Motorcyclists from around the region trekked to Southwest Colorado as the revamped Four Corners Motorcycle Rally celebrated its third year under sunny Labor Day weekend skies.
“We’re 1,113 miles from home right now,” said Brian Breu. “We’re coming from Arizona. We went to the Four Corners Monument to Ouray, and now we’re headed back home. We’ll go through Monument Valley on Monday.”
Breu said he discovered the rally was underway when Brian DeChriste, a riding buddy, let him know about it after one of his friends recently moved to Southwest Colorado.
“We took him up on his offer to visit,” DeChriste said. “We’ll definitely be back.”
Breu added, “We’re looking for our next summer getaway.”
Trevor Bird, owner of Durango Harley-Davidson and organizer of the rally, added several events this year, including a women’s-only ride called “Dames in Durango” and “ride like a pro” demonstration classes. Other new events included an arm-wrestling contest and the Wheelie Pig’s Hill Climb Challenge at Purgatory Resort.
Bird put on his first Four Corners Motorcycle Rally in 2017 with only a few weeks to prepare after taking over the event from a previous owner who had trouble making it financially viable and had let the event go dark for a few years.
Since 2017, Bird has added professional management, bringing aboard Freeze Management, which puts on concerts, motorcycle, motor sports and other lifestyle events, to help organize and market the rally nationwide.
John Kielkowski of Cortez said he’s impressed at the rally’s growth.
“It’s a great attraction for the area, and I think it will grow,” he said. “My wife’s an instructor with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and she teaches several motorcycle instruction classes for Trevor, and I think he’s doing a great job with this.
“You meet new people and you always make new friends, doctors, lawyers, poor people, the whole gamut,” Kielkowski said.
Gary and Brenda Wessell from South Dakota were RVing in the area with their motorcycles in tow and stumbled upon the rally.
“We just happened to be here. We didn’t know the rally was this weekend. Motorcycling anywhere is enjoyable, but it was nice to be here with riders visiting from all over the country,” Gary Wessell said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com