Testimonial

Rick with JoeRides took some pictures of us in Panama City Beach Thunder Beach 2012. We're so please with the quality of the picture. The beach is in the background and the photo is so crisp and clear. He really captured the moment! Looking up the pictures is so easy and he has so many options to purchase the pictures. We will cherish that photo for a lifetime! Thank you JoeRides!!! We'll be back to order more pictures at the next event!!      

Thank you, 

 Francois P. Levesque

Thank you Francois for the opportunity of shooting your pics and for the opportunity to share that moment in time with you. We look forward to seeing you at the next rally.

JoeRides

Triumph Superbike Classic Barber Motorsports Park June 22nd - 24th 2012

AMA Pro Road Racing returns for the tenth time and is headed to Barber Motorsports Park, June 22nd – 24th for the Triumph Superbike Classic. Barber Motorsports Park, 2.38 miles through 14 turns offers up some of the most fan-tastic racing on the AMA circuit. Fans will enjoy from one of the many fan-vantage points around the track, intense practice and qualifying sessions capped off by 7 action packed races.


When not watching the races, you can walk through the Paddock (garage) area where you can observe up close, what it takes to prep and maintain the bike of your favorite rider or make the Fan Walk for photos and an autograph or two. Save some time at the gate by purchasing your tickets in advance. Go to http://barbermotorsports.com/park/ and click on “Tickets” then click “Purchase Tickets”. For the best value, select “Three-Day General Admission” and while you are there, don’t forget that all-important “Three-Day Paddock Upgrade” to get you in the Paddock.

See you at the track.

Thunder Beach Spring Rally 2012 May 2nd thru May 6th

Just 4 days till the start of the 2012 spring edition of Thunder Beach, “The Most Biker-Friendly Free Motorcycle Rally In The USA.” If you haven’t made plans yet, it’s not too late. The rally begins on May 2^nd and officially kicks off with the “Kick-Start Party – Under The Stars” at 6pm at the Headquarters for the 2012 Spring Rally at the Shores of Panama City Resort. At 7pm the Thunder Beach Pageant 1^st Preliminary round begins. Then later in the evening, the “Kick-Start After Party cranks up at 9pm at Pineapple Willy’s. Toss in Mustang Sally at the Sandpiper Beacon, Horizon at Ms. Newby’s and the ZZ Top Tribute Band – Velcro Fly at Wicked Wheel and caped off with Big Engine at the Sandpiper Beacon and you have day one.

Could it get any better than all that? Yes! Each day is filled with something to see and do for everyone. While you are out cruising along Front Beach road, be sure to look for JoeRides.com shooting pics of you as you enjoy your ride along one of the nicest beaches in Florida, Panama City Beach. Our tentative shooting schedule will be Wed - Sat between the hours of 9:30am-1:00pm and again at sunset, approximately 7pm-7:25pm then Sunday 9:30am – 1:00pm, all weather & scheduling permitting of course. Be sure to note the day and time that you ride by as we will post your pics up on our site in a gallery by that time block for your review. We do our best to shoot every rider that goes by but at times the traffic just doesn’t allow it so if we miss you, we apologize and hope that you understand.

So, if you haven’t already, pack your bags, make your reservations and head down to the “The Most Biker-Friendly, Free Motorcycle Rally In The USA” Thunder Beach in Panama City, FL.  For more details go to http://www.thunderbeachproductions.com

See you on the beach!

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy

Large crowds turning out for Indy car racing in Alabama, home of the NCAA football National Champions three years running, home to Talladega International Speedway fastest track in NASCAR. Well that’s exactly what you had for this years Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy at the infamous Barber Motorsports Park.  Officials estimate a three-day crowd of over eighty-one thousand fans in attendance with over fifty-two thousand of those on Sunday alone. Where did they all come from? Well, according to the folks at Zoom Motorsports, fans from 43 different states purchased tickets and descended upon Birmingham Alabama bringing with them, according to the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, an economic impact that will exceed $30 million dollars.

