The usual Southern California motorcycle events that I’ve attended usually include stunt riders, bikini bike wash, slow riding contest and the always popular wet T-shirt contest. But this event at Coronado Beach Harley-Davidson has none of those activities! It was called the Paul Bunyan lumberjack contest.
Yes, the main reason I wanted to attend was because I couldn’t get the idea of a lumberjack contest at a motorcycle event. Plus, as I would venture to speculate most motorcycle riders in Southern California haven’t seen a lumberjack contest.
Actually, I was very pleasantly surprised on how entertaining the show was. Plus, it was really a family-friendly show. for a lumberjack contest, it really had it all, from ax throwing, log sawing, chopping logs, and naturally logrolling.
The three guys who put the show on were really very experienced and had the whole routine down pat. So the show itself was pretty fast-moving, interesting and most important of all really entertaining.
Actually, the only thing unusual about this lumberjack show was that all the spectators were Southern California bikers and their families!
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers, and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company. He has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in several statues across North America.
In the urban legends Bunyan is described as a Lumberjack of gigantic stature and size with titanic power and strength. In American folklore he and his blue Ox named Babe are said to be responsible for the creation of several American landscapes, landmarks and natural wonders.
