The 29th Annual Four Corners Motorcycle Rally that kicked off Friday was enjoyed by thousands on Saturday in Durango, Ignacio and the greater area.
Sammy and Debbie of Wappapello, Missouri, who declined to share their last names, said they hadn’t planned on attending the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally when they saddled up and left town, but once they learned of the event they couldn’t resist stopping by.
“A scooter rally is always in,” Sammy said. “We rode Sturgis this year, too. We went to Sturgis, that was our first rally this year. But this kind of surprised us.”
Sammy said he’s been a part of the motorcycle community for 40 years. He owns a 2001 Screaming Eagle Road Glide, a GL-1800 Gold Wing and a 2017 Electra Glide that he and Debbie rode into town on.
He said camaraderie and hanging out with fellow motorcycle enthusiasts at rallies such as Sturgis and the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally is what he likes.
Sammy said his favorite part of the rally was the “motor dome” – the Wall of Death featured at the Harley-Davidson dealership at 750 South Camino del Rio.
“Coolest thing ever. I’ve never gotten to see that,” he said.
He likened the spectacle, which consists of the Ives Brothers, a pair of experienced stunt riders, throttling their bikes along the steep sides of a cage that resembles a halfpipe.
Sammy and Debbie’s next stop is the Turquoise Trail in New Mexico. After that, they are headed to Mount Magazine and the Pink Trail in Arkansas.
Cedar City, Utah, resident Rita, who also preferred to go by her first name, said she got into biking in 2015 thanks to her husband. She recently purchased a Harley-Davidson 2015 Dyna model in Denver and the couple loaded their bikes onto a trailer and drove down to Durango for the holiday weekend.
So far, they have visited Silverton and are planning to visit the Four Corners area on Sunday, she said. Her favorite part of the rally was checking out new Harley-Davidson motorcycle models at the dealership.
Matthew Cates, owner of Rebel Reaper Clothing Co., one of many vendors set up at the Harley-Davidson dealership, said although the rally launch on Friday started slow, by Saturday morning business was busy and booming.
“It’s been great here so far. Beautiful weather, nice people. Good vibes,” he said.
Cates started Rebel Reaper Clothing Co. in 2016 in Phoenix to cater to the motorcycle enthusiast crowd he grew to adore through his longtime passion for cars, he said.
“I grew up with mostly hotrods, old school cars. A lot of my background has to do with cars and working with cars myself,” he said. “I transitioned over probably the last five years into motorcycles, and I’ve noticed the vibe from the people and the community as far as being very welcoming.”
“From a car community transitioning into motorcycles, too, they’re kind of hand-in-hand. So I naturally gravitated toward that as well,” he said.
The clothing company focuses on “head-to-toe” apparel, including custom vests, jackets, jeans, button-ups, polo shirts and more.
“(It’s) an all-around lifestyle brand where we just try to get people together – motorcycle riders, stunt riders. It’s very community oriented,” he said.
The 29th Annual Four Corners Motorcycle Rally is Cates’ first time in town, but he said as good as business has been as of Saturday afternoon, he is definitely planning to return to future rallies.
“The people are awesome here. I look forward to being here next year and every year forward,” he said.
With increased traffic because of thousands of motorcyclists headed through town, one might think that traffic incidents would be more common. But Durango Police Department officials say that as of Saturday afternoon, there haven’t been any standout crashes or traffic problems.
Sergeant Padraic Ingle said there hasn’t been an uptick in traffic accidents or crashes in town. He said thanks to the Labor Day weekend, there are more people in town and on the roads, whether or not they are here for the motorcycle rally.
He said on Friday night, a drunken motorcyclist crashed into a truck but the incident was “par for the course” as far as how frequently crashes occur in town.
Cmd. Casey Malone also said that traffic activity is certainly busy, but the rate of accidents hasn’t gone up. “Knock on wood,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
