For some of us, one of the biggest drawing cards for Wing Ding was the prospect of seeing some of the Drill Team demonstrations. Seeing one of the “Teams” ride into the parking lot in deuces and circle around looking for a parking area was just “cool”. What a great demonstration of riding skill and control. Back in San Diego, Rick Hinrichs, Ed & Edel Albright, Cliff Philip and others began talking about starting our own team.

Rick set it up and we can blame (credit?) him for everything good that has happened since then. He spoke with several members of the Arizona Drill Team. John their captain and “Oil Can” their trainer quickly took the opportunity to share their knowledge and drove out to San Diego one weekend to give us some pointers. Rick, Ed, Edel, Cliff, Bear and a few others gathered at Rick’s office and used the entrance driveway for practice. Oil Can was great and probably never realized what he was helping to start. We owe a lot to the Arizona Drill Team over the years (Jim, Allan, Jerry et al) and enjoy “playing” with them whenever we find ourselves in the same area and sharing the remembrance ‘Angel Pin’ tradition in honor of those before us.

First group of riders to see what it was all about in 1999

Things have changed a lot since those early days. Most of those seen in the picture above didn’t stay around very long. That first year we quickly brought the team roster up to 10 riders and practiced two days a week. We went to the District Rally in Bakersfield and had some wonderful play time with the Arizona Drill Team who made the trip to join us.
We let the Arizona team lead the way and everyone was impressed with their “line of eight”. We had a “line of 6” with a “line of 4” behind them and at the last minute, decided to add them all together and wooed the crowd with a “line of 10.” The picture below was not planned but really shows the skills and precision we were developing.

Line of 10 at Bakersfield Rally 1999

Bakersfield was the icing on the cake. After that, we just wanted more and more. We were riding in parades and anywhere else we could. Wing Ding 2000 in Billings was a great trip. We enlisted the aid of a trike to carry the flags and we were the first team to put music to our routines.

Wing Ding 2000

We kept playing with the Arizona Team and they invited us to the 2001 Wings Extravaganza in Phoenix. We had a lot of fun and were able to have our pictures taken with an old “Mustang”.

We joined the Az team at the Wings Extravaganza

Our relationship with the Arizona team grew and the next year they accepted our invitation to join us for the first ever Motorcycle Safety Day at Casino Pauma. The Gold Angels hosted over 350 motorcyclists with 14 vendors, 9 MSF coaches, two drill Team demonstrations and a variety of skills games for bikes ranging from Goldwings, Harleys, BMWs, Sport Bikes and anything else on 2-wheels. It was free to all and ended up costing the team nothing. What a great (and HOT) day.

Five Bike Pinwheel at Motorcycle Safety Day

In 2004, we were excited to be invited to the International Drill Team competition. We practiced hard two days a week and honed our skills. We enlisted the aid of Gunny Sergeant (and passed Drill Team member) Dan Klukas. We went to Nashville with high energy and a routine that was spectacular. We received a standing ovation for the innovative formations (8 bike echelon to pinwheel 480 degree rotation). The crowd loved the performance. The team did an excellent job and we place 6th which was a little disappointing, but great anyway. How many teams can say they were invited and had a standing ovation!

The future is always full of new formations and innovation in show performance demonstrating skill and expertise in what a Goldwing can do. We have added our co-riders to be an integral part of the demonstrations and now even special cannon streamer effects. All with one thought in mind for the future, what can we do to energize people to ride, improve their motorcycle skills and above all, have fun exploring America on two wheels.

Thank you for your interest and visiting our site. please leave comments and suggestions as to what you would like to see us do in a performance and most of all, consider what fun you could have joining the team, learning the skill sets and performing with us in the future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Richard ‘Bulldog’ Hinrichs
Captain – Gold Angeles Motorcycle Drill Team
San Diego California