Surprise! The weather during the River Run’s 25^th anniversary was hot this year. The mercury was almost boiling at 104-degrees, rivaling only Palm Springs for the highest temperature in the entire nation. Even though the temperature is high, it didn’t prevent Laughlin from offering a variety of daily outdoor activities. My favorite daytime endeavor is the Street Legal drags at the Avi Casino. It’s far from the main strip, but worth it at two-bucks a run down the 1/8 mile track. Every casino had its own little bike show, plus small incentives to get people to wander into their air-conditioned casinos to avoid the oppressive heat of the unforgiving blacktop like bikini contests and the biggest beer belly competition. During the day, all the vendors and builders answered people’s questions and sold their wares, but the best time at the River Run is after the sunset.

Once the sun relents, everyone in Laughlin seems to get a second wind. After taking a brief refreshment (a cold beer and a short nap), I went in search of the evening’s entertainment. This year featured a slew of Eighties hair bands like L.A. Guns and Warrant with ZZ Top as the Saturday night headliner. It’s easy to party into the night at the show as most of the drinking happens in casinos that conveniently lack any clocks. And I know I’m always in a better mood when it’s a little cooler, plus I’m still thirsty from perspiring all day and I have more than a couple to drink. But I’m not the only one, as the crowds are healthy well into the night.

After talking with numerous parts manufacturers and builders, the general consensus is that the Run’s attendance has decreased. Ever since the little “riding club” mishap at Harrah’s a few years ago, it seems that less and less people show up at the run. But attendance may also have been affected by the ever increasing number of police at the event, coupled with the incredibly high number of citations officers hand out for such criminal acts as not enough rear view mirrors (FYI—Nevada state law requires two (2) mirrors) or handlebars a few inches too high. On the bright side, the lower attendance meant a higher bartender to patron ratio, and that equals mixed drinks delivered quicker.

Come Sunday morning the Laughlin strip wakes up early, shattering the desert stillness with the cacophony of electric starters spinning V-twins. Much like SoCal on a workday, a person has to get up early to beat the traffic back to the comfortable weather behind the Orange curtain.

Paul and Darleen Forsythe

I caught these two perusing the Riverside Casino vender area and like most people at the event, they were from Southern California, Whittier to be exact. This was Paul and Darleen’s first “real” event; they wanted to see what all the hullabaloo was about at the River Run. The happy couple arrived on their new ’07 Road King, but Paul is disappointed with the sound of the stock mufflers, “My number one priority is to find a set of pipes that will make my bike actually sound like a Harley.” While Darleen loves riding with her man, she was happy to peek at the women’s clothing while Paul shopped for pipes.

Dino and Cynthia

Wandering around on Saturday afternoon, I met this couple in the main vendor area of the Golden Nugget. Dino and Cynthia cruised in from Las Vegas on an approximately 50-mile ride, doubled up on a 2005 1200cc Sportster. After talking with them for a few minutes I found out why they attended the River Run, “Mostly for the atmosphere of like-minded people who want to party. We’re excited to have few cold ones in the Aquarius (used to be the Flamingo Rainbow bar) because of all the different people that show up.” Cynthia was also looking forward to some shopping, while Dino wanted to see all the different bikes that people ride and builders bring to the shows.