Ride and Rally Heads to Fuel Cleveland!

Fuel Cleveland is an invitational show featuring motorcycle builders, rare bike owners, painters, and photographers, all sharing a love for antiquated modes of two-wheeled transportation. This event is put on by Forever the Chaos Life, Lowbrow Customs, and The Gasbox.

The first year of Fuel was held in a small industrial space. From there, it grew, taking place in mountain bike parks, wedding reception venues, and a few artist spaces. This year, it was held at Hale Farm and Village.

Hale is known as a living history museum, showcasing various nineteenth-century trades such as candle, broom, brick making, glass blowing, and a blacksmith shop. Hale is attached to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which features parts of the Erie Canal, massive rock formations, waterfalls, the Cuyahoga River, and even a historic railway.

This year, there was a pre-party at Skidmark Garage, a Cleveland community motorcycle garage, and the main show was held on Saturday and Sunday on the farm. Friday night, bikes began arriving at Skidmark Garage, filling the lot with every type of bike imaginable and people from all walks of life. Local female classic rock band Medusa performed and shook the dirt from the rafters. Shenanigans commenced in the parking lots and (allegedly) the adjacent streets.

The next day, I met up with a few of the Cleveland Litas and some friends, and we moto’d down to the show from Cleveland to the farm. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park has a historic railroad that runs regularly, and if you’re going to get stopped by a train, this is one of the cooler ones to watch as it rolls by.

Fuel had 47 vendors this year, including sheet metal forming demonstrations from a local builder, Hale Farm demos, food trucks, photography, art exhibits, and some custom vans.

I got to talk to Mikey Revolt of Forever the Chaos Life, one of the event organizers. We discussed how the event started and where it’s going in the future. Mikey explained that Fuel Cleveland started as an airport discussion after a big East Coast show.

Tyler Malinky of Lowbrow Customs, Jesse Bassett of The Gasbox, and Mikey Revolt of Forever the Chaos Life talked about how all the big shows were on the coasts. The three decided to launch Fuel Cleveland and have an invite builder show. Coincidentally, this was around the same time the Mama Tried show was getting started. Great minds…

The event is sponsored by some great companies, including W&W Cycles, Biltwell, and BMW Motorcycles. Also, the Western Reserve Historical Society owns Hale Farm and Village and the Crawford Auto Museum. The Crawford has a nice collection of bikes, and they bring some out just for Fuel. This year, it was a 1918 Cleveland motorcycle and a single-cylinder Harley.

Rumor says Fuel will be at Hale Farm and Village again in 2024, probably in late July. It’s an excellent ride destination or road trip to make on your bike. I’m sure I’ll be in attendance, so if you see me there, please stop me and say hi.