For three days, the deep-throated roar of Harley Davidsons
reverberated off the sun-baked asphalt of downtown Hollister.
For three days, the deep-throated roar of Harley Davidsons reverberated off the sun-baked asphalt of downtown Hollister.
For three days, thousands of pairs of feet pounded the sidewalks, the people gawking at the multitude of bikes and perusing the 160 or so vendors lining the streets.
For three days, Hollister belonged to the bikers.
And though there were tens of thousands of bikers reveling in their outlaw heritage, the streets mostly were calm, according to police.Fewer crimes occurred and less arrests were made than last year, and a non-life threatening stabbing early Monday morning of a Hollister resident on Sunnyslope Road was one of the only egregiously violent crimes of the weekend, police said.Oakley resident and avid biker “Raider” Don Conrad comes to the Hollister Independence Rally every year and is consistently amazed at how peaceful it was considering the throngs of people, he said.
“It’s something special – it put this place on the map,” Conrad said. “People with bikes have this bad image, but here it’s wonderful.”
While the rally kicked off on a somber note with the Thursday death of actor Marlon Brando – who helped foster Hollister’s biker fame with the 1953 film “The Wild One” – people from all different walks of life still packed the sidewalks with one goal in mind – to have a good time.
With smiles plastered across their faces and many with leather laced to their legs or slung over their shoulders, they milled around tents filled either with motorcycle mementos, cold drinks or fried food.
“It’s nice weather, the bikes are great and everybody’s having fun,” said first-time rally-goer and Creekfield resident Bob Urquides.
The weather stayed reasonably cool for July and a refreshing breeze helped blow the acrid exhaust emitted from the thousands of bikes rolling down San Benito Street away from the people and into the clear blue summer sky.
With each passing year the rally grows in size, but with that growth comes operational experience for the people running it, said Hollister Independence Rally Committee (HIRC) President Bill Rodgers.
HIRC didn’t have any crowd estimates as of Monday, but Rodgers guessed that attendance was about the same or slightly more than last year’s numbers of 100,000 people. A more exact estimate of the crowds and the amount of revenue the rally generated this year should be in by the end of the week, he said.
“Hopefully we made more than last year because of the ($5) parking pass – it helped a lot,” he said.
Police Chief Jeff Miller said that Saturday, which was the busiest of the three days, could have been the largest Saturday in the rally’s history.
“Traditionally Saturday is the biggest day, but it was pretty extensive,” he said. “Lots of parking problems outside of the rally itself… tens of thousands of motorcycles.”
This year was one of the best managed rally’s yet, due to cooperation and communication on all involved agencies’ parts, Rodgers said.
HIRC members met with all the city departments, including law enforcement, two times each day to give updates, discuss which tactics were working and which weren’t and how to rectify any problems, he said.
“If we try something and it works, we’ll do it next year – it’s a learning process,” Rodgers said.
HIRC hired a consultant this year to take more of an analytical approach to the event by conducting an official evaluation to smooth the planning, Rodgers said.
The consultant, Butch Cassidy, looked at traffic and pedestrian flow, which events drew the most people, which weren’t as successful, and other facets that affect revenue and overall operations, Rodgers said.
“We’re all volunteers, so we learn by trial and error,” Rodgers said. “If we get expert advice, that cuts down on the trial and error.”
Cassidy’s report should be ready in a month, he said.
The myriad custom bikes weren’t the main draw for long-time biker and Milpitas resident Miff Bowell, who visits Hollister just about every year for the rally, he said. It was the chance to get ready for more biker fun this summer.
The Hollister weekend is a primer for Sturgis, where half a million bikers congregate for the largest rally in the country, he said.
“This rally is a great people-watching place,” Bowell said. “You can pick a spot anywhere and watch so many different people… and lots of girl watching.”
The weekend was a huge success for many downtown businesses, generating approximately 10 times the amount of revenue compared to a normal weekend at Main Street Bistro, according to owner Megan Guerra.
Guerra was ecstatic about the profits and noticed some interesting trends in the process, she said.
“We’ve been going through lots and lots of espresso and coffee – they (bikers) are not just boozehounds, and they eat good food, too – lots of salads and fruit cups,” Guerra said. “The weekend’s been great, but when it’s over I’m going to be ready to sleep for a couple of days.”
Tucson, Arizona residents Kevin and Liz Potts decided they needed a vacation, so they “packed up the scooters” and rode their Harley Davidsons to Hollister for the first time this year, Kevin Potts said.
“This is like Mecca for bikers … The town of Hollister and the people that live here are so friendly and real accepting – most places you go they don’t like bikers,” he said. “We’ll be back next year – I don’t think I could keep my wife away from it.”
