The time trials are a feat of wills and control over a bike. It comes down to experience handling a two wheeled instrument on the road.

So imagine being in the air, flying fast, breaking the sound barrier. Hitting mach 1 for the first time in 1947, Chuck Yeager did just that. In 1953 Jackie Cochran became the first female pilot to do the same.

We may not see speeds that quick on the ground, but we sure try.

We shared display space with Performance Motorcycles – an Army bike that saw military action, a Ducati, a couple of racers… we were in an elite crowd!

The stunt show performers took to the air on Saturday and managed to get a little recognition for attempting to land without the ramp late in the afternoon. Not really. The winds of West Texas shifted and knocked the guy out. He was lucky and he’ll have a story to tell. On Sunday the winds whipped up worse and pulled the stunts.

But! There was the Basin’s Biker Beauty contest, the Best Bike Contest, and a Slow ‘Yo Roller Bike Ride… watching a Kawasaki ZXR balance and roll the slowest against a Harley or two was quite the spectator sport.

We chatted up the West Texas Motorcycles.Net guys while watching Sunday’s broadcast of MotoGP on their screen.  It’s a growing forum for riders like me who live in the wilds of West Texas. This covers anything west of DFW/Austin/San Antonio and east of El Paso. With more events and air shows coming up over the next few months, we’ll be keeping tabs as we’re on the road.

Instead we thought we’d celebrate in some other ways…

Stop by the WarBikes facebook page on Monday for a chance to win a t-shirt. There’s going to be a pop-quiz to see just how well you’ve paid attention to the Gunfighter motorcycle build. Don’t worry, it won’t be a hard question, like “What is Kenny’s middle name?” because we don’t even know the answer to that. (That man is a mystery.) It will probably involve questions like “How many propeller blades can be found with both the P-51 Mustang Gunfighter and the Motorcycle Gunfighter?” (6? 12? 20?)

Well, now that I’ve asked it on here, I can’t very well ask it on Monday, now can I? But feel free to count & chime in with your answer here.

In other (beer-related) news, the Commemorative Air Force is holding their 2nd Annual Hops & Props event tomorrow night at the Commemorative Center in Midland, Texas. There are a limited number of tickets left at the door for music by Brian Milson, a silent auction and beer tasting. Come check it out.

In Gunfighter (the lovely P-51d who soars through the air) news, she kicks off her air show tour season this week. More info can be found on her appearance schedule at the Great Plains Wing site.

We’ve relished the feedback and commentary from places like Cyril Huze Blog. If you’re a Colonel, check your next issue of Dispatch to see an article all about WarBikes as well.

Coming up April 30-May 2, we’re sneaking Gunfighter away from her garage just long enough to be on display at the West Texas Motorcycle Show, which conveniently enough will be held in Midland, Texas. No, we won’t let her participate in any of the stunts, we’re opting to keep her polished paint job scratch-free instead.

Stick around and celebrate with us. WarBikes has got so many more projects and ideas shaping up in the studio/garage, that even us keyboard monkeys are getting grease under our fingernails.