The 1997 Hollister Motorcycle Rally

The Hollister City Council has finally ironed out the details with the Hollister Downtown Association for the 2015 Hollister Motorcycle Rally and it has been unanimously approved. It will be a three day event and is scheduled for July 3rd through the 5th. The council made it very clear at their December 1st meeting that they wanted to continue working with the HDA. It was just a matter of ironing out the details and deciding who the promoter would be. I couldn’t be more thrilled that the HDA has chosen Convexx for the job.

I had the privilege of sitting down with Chuck Swartz, the Convexx CEO, in August, and was very impressed with his professionalism. Chuck kicked off the Las Vegas BikeFest on September 13th 2001 and fate dealt him and his team a huge blow. As well as the tragic events of September 11th shaking the world to its core, it grounded most airline flights. Convexx forged ahead and had a decent rally despite it all. BikeFest has been growing steadily ever since. If you check out their website you will get as excited as I am about Convexx assisting the HDA with our our rally.
BikeFest is full of exciting and fun things to do. They have celebrity appearances from Sons of Anarchy and the Pawn Stars, (it is Vegas so the Pawn Star boys didn’t have very far to go.) I am sure the line-up for Hollister will grow as we go forward. Time is short this year with the rally only 23 weeks away. Holy cow, did I just say that? I’ll be starting my own preparations soon.

Bikefest also has a lot of fun competitions like Ms. Vegas, Best Beer Belly, and Best Facial Hair. There is a Burnout competition, Tattoo competition, Poker Runs and Poker Walks. Simply put, there is something to do all weekend long.

I am a realist and Hollister isn’t Vegas. We have a lot of challenges that they don’t have. Number one, we have a serious lack of overnight accommodations. We won’t have the same show, with all of the same activities, but I wouldn’t want us to. We have an identity of our own. I want people to come to our rally and have so much fun that they can’t wait to return the following year. The fact that we are The Birthplace of the American Biker will only draw people to Hollister for so long. They need to be entertained and with Convexx at the helm I believe that will happen.

Out-of-towners who haven’t booked their rooms by now may already be out of luck for the Hollister 2015 Motorcycle Rally. I’m hoping Bolado Park will offer prepaid camping instead of the first come, first serve version they rolled with last year. If I drive hours to stay somewhere, I want to be sure that my space is reserved. As our rally grows I’m hoping that more camping areas will pop up.

I’ve been to the Buffalo Chip Campground in South Dakota and I can assure you its founder Rod Woodruff is making bank. What started as a campground for bikers who pitched tents in no more than a pasture, now has installed electricity, drilled wells, flushing toilets, shower houses, a 7000 square foot exhibition hall and more. It has its own Buffalo Chip Day in South Dakota as well as a syndicated television show.
There is plenty of property in Hollister that some smart entrepreneur could use for a similar venue. Start out small and build as our rally grows just as Rod did. The possibilities are endless. We have more people in a hundred mile radius than the entire State of South Dakota. It makes my head spin to think about it.

With the city putting its confidence in our rally as well as the Hollister Downtown Association to run it, a police chief that understands the economic value of our rally to the city, and a smart and professional promoter assisting the HDA, the sky’s the limit. I am more excited about the Hollister 2015 Motorcycle Rally than I can begin to say. I think we will see our rally become the prized event that I always knew it had the potential to be. Sturgis won’t have anything on us.

Spread the word folks and if you have some room on your property for some campers please email or message me on Facebook. I already have wonderful biker friends wondering where they are going to stay. If you’re not a biker and want to leave town for the weekend, you could probably rent out your place for enough money to have a real fine vacation. Remember friends, the possibilities are endless.

God bless and safe riding.