What did all those fans get for their money? They witnessed three days of high-speed wheel-to-wheel practice and qualifying sessions and hard fought racing on a challenging 2.38 mile 17 turn road course in the Barber Motorsports Park. Toss in a ride on the Neverland Ferris Wheel, a flight on the National Guard zip line and a walk through the Indy Car Fan Village and Grand-Am Fan Zone and you have a fun filled weekend for the entire family. Spectators came with chairs, blankets and push up tents in hand, finding excellent hill side vantage points all around the track while others simply took up seats in the bleachers high above turn eleven along the back stretch.
And when the action wasn’t right in front of them, fans could find it on one of the many jumbo-trons, strategically placed around the track.

 

Patrick Dempsey

As if all that on track action weren’t enough, the paddock (garage area) was open throughout the weekend and there you could stroll through and see first hand what the pit crews do to get their cars ready for the next run. If you were lucky, you might snap a photo with a driver as they relax between events or get an autograph during the IZOD Indy car autograph session or the Continental Tire Fan Walk Pre-Race along pit road. Getting back to your trackside seat for the main event, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, was easy when you caught a ride on one of the many trams constantly circling the track.

Will Power

Back at your seat, as the green flag drops on a field of 26 cars, you settle in for 90 intense laps of high speed close quarters racing that included nine lead changes with only two caution flags for ten laps. Will Power #12, driver of the Verizon - Team Penske - Chevrolet, pulled the fastest lap, 114.379mph through lap 79 and he ultimately went on to win by a victory margin of 3.3709 seconds over Scott Dixon #9, driver of the Target - Chip Ganassi Racing - Honda. Power was quoted in an interview released by Zoom Motorsports as saying, “When I come to Barber Motorsports Park, it feels like home,” “I really enjoy this place. It's probably the best facility we go to as far as road courses.” Power backed that statement up with his second straight victory of this event in as many years as well as a fourth place here in 2010.

In conclusion, the 2012 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy was a huge success and that success was born out of the efforts of Barber Motorsports Park to host this great event, the hard work by the folks of ZOOM Motorsports and their hundreds of volunteers and most importantly, you the fans. If you missed this year, make plans now to be there in 2013.

You won’t regret it!

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum began life in 1988 as a private collection of George W.Barber, owner of Barber Dairies. They first opened their doors to the public in March of 1995 at a location on Birmingham’s Southside and operated there until November 2002. In September 2003, the museum re-opened at the famed Barber Motorsports Park, a first class world known motorsports track that entertains major events such as AMA Superbike, Barber Vintage Festival, Sports Car Club of America, WERA regionals, and have recently added Honda Indy Grand Prix race. If that weren’t enough, the track plays host to several dozen track time events and driving schools through groups like Sportbike Track Time, Penguin Roadracing School, Porsche Club of America, BMW Car Club, RideSmart Motorcycle School and Rezoom Motorsports just to name a few.

The museum, sitting proudly on a hill overlooking the track, is the first building you see as you enter the Motorsports Park and is home to a collection of over 1200 vintage and current day motorcycles. Add to    that a large collection of race cars that include the likes of Lotus and you have what is likely to be the largest collection of its kind in North America and the world. Visit the museum and you’ll be presented with approximately 600 of the 1200 motorcycles in their collection that is spread out over five floors. Each floor display of a motorcycle includes a brief description of that bike which includes the year, make-n-model, engine size, the country of origin along with a tidbit of information on the motorcycle. The floor displays are situated in a way that enables you to walk right up to the bike (please don’t touch) and get an up close and personal look and make pictures if you like (no tripods please).

Barber Vintage Museum’s exhibit has gone on the road with twenty-one of their motorcycles which were featured in the famed Art of the Motorcycle exhibit at Guggenheim’s New York, Bilbao Spain, and the Field Museum in Chicago. Motorcycles from the Barber collection were also featured in a special exhibit presented by the Birmingham Museum of Art. Over 200 manufacturers from 20 different countries are represented through common street bikes as
well as rare Grand Prix racers. Admission to the museum is a reasonable $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 4-12 and free for children 3 and under with group rates available. Memberships have their rewards and Barber Motorsports Museum members are no exception. Each member enjoys free admission to the museum as well as discounts on museum store items and a discount on a single adult admission when accompanied by a member. Members are also invited to attend special “members only” events.

