Get down with the Boogie

Plastic inflatable penises were plentiful throughout the camp ground, as were signs that requested passers by to expose their breasts. Bike engines revved at all hours of the day and night. Clothing was optional, even for those people whose bodies were fighting a losing battle against gravity. Random and crazy were two words that could be used to describe many of the people in attendance, such as Don Berndt. \n"Fuck you Bob!" is what he and his T-shirt said. "There's so many fuckin' Bobs in the world you gotta say fuck you Bob," Berndt said. These are the kinds of things that happen when people sentenced to 40 hours of weekly work until the age of 65 are allowed to get down, let loose, and let it all (yes ALL) hang out. This weekend of freedom is called The Boogie.\nThe 26th annual ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Towards Education) sponsored Boogie lived up to its wild reputation. The sounds of Ted Nugent rocked the forests of Lawrence County Indiana. The powerful arm of Tony Wilson earned him a championship victory in the 151-170 lb. weight class of the arm wrestling competition. The aroma of five dollar corn dogs and beer mixed with motorcycle exhaust and blue port-a-potty water created a smell that was distinctly Boogie.\nFor each of the thousands of motorcycles at the event there was an owner with his or her own story of how and why they started riding. Riding is in the Blood for the Bechtel family of Oden, Indiana, even if getting their bikes meant giving up some fruit and a cow. Displaying his 2004 Iron Horse in the bike show was Clay Bechtel from Oden, Indiana making his third visit to the Boogie along with his father, Don Bechtel. Don recalled how he acquired his first bikes.\n"I first started out on an old blue scooter when I was 13. We'd go over and pick strawberries and sold'em door to door to pay for it," Don said. "Then I ended up, had a milk cow and sold it, then bought a brand new 1965 Yamaha. My family has bought motorcycles off Fox's up there at Bloomington for four generations." \nDon began riding when he was a teenager and quit for several years only to start again when his son bought a motorcycle. \n"I decided I wanted to ride with him before I got too old," Don said referring to his son. Clay has been to other motorcycle events such as Daytona Bike Week in Daytona, Florida and Little Sturgis in Sturgis, Kentucky. He feels that Daytona Bike Week is not as wild as the Boogie. \n"This is better than that just 'cause you get to see titties," Clay said. \nTitties aside, he thinks that the Boogie should look to Little Sturgis for improvements. \n"A lot of people like to go up there because the roads are blacktopped, and you know, their bikes don't get all shitty." Clay said. "Instead of spending money on them high dollar concerts they should lay off a couple years, and pave this." \nThe Boogie is held in an area of several hundred acres with gravel paths to allow bikers to ride throughout the camp ground. Michael Thomson who buys, restores, and sells vintage motorcycles for a living describes a prime example of why some Boogie-ers might prefer paved roads. The previous night he and his wife rode a motorcycle with a side car attached to see Ted Nugent who was headlining the event. Shortly after The Nuge began his performance it began to rain heavily. \n"We took my wife's three-wheeler, or her side-car rig, so we didn't have too much trouble slipping and sliding and falling down, but a lot of other people did," Thomson said. "There was four or five guys that hit that slick mud up there last night and just dumped it, big time." \nThomson hails from Arkansas and came to the Boogie with his wife Jessica. He tries to go to all the motorcycle events that he can such as Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota and Daytona Bike Week. The couple was on a trip that included stops at a bike show in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and AMA's (American Motorcyclist's Association) Vintage Motorcycle Days at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. For this trip Thomson brought a 1963 Harley Davidson Sprint, a 1970 Triumph Bonneville, and a 1966 BMW. Thomson hauled his bikes in a trailer attached to his RV. Increases in fuel prices have forced Thomson to stop traveling as much as he used to. "This is a three week trip we're doing now and then I'm heading home and that's it," Thomson said. "Usually we'll do a month or two trip at a time for maybe two or three times a year; we're just not doing it anymore with the fuel prices the way it is. We can't do it. It's just too much money."\nTom Sage has been coming to the Boogie since 1998 and has also noticed a decrease in attendance. \n"There ain't as many people as normal," Sage said. "Usually you can't find an empty spot." \nSage is a road warrior, making his way to biker rallies rain or shine with nothing but the wind in his hair. \n"Keep going, unless it's hailing," Sage said. He does not wear a helmet or goggles. "Got a windshield," Sage said. Sage will brave the elements to make it to the Boogie and other events like it for one reason. "It's a good party"