the newbie of the group, even though I’m as old as they are. This is my fourth year of running this.

CC: Do you race in A.H.D.R.A.?
Alvin: I’ll hit the Sturgis event. I was runner-up in Top Fuel there last year. I may also race in Ohio.

CC: What will your bike do on a quarter-mile track?
Alvin: The fastest it’s ever run is a 6.56-second pass at 215 miles per hour, but that was by a previous owner. I haven’t run that kind of numbers yet, but on eighth-mile strips, I consistently run 4.7 to 4.8 at 150 to 160. We are probably doing 100 after 100 feet.

CC: What kind of horsepower does it make?
Alvin: About 800 on nitro.

CC: Wow! That’s a lot for a motorcycle. Tell me a little more about the bike.
Alvin: The frame is out of Texas. It’s a Weekend chrome moly frame with carbon fiber body. The motor is 175 cubic inches. It’s totally a billet-made engine. It was designed and built by Mike Romine, another legendary racer. We go through 2-1/2 gallons of nitro in a quarter mile, and it costs $22 per gallon delivered to my house. We run 98% nitro and 2% alcohol. The nitro probably triples the horsepower. The bike weighs 656 pounds with no fuel. There’s no transmission. It’s strictly managed with a slip clutch. I have a 13-inch tire on the back. You can run a 14-inch, but I hear that it’s a lot harder to handle. I’ll stick with the 13 until I have more experience. It needs a new back tire after every ten passes. I haven’t changed the front tire in four years.

CC: The front is probably in the air most of the time.
Alvin: On the track, it’s carried. You shift your weight to try to keep the back tire as flat as you can. You can’t steer it. It doesn’t steer.

CC: How do you like doing exhibitions like this one?
Alvin: There are a lot of people here. There might be more than at the Sturgis drag strip. This is probably the most fun place we come. The people here really appreciate us.

CC: It’s definitely something they don’t get to see every day.
Alvin: I was hooked on it the first time I saw them run. It was probably Alan Peterson and Tony Galendo. It took me a few years to get ready to buy one of my own, and now, here I am.

CC: I’m glad you’re here. You guys put on quite a show! Thanks a lot.

The drag races continued until about 4 p.m. when the awards were presented for the poker run, bike show, and races. There was tough biker boxing for men and women in a ring next to One-Eyed Jack’s, and great bands played on all three stages. The Fryed Brothers Band is always a biker favorite.

During the late afternoon, we felt like getting in the wind for a bit and decided to pay a visit to Leroy Brown’s in Ainsworth. We had a good time hanging out with Tim, Dana, and other locals. The bar owner, a cutie named Amber, made us feel very welcome during our brief break from the rally.

The Hog Wild Rodeo was a great party from beginning to end. As always, Possum and the Circle of Pride members worked really hard to make sure everyone had a blast. Remember, the next wild biker party at Conesville is Thunder in the Sand during the Labor Day weekend. If you’re of age and are looking for a chance to escape from the ordinary for a few days, Conesville, Iowa, just might be the destination for you.

On Sunday morning, Mike Roush returned to Zick’s house to do an interview for a Cycle Connections Readers and Their Rides feature . He brought his cute daughter Kaitlin along. There was another surprise. Brenda had sent a plate of rhubarb cobbler for our breakfast. We devoured the delicious pastry in nothing flat. During our stay, Washington pals “Hippy” and Frank also stopped by to visit. By late morning, it was time for Mike and me to say our goodbyes and head for home. A strong north wind practically blew us back to Kansas City. We both had a great time and look forward to our next visit to the Hawkeye State.

Article by Stripe
Photos by Stripe and Mike Schweder