2010 Rallies & Events
16th Annual Republic of Texas (ROT) Rally Part 2
Story and Photos by Jack Cofano
As I stated in the previous article, the 16th ROT Rally part one, this event was one of the largest weekend rallies I have ever covered. It had so much going on that it was impossible to check out all the events and bands unless you could be in three places at once. Don’t get me wrong, it was extremely well-organized, but you had to do your homework to see your favorite groups or events. Works for me as I like to have choices and don’t mind hoofing it to get from one venue to another.
Jerry and Colleen Bragg are the owners of this rally and have been since its inception. It takes a lot of dedication and a special kind of individual to organize something of this scale year after year. The state of Texas, the city of Austin, and the motorcycle community should be thankful that they have people like Jerry and Colleen to carry on such a great tradition. Event coordinator Denise Garcia has informed me that the approximate attendance figure was in the vicinity of 42,000 and that’s not to mention the thousands that lined the streets of Austin for the motorcycle parade that was estimated at 4,000+ bikes. I sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted to count them. It was incredible! There were also over a thousand RVs parked inside the grounds. I haven’t seen that many RVs in one spot outside of a NASCAR event.
Everywhere you looked in the city you could see “Welcome Bikers” signs on restaurants, bars, and hotels. It sure is nice to know that the community is there to support you including the Chief of Police in Austin, Art Acevedo, welcoming everyone attending the rally. You don’t see that everyday.
I can’t write two articles without bitchin’ about at least one thing and I could only think of one thing and that was the insane number of golf carts constantly running all around the event grounds. I have been at a lot of events that you had to look out for crazy bikers running your ass over, but at least you can hear them coming. The freakin’ golf carts are so quiet I almost got creamed a few times just trying to walk around. I was glad to read on the Internet that I wasn’t the only one whining about it. From the looks of most of the patrons in the carts, a little walking around would do them good. Okay, that was my only gripe about the rally and I survived so I guess all is well. I can tell you one thing, that won’t stop me from attending this rally again next year. I was thoroughly impressed.