Shining motorcycles, leather jackets and some COVID-19 face coverings: The Four Corners Motorcycle Rally kicked into gear after a permitting stumble and event cancellations this week.
Motorcyclists from around the country have been coming to the Four Corners rally for almost 30 years, bringing a burst of new revenue to businesses and causing some consternation among Durango locals accustomed to a quieter town. But this year, locals had another concern: increased spread of the novel coronavirus. Organizers responded by canceling most downtown Durango events, while attendees felt they could manage their own risk.
“We knew, no matter what that there were going to be a huge number of motorcyclists coming to Durango,” said Trevor Bird, co-organizer for the rally and owner of Durango Harley-Davidson. “We felt it would be best if we had some kind of control with the permitted events downtown and at the (La Plata County) fairgrounds. That was our intention.”
Communities around the country canceled their rallies this year. Despite cancellations in Pennsylvania, motorcyclists still flocked to town. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally drew more than 400,000 bikers to South Dakota and is linked to 100 to 300 COVID-19 cases, a rough estimate, and one death, according to media reports.
In Durango, Bird said he canceled events because of community pushback and personal attacks after a Durango Herald article said the rally had not received permits from the city of Durango, or completed self-certifications with San Juan Basin Public Health.
The La Plata County Fairgrounds events were properly self-certified, said Claire Ninde, SJBPH spokeswoman on Saturday. Two other self-certifications, tied to canceled events, were incomplete.
“I’m feeling very defensive ... We want it to be a safe event. We want it to be a great economic driver for all of the small businesses here in Durango, La Plata County that are really hurting right now,” Bird said. “It’s just hard when you’re trying to do the right thing and you get attacked by people who don’t even know you.”
Five hotels in Durango were fully booked, although they didn’t tie the influx of people just to the rally – there were plenty of families and other guests visiting Durango as well, hotel representatives said.
Hundreds of people milled around outdoor vendor booths and an indoor gear showroom at Durango Harley-Davidson on Saturday, day two of the Friday-through-Monday event. Vehicles filled the parking lot, mostly from Colorado but some from California, Texas, Idaho and even Florida.
Outside, six out of 34 people wore face coverings, meant to limit viral spread. Colorado does not require masks at outdoor events.
Inside, greeters handed out face masks next to a sign reminding people of Colorado’s mandatory mask order. If someone said they were exempted from the order, staff members could not question them further, Bird said. Inside, about nine of 15 people wore masks. Only one person interviewed by the Herald felt the pandemic was a hoax.
The organizers also moved motorcycle inventory outside to help with social distancing and hired a sanitation officer, among other protective plans.
“We could’ve just canceled the rally and had thousands of motorcyclists with no controls in place,” Bird said. “We knew people were coming, so let’s try to provide a safe environment.”
Rally attendees could still join Joe Boom’s Big Fish Derby, scope out merchandise at V-Twin Visionary Performance Motorcycle Show and see the Speed-Kings Bike Show and Hooligan Dirt Dash.
Saturday night, riders coasted to the Ride-In Movie at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad parking lot. There, organizers honored former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, making him the first person to be inducted into the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally Hall of Fame.
“I’m looking forward to getting to honor the man who started all of this,” Bird said.
For motorcyclists, the event is a way to get to see friends from across the country – and to scope out who has the best bike.
“It’s definitely a circus carny kind of thing,” said Jeff Holt, V-Twin Visionary editor-in-chief. “This whole show is, ‘Who has the coolest bike? Who spent the most money, who spent the most time?’”
Most vendors at the rally were small-businesses, Holt said. For them, online sales and marketing at shows are fundamental to their success. Holt and Jonathan Clingenpeel, owner of Speakeasy Original, another vendor at the event, both saw sales increase at the rally this year.
Both also had family members with underlying conditions that made them vulnerable to a more serious case of COVID-19. They said they managed the risk by staying six feet away from their loved ones or not seeing them at all for two weeks.
“It’s a horrible thing that’s going on around the world. It’s polarizing. ... I’m just trying to be in the middle,” Holt said. He understands people’s caution, but he chooses to continue to travel and to wear a mask. When he went to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, he stayed with his group of eight people and avoided bars and restaurants.
“I’ve literally been across the country four times,” Holt said. “This is what we do for a living.”
For Clingenpeel, the rally introduced him to Durango and inspired him to invest in it.
“After we did a show last year, we actually bought a house out here because we love the area so much,” Clingenpeel said. He said it was hard to see the backlash from the Durango community this week.
“This is good revenue for the town, for small businesses like us,” he said. “I’m bummed at the response that a lot of the community had because it really came across as hate. And I don’t see Durango as that kind of town.”
smullane@durangoherald.com