Nestled on the western banks of the Colorado River, south of Lake Mead and directly across from Bullhead City, Arizona, Laughlin has been a mecca for motorcyclists for decades. The event, now in its 29th year, draws a strong Southern California crowd eager to soak in the Mohave sun.

Balmy temps and warm, pre-summer breezes also attract bikers from colder climes, some escaping the last winter gasps of Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and even the higher elevations of Arizona, where it’s been known to blizzard in May.

Laughlin is built in a desert basin, which is normally quite toasty at the end of April, when the River Run is traditionally held. Leathers are shed down to bare essentials, and sometimes less. Women in nothing but the skimpiest of tank tops, thongs and chaps can commonly be seen among the throngs of bikers breaking out from the daily grind and mountain chill.

For those with a carnal sweet tooth, the best places to satisfy their cravings were the sea of vendors who float along the Riverside, Aquarius, Edgewater, Colorado Belle, Golden Nugget and Pioneer casinos, as well as the promenades behind each hotel, where event goers like to take a break from the nonstop throttle snarl, shuffle and shop.

Laughlin boasts the most exhibitors offering arguably better and more diverse biker-ware fare than any other major West Coast rally. The women of Laughlin come to shop and strut all day, every day, while scores of vendor, bike wash, beer, energy drink and bikini bar promo girls hand-deliver their treats.

Are you sold yet? Wait, there’s more—there are the hard-body pretty women, the kind Roy Orbison lamented couldn’t be the truth. And thanks to ubiquitous cosmetic surgery, often aren’t. They come to compete in the Miss Laughