Speechless. Elated. Exhausted. First three words that come to my mind after @cheapthrillsseaside After the show I had to take a few days to collect my thoughts and put this post together. It was one Hell of a weekend and one for the record books. To think I almost bailed too because of a situation that arose with the front wheel. (Those who know, you know.) Thinking back I realize how stupid bailing would have been. We've all been there especially when we're overtired, pushed to our limits and also perfectionists. I struggled with unveiling the bike if it wasn't 100% right. However, we pulled through and got the bike done. The response was absolutely overwhelming. It couldn't have debuted at a better show being a Jersey built bike. This bike has been stuck in my head since I was a kid looking at my dad's old photos. I started collecting parts about 12 years ago and took approximately 9 months to build. Watching my dad win Best in Show at the Sportsters at The Shore made all the hard work and mountains of stress worth it. I'm happy my dad took that credit because he was the one who built it the first time around. I did my best to replicate his ideas from 1972 and source the parts he had. To top it off the Hondaster also won "Weirdest" Sportster. These two bikes I believe really show what RetroFit is capable of. From the meticulously accurate to the unexpectedly fun. I have to thank Walter, Dusty and Truth for also winning the free weekend and putting on an amazing show. Huge thank you to Ed for replicating the paint job. I knew this was a tall order and you nailed it my friend. Thank you for the numerous sprayouts and patience with me haha. Ben for absolutely everything you did from lifting, lugging, wrenching, welding, polishing. I couldn't have made it without your help. Greg for fixing up the seat in record time. I also have to thank all these people below that helped with the build by sourcing/donating parts their time and just overall moral support. I can't list everything you all did but you know what you did to make this bike come together and I am forever grateful. Thank you! I'm now going to catch up on the last two months of sleep I lost...

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And now for something completely different! This week marks one year ago that @miss_mundy said yes to me! An absolutely unforgettable occasion at camping at my families farm with our best friends. A few months back we commissioned @deanchoochlandry to do an engagement photo shoot with us right in our own back yard. The experience was incredible. Dean is one of the most down to earth people I’ve ever met. He spent more than half the day with us talking and learning about his process and cameras. He could not have been more generous with his time. To mark our one year “engage-iversary” Kate and decided to post a few of our photos now. I can’t wait to make things official with you next year babe!

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We’ve got paint for the @joepanhead1313 Sportster clone! Huge thanks to @eddispeachy for replicating this paint job. I knew it was a tall order and he did a fantastic job. Swipe to the next photo and these photos are 49 years apart from each other. The old photos may seem darker but that’s because they were taken in a basement with just a 60 watt bulb where my dad originally built the first bike. Lots of assembly work ahead of us to have it ready for @cheapthrillsnj next weekend.

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