I arrived in Fayetteville, Arkansas last October, totally unaware of the existence of the booming motorcycle rally I had missed by some days. Many would say I was lucky. Honestly, given my general shyness and anxiety in crowds, they would probably be right; I don’t think it would have been the best way to introduce me to this kind-of-midwestern, kind-of-southern town that I now call home. The time since then has not only allowed me to become much more comfortable here and build friendships, but has also given me the chance to develop a healthy appreciation for (or slightly unhealthy obsession with) motorcycles, and to buy my own. (I’ll write more about that later. For now, I’ll just say that his name is Barabas.)
Needless to say (though I will anyway), being now a resident of Fayetteville for nearly a year, and being still in the infatuation stage of motorcycling, and a photographer, I considered it a necessity to go downtown for the rally this year with a couple of other camera-wielding friends. We met up at a cafe off the bike path, and made our way to Dickson Street (which serves as a sort of hub for activity in Fayetteville), and took in the experience as best we could. JC, who is a native of this area, had never actually made a point to observe the rally up close, so it was a fresh experience for him as well. Hayley, JC’s girlfriend, was kind (and patient) enough to humour us as we walked about and took photos of the people, motorcycles, and her.
Once the sun was nearly down and we’d walked about quite a bit, we decided to get something to eat and finish out the evening. We opted for Tiny Tim’s Pizza, which was quite good — even if it wasn’t close to Chicago style. All in all, it was one of the better days I’ve had in a good while, and I came away from it with a good few photos that I enjoyed, so I was happy. And still am. Though, now that I’ve experienced it, I know I wouldn’t want to actually participate in the rally, even if I was confident enough on my own bike. It’s just … a lot. That’s my opinion of Bikes Blue & BBQ. Anyway, I don’t often put up entries here with a lot of images, but I think I ought to more often. I hope you enjoy.
— Joel
(all images taken with Fujifilm X-Pro2 & either the Fuji 23mm f/2, 18-55mm f/2.8-4, or Helios-44m)