So, if you are a motorsports enthusiast and you haven’t been there yet, the Barber Motorsports Vintage Museum should be at the top of your bucket list of places you should go to. Even if you're not a motorsports enthusiast, the museum offers a look at history told through the evolution of technology used in the motorcycle industry and is a must see. For a quality visit, plan on spending three to five hours in the museum as each bike on display has a story to tell. For more information including museum membership and details on schedule of events, go to www.barbermuseum.org.

Preparation to ride.

I believe this winter will go down as one of the most brutal of all times, at least for riding that is. Here in the south, we typically can count on two to three good weekends a month of winter riding. But this winter has been different, with practically every weekend since December 1^st.having temps in the mid to low 40s and almost all of them included the threat of precipitation. Die hard riders can deal with the low temps but I’ve never talked to anyone that enjoys riding in the rain much less a cold rain.

So what do we do with all the down time on those frigid Saturdays now that football season is wrapped up? Well, it’s a great time to prep your bike for that first good weekend of 2012, and since safety is a top priority, you should start by performing a safety check on your bike. So pull up a rolling stool, pen-n-pad and a digital camera if you have it and let’s get started.
 

Her name is Harley

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Her name is Harley and she rides a motorcycle. You might think that’s a typical name for a biker but you would be wrong as Harley is anything but typical. You see she is a one and a half year old mix breed female dog rescued from a heartless roadside abandonment and her favorite ride is on a Honda Gold Wing. Her best friend Wade, whom she rides with, has been a motorcycle enthusiast for over forty years and has owned around thirty different bikes in his time. Most recently, he and Harley ride a Honda Gold Wing as well as a Harley Davidson Road King.

According to Kimberly, Wade’s wife, “he wasn’t much of an animal lover when they were first married but that changed over time” through their experiences with a dog that she loved for over eighteen years. Kimberly rides with Wade on occasion and has even ridden a bike of her own at one time, but now she gives up her passenger seat to Harley or Gold Wing. Wait a minute; shouldn’t that be on a Gold Wing? No, actually Gold Wing is a four-year-old mix breed female that too was rescued from eminent death by roadside abandonment. “Gold Wing”, Kimberly said, “took to riding immediately” but unlike her adopted sister Harley, “prefers riding on the tank” and usually on the Road King.

Gold Wing and Wade

When asked if they did any long distance touring on their bikes, Wade said, “my current job in sales and industrial design doesn’t allow for much extended travels via motorcycle right now.” He went on to say that they have trailered their bikes on vacations and ridden them then but nothing long distance. But Harley probably holds the record in their family of pets for the longest duration of time spent in the saddle, two and a half hours according to Wade. Like any hard-core biker, both Harley and Gold Wing dress the part usually donning goggles and a helmets that are topped with a bright safety orange mohawk hair piece. Wade secures both Harley and Gold Wing with a special harness and seat-belt like straps that prevent them from accidentally falling from the bike as they ride.

Now I have photographed Wade on several occasions as he rode to the summit of Mt. Cheaha but on this particular Saturday, I was fortunate to catch him with Harley in the passenger’s seat. “Mt. Cheaha is close to where I live” said Wade, “so on nice days we make a loop, riding up one side of the mountain and down the other.” On that day it was a nice day to ride and Harley certainly appeared to be enjoying it. What impressed me were her manners as she and Wade cruised by. Not once did she bark or appear anxious as many dogs would, when she saw me, a stranger, standing there on the side of the road. “She never barks” said Wade, “nor does Gold Wing when they ride”. Instead it appeared as though she knew why I was there, knew what I was doing and she knew she had to pose for that perfect picture, which she did. No, as I said before, Harley is anything but typical.