Passes & Canyons Blog

I’ve been to the Sturgis rally for a few days but the Laughlin River Run is the first big motorcycle rally that I’ve gone to for the entire rally. Here are a couple thoughts on the event, as well as a vignette.

Money and Friends

If you really want to have a good time at a rally you had better bring a ton of money and come with your buddies. I stayed one night, at the beginning of the rally, at a hotel on the strip and it was cheap. The next night I needed to find other quarters because the $30 rate I paid went up to $160. That was why I brought my tent and sleeping bag.

Of course most people come with friends, so they can split that $160 per night five, six, seven, maybe eight ways. That’s a crowd in a room but people do it. And then you have buddies to cruise around with. Being by myself, I met some people and talked with some, but much of the time it was a matter of figuring out what to do with myself. It helped each day to have some objective. One day it was getting a new battery in my bike. Another it was finding a new place to stay. On still another it was doing my laundry. That’s right. When it comes to motorcycle rallies, I’m one wild, partying animal.

Laughlin in April

When we’ve been in Laughlin previously it was summer and at that point heat was spelled L-A-U-G-H-L-I-N. Why would anyone come to Laughlin in July when you can come in April and actually enjoy the weather? Unlike other times, I could walk around for hours and be perfectly comfortable.

More than that, April seems like a really good time to travel in the Southwest altogether. Far away from the rally on my way home I’ve been surprised with the number of motorcyclists traveling in groups who are obviously out on a trip, and not to Laughlin. What a great time to do it! You miss the peak of the tourist season and you don’t roast. The OFMC considered going to Texas last summer, but I raised the issue of heat in Texas in July. This is the time to do those trips.

Money for Nothing

Of course there were vendors all over Laughlin, Bullhead City, and even along the roads in the area set up to sell bikers anything under the sun. Late in the day Saturday I ran across a group of young entrepreneurs who I believe were making a killing.

These young guys, probably in their late teens, were at this point giving away bottled water. Free. Great, I took a bottle. You need to drink water when you’re in Laughlin, even in April. So I walked on and twisted the cap off and it just came right off. No ripping sound as the seal was broken. And I got to thinking.

You don’t suppose those kids collected a whole bunch of empty water bottles, rinsed them out, and refilled them to sell at the rally do you? Well, why the heck not? The product is free to you, there’s a huge market, and in a few hours you’ve made some real cash. I figure they had sold out most of what they had, they were feeling flush, and they figured there was no point in hanging around to sell the last few bottles. Give them away and let’s split.

By the way, I’m not squeamish so I went ahead and drank the water and I’m still alive and healthy.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Crime report: Biker revs motorcycle engine, makes noise at Laughlin River Run

Biker Quote for Today

Keep thy eye on the tach and thine ears on the engine lest thy whirlybits seek communion with the sun.

Tags: Laughlin River Run

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 9:09 am and is filed under Rides and Rallies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.