The horse that wouldn't die

The horse that wouldn't die

Mar. 17, 2001

A week ago, the Montezuma County commissioners said no to the Iron Horse Motorcycle Rally. Allowing the boisterous event to take place at the county fairgrounds would strain county services, they said, also citing concerns about public safety, noise and traffic.

The commissioners had said no to the rally when organizers first proposed moving the event from Ignacio to Montezuma County, but then reconsidered. Finally, after lengthy deliberations, they decided the rally’s negative impacts outweighed the considerable money it would bring to the area.

One might assume that was the end of the story — but no. Now the town of Dolores is considering hosting the event, which draws some 30,000 part-time bikers together in the Four Corners area every Labor Day weekend.

Joe Rowell Park could be the base camp for the rally, Dolores Town Board member Taz Vass told the Journal. In a letter to rally president Warren "Easy" Bernard, Vass suggested "exploring the possibility of utilizing some private grounds nearby," although he didn’t specify where that might be.

It seems curious that, after the county commissioners decided the county itself wasn’t big enough to handle the rally, the small town of Dolores should be thought capable of dealing with such an influx. But, according to Vass, he informed the other board members — three of whom have direct ties to businesses that would benefit from the rally — of his idea during a discussion before their actual meeting Monday night, and "they’ve all been positive."

The idea raises some serious questions. One of the main ones is cost. The town of Dolores has no municipal law-enforcement agency; it would be the county sheriff’s department that would handle the inevitable complaints of drunkenness, nudity and lewd behavior that the rally has spawned every year in La Plata County. And it would be all of us county residents who would, in the end, pay the costs for overtime and extra manpower for law enforcement.

Another question is what damage would be done to Joe Rowell Park and nearby Forest Service areas along the Dolores River where rally participants might camp. Is the town ready to pay to re-seed trampled, eroded riverbanks and restore the park to its original condition?

Then there are concerns about traffic safety, particularly regarding congestion on areas like the narrow, winding highway above Dolores.

And there are lingering concerns about possible offense to public sensibilities.

Rally supporters say opponents are exaggerating the bad aspects of the event. Its participants are mostly doctors, lawyers and other upstanding citizens, not hardcore Hell’s Angels, they say, and that’s undoubtedly true. On the other hand, this is not a doctor rally or a lawyer rally, it’s a biker rally. People come to let their alter egos express themselves, to act like bikers, not professionals in three-piece suits. And that means a certain amount of crude and lewd behavior.

Two Journal reporters have been to rallies in the past. Among the things they’ve witnessed: drunkenness, women in downtown Durango wearing chaps with just a thong beneath them, wet T-shirt contests, female visitors being exhorted to show their breasts, and both men and women being offered free drinks for revealing private body parts. Many folks would find none of this disturbing, but others in our conservative county might take great offense.

Lastly, there’s the noise. All of us who live in the county will have to suffer ear-splitting racket day and night for four or five days if the rally should come here.

"Noise objections can’t be overcome," Vass admitted. "It’s gonna be noisy. It’s gonna be busy. It’s gonna be full. Those objections can’t be overcome."

Owners of bars, restaurants and liquor stores may think this is a small price to pay to boost the local economy, but not everyone would agree.

The Dolores town board is free to make whatever decision it feels is in the town’s best interests. We hope its members will take all considerations into account when they make that decision.