IGNACIO
The 21st annual Four Corners Motorcycle Rally at the Sky Ute Fairgrounds in Ignacio resembled a biker Mardi Gras celebration, with thousands of rally-goers pouring through the gates for a riotous and sometimes tongue-in-cheek celebration of beer, bull-riding, bosoms and bikes.
Heidi Lewis, campground coordinator, said she wanted to “resurrect the bike rally to what it used to be. And this year, we got pretty darn close.”
In a span of two hours, more than 1,000 riders had parked their motorcycles in the fairgrounds, she said.
Tuggy Dunton, the rally’s volunteer coordinator, meanwhile presided over 250 volunteers with her husband, Raymond.
They volunteered from 7 a.m. to after midnight every day of the rally because “we live in Ignacio, we are bikers, and we want to support this rally because it is so good for the town,” she said.
The rally, which was organized by Johnny Valdez, manager of 4 Corners Motorcycle Rally, and Mel Silva, cost $160,000 to get off the ground, of which 25 percent came from sponsors, 25 percent from vendors, and half from ticket sales, Veldez said.
“Bikers have deep pockets, and they spend money. They come with nothing to the area, except for maybe a change of clothes – and they buy everything here, from hotels to shaving cream from Walmart,” he said.
“Those people who you thought were shady grew up and became doctors, lawyers, senators’ wives – they serve on the city council,” he said.
Inside the rodeo area, two large banners for Budweiser and Bud Light, in bright red and blue respectively, complemented the smaller American and Southern Ute flags, which hung from the ceiling.
The vendors were plentiful and their wares were a rich commentary on the rally-goers.
Despite organizers’ insistence that no weapons were allowed at the event, one vendor was selling an array of knives, flasks and metal rings.
There were lots of things to buy: custom paint jobs, sunglasses, Harley-Davidson memorabilia, leather accessories, leather vests supporting breast cancer research, bandanas, bandana halter-top dresses, an earplug technology called “Hearing Defender” and heavy silver skulls that might make useful paperweights.
The first-aid tent was set up adjoining the Christian Motorcycle Association tent, with a banner that read, “If you need a prayer, stop here” draped over both tents.
Hinkle Law Offices (slogan: Lawyers for New Mexico bikers) also had a stall. Bikers without immediate legal problems relating to their hogs could contact them after the rally by calling “505 TUF-HELP.”
At the Southern Ute stall, Anthony Parambo and Mollie Myore said they had enjoyed handing out materials to promote the Sky Ute Museum and said the bikers were “really bringing the community together.”
Valdez said he was impressed by the commitment of the men who entered a “men’s hot buns” contest Friday night. He said in previous years, competitors were coy, choosing less explicit ways of presenting their buttocks to the public, whereas this year, their strategies had progressed to full-on mooning.
Indeed, walking about the crowd, male semi-nudity was spontaneous and abundant, with many men stripping off their shirts and proudly baring their torsos, regardless of whether they met conventional standards of beauty.
Though female flesh was less often on display, it seemed to be a recurring theme for rally events, including the “homemade bikini competition,” a wet T-shirt contest, a thong hula-hoop contest and a simulated orgasm contest getting high billing in the weekend’s program.
At 4:30 p.m., a group of rally-goers had parked themselves on the dirt road leading out of the campgrounds and were holding up a cardboard sign urging women to expose their breasts.
Elsewhere, love was in the air. Ida Nunez, 25, and Mario Garcia, 36, spent the afternoon wandering the fairgrounds, hoping to find someone who could marry them.
The rejections were frequent, with one heavily tattooed man explaining that “chaplain” – the title emblazoned on his black leather vest – denoted his status within his biker group, and did not make him a justice of the peace.
The couple returned, somewhat disappointed, to the beer tent, kissing and hugging each other.
“I want to marry her now because she’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” said Garcia.
“Even though we’ve been together five weeks, it feels like I’ve known him forever,” said Nunez, crying.
If all else failed, the couple planned to get married today, they said, in addition to attending the rally.
