The Laughlin River Run

Bill Gang

Saturday, May 3, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

LAUGHLIN -- The distinctive rumble of Harley-Davidson motorcycles at the 15th annual Laughlin River Run continued well into the nights, greatly diminished from daytime levels but seemingly never gone.

Roaring bursts of speed down Casino Drive peppered the underlying growls as revelers at the largest Harley-Davidson run west of the Mississippi exercised a regressive-adolescent machismo.

After nightfall, bikers with girlfriends or spouses behind them paraded down Casino Drive through appreciative, albeit sometimes rowdy, spectators that lined the streets. Some held up politically incorrect signs urging women to unveil parts of their anatomy.

Occasionally a woman would comply, rewarded by a wave of cheers. One barrel-bellied man also bared his chest to the same response.

Across the street from the Colorado Belle hotel-casino, some women countered with a sign that read, "Show us your (male anatomy)." They were disappointed.

The women weren't all traditional "biker babes" taking the back seats despite the chauvenistic attitudes pervasive on the streets. A growing number of riders were women on their own motorcycles and, for the most part, were accepted by their male counterparts.

In Laughlin, many of the bikers weren't even "bikers."

That leather-clad, bandana'd biker sauntering menacingly through the throngs of similarly outfitted visitors was just as likely to be a doctor, lawyer, banker or businessman as a tattooed, blue-collar motorcyclist.

With overly artistic paint jobs and custom work running well into the thousands of dollars, being a Harley-Davidson owner is not for the weak of wallet.

Kraig Kavanagh, who headed the huge Bikers Dream booth at one of the several concession areas, said the Laughlin event is geared more to rich urban bikers (RUBs) than hardcore motorcyclists.

He clocked 14,000 people through the turnstiles at his company's booth over three days.

"We sold 25 pair of $150 sunglasses. We don't do that at Sturgis (South Dakota) or Daytona (Florida)," he said, referring to the nation's two largest motorcycle runs.

Metro Police Lt. Ed Pitchford complained that there were so many cellular telephones in use it made it difficult for his officers to use their own portable phones.

Only a small contingent represented the true outlaw bikers originally associated with Harley-Davidsons -- the Hell's Angels, the Vagos and other counterculture gangs.

And despite their reputations and rumors of an impending gang war in Laughlin, there were no such conflicts.

"Don't believe everything you hear," said one member of the Vagos with a smile that expressed amusement and disdain.

This year the crowds were estimated at more than 60,000, with maybe 30,000 arriving on motorcycles. Last year, about 40,000 were said to have attended.

Kavanagh, who takes his Bikers Dream trailer to several events a year, said he thought the total attendance actually was closer to 100,000.

Motorcycles blanketed the resort parking lots in the tiny resort town on the Colorado River 100 miles from Las Vegas. The hulking, ornate, hot-rodded, polished chrome motorcycles represented millions of dollars of investment.

Handling those crowds -- the biggest of the year for Laughlin -- was a chore for Metro Police and the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Sometimes they didn't do it very well.

Along with the rumbles came grumbles from frustrated visitors who were faced on Friday and Saturday nights with the partial closure of the main street. The impromptu parades and partying that provided the River Run's distinctive atmosphere were turned back by Metro officers unwilling to accept the exhibitions of speed and occasional flashes of flesh.

While the closure may have cut short the unacceptable conduct, it didn't stop it. The bikers just found ways around the police roadblocks. The re-routing sometimes simply opened up stretches of street that were more conducive to ear-rattling acceleration exhibitions.

Flesh was still shown and the minor spillover of crowds into the streets, which Lt. Pitchford used as a justification to impede the parades, continued for a while.

The closures, however, did keep tourists -- many of them in cars -- from reaching their hotels.

"It was total over-reaction," fumed one casino executive who asked to remain anonymous.

"It seemed like security was sufficient so they didn't need to close down the street," added Leonard Ladd, a Las Vegas Fire Department firefighter who was attending his third River Run. "I felt it was a letdown for people who came so far to have a good time."

Kavanagh commented that the police presence "seems to be a little strong compared with last year ... since I haven't heard of any trouble."

Frank Todre, the Golden Nugget Laughlin president who was chairman of this year's River Run, said traffic flow problems will be "sorted out" for next year's event, particularly if there are indications that commerce is affected.

A bigger problem occurred Saturday afternoon when the bridge from Arizona was blocked, creating huge traffic jams for those attempting to reach Laughlin. They were forced miles out of their way across Davis Dam and crawled along for up to three hours before getting back to their hotels.

Pitchford conceded the idea to create something of a one-way traffic flow through and around Laughlin simply didn't work and was abandoned after a couple of hours. He said it wouldn't be tried again.

He said this year's crowd overwhelmed the community, even though he had extra Metro officers -- including SWAT forces -- highway patrol troopers and other lawmen helping out.

"Generally the officers are supportive of the event but we have concerns when we have to deal with large rowdy groups," Pitchford said.

Todre said he already is looking forward to an even larger event next year. "It's great commerce to this community," he said.

Pitchford shuddered at the thought of coping with an even larger crowd, noting, "The town can only hold so many vehicles. I don't know how we're going to keep down the traffic."

But with word of the event spreading, that seems to be the River Run's destiny.