Bikers Defy Officials, Rally in Hollister

 

Bikers Defy Officials, Rally in Calif.

Jul 02
By JUSTIN M. NORTON
Associated Press Writer
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/02/D8IJKHEO4.html

Street scene photo -
http://www.breitbart.com/images/2006/7/2/D8IJKHEO4/D8IJKHEO4_preview.jpg

HOLLISTER, Calif.
Thousands of bikers roared into the town made famous by Marlon
Brando's 1953 film "The Wild One" on Saturday, defying a city council
decision to cancel one of the country's most celebrated motorcycle
rallies.

The bikers cruised Hollister's streets on personalized choppers,
racing bikes and tricked-out Harley-Davidsons. One man rode with his
goggle-sporting dog in a sidecar.

"We're the taxpayers. We're not hoodlums," said Jack Stout, 51, of
Gilroy, who has logged more than 40,000 miles on his 2003 Harley-
Davidson Superglide.

The Hollister Independence Rally has been a summer destination for
bikers for decades, much like the Sturgis rally in South Dakota. But
earlier this year, the City Council voted to cancel the July Fourth
weekend event, saying it was too expensive and too dangerous.

Bikers showed up anyway, though in smaller numbers. Police Capt. Bob
Brooks estimated 5,000 people attended Saturday _ normally the most
popular day of the rally _ compared to 15,000 to 20,000 in previous
years.

"They'll never stop it. It's been going since the '40s," said Tony
Morris, 53, who rode in on his Harley-Davidson Road King from the San
Francisco area.

Hollister, about 50 miles south of San Jose, is normally a quiet city
home to boutiques and mom-and-pop restaurants. But this weekend it was
full of bikers riding custom cycles, many worth tens of thousands of
dollars.

City council member Monica Johnson said officials knew when they
canceled the event in February that bikers would come anyway, so they
devised a contingency plan. The city spent $150,000 on extra police
patrols this year, compared to the $700,000 it would've spent if it
sanctioned the event, she said.

"It wasn't about, we don't want them to be here at all. It was about,
the city couldn't afford to have a rally," Johnson said.

Bikers said they were disappointed the city didn't sanction the event,
but it wouldn't deter crowds. Hollister has attracted motorcyclists
since 1947, when Life magazine published an article on a brawl that is
credited with inspiring the Brando movie about a renegade biker gang
that invades a small town.

The city's decision angered business owners. Many hung signs in their
windows welcoming bikers and offering specials on bottled water, pizza
and beer.

Bikers were organizing a petition drive to make the rally a city-
sanctioned event. Johnson said the council would consider the idea for
next year.

"We want the public to see exactly what the biker community thinks of
this town and how nonviolent (the rally) is," said Marlon Moss,
executive director of the Hollister Rally Commission.

Moss said the rally should be legitimate because independent-minded
bikers would continue to attend out of tradition.

"Even though there's not an event," he said, "the biker community
knows the history and they show up."

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Shrike! wrote:

The original magazine article was a spoof and a fake write up trying to
make "bikers" look "evil".