The Four Corners seems a fitting place to have a motorcycle rally. The scenery is diverse and stunning. The intersection of four states is a crossroads – a slice of cultural America and in late summer, the weather is perfect. Even as numbers have dwindled over the last few years, many say the rally is making a comeback.
“I think all of the hard work that all of the volunteers have put into this thing is really starting to turn this thing around,” said Johnny Valdez, manager of Ignacio Chamber Events LLC., a company owned by the Ignacio Chamber of Commerce that puts on the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, now in its 22nd year.
Valdez said while the attendance total won’t be final for another week, he is sure it will outnumber last year’s 10,000 people.
“It’s gone very well, and that’s important for people to know,” he said. “The hotels are full, and on top of that, bikers come here with their pockets full of money, and not much on their backs, so they spend their money here.”
Valdez said from Durango to Bayfield, Ignacio to Farmington and as far as Bloomfield, local revenue spikes as riders rev their engines.
“That money goes back into the community, one way or another,” he said.
On Sunday morning, about 140 riders and 16 classic cars rode along Main Avenue in Durango for the annual Motorcycle & Classic Car Parade, shaking windows as their engines roared by.
One rider wore bull horns nearly 4 feet wide. A couple from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Jose and Mayra Santiago, wore Batman costumes.
“We came for the rally and found out there was a parade,” Mayra Santiago said. “He’s a big fan of Batman, and he got me all crazy on it, so we dress up.”
Santiago served in the Puerto Rican police force for 16 years before moving to Las Cruces.
“He likes justice,” Mayra said.
Michael Williams, of Durango, said his 6-year-old daughter knew more about the parade than he did.
“She’s the one who wanted to come down here,” Williams said. “She heard about it and woke me up.”
Williams said he’s lucky to spend time with his daughter riding on his Harley-Davidson Sportster.
“The open road – there’s nothing else like it,” he said. “We just get out on a bike and enjoy Colorado.”
At the car show in the parking lot of First National Bank of Durango, Marlo Buiso, an engineer with the Durango Fire Protection District, showed his 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle before the parade. He gets the best of both worlds.
“Yesterday, I was on my bike, and today, I’m in my car,” he said. “I just love restoring classic automobiles and motorcycles. I learned it when I was young, and it’s always been my passion.”
At the show, people strolled by decades-worth of Ford Mustangs models, vintage trucks, hot rods and one mid-1950s Ford Fairlane. A convertible Cadillac with a white leather interior stole attention.
Meanwhile, across the street at the Durango Transit Center, bikers held the Veterans Benefit Burrito Breakfast, and then they rode on Main Avenue during the parade.
Sunday’s lineup in Ignacio included Extreme Midget Wrestling, an impromptu bull rodeo and several live bands.
Local law-enforcement authorities called it a slow rally, in terms of incidents and reports.
“We haven’t had any issues at all,” Valdez said. “People are here to have a good time, and we provide a safe place for them to have a party and then go to sleep and not get out on the road.”
bmathis@durangoherald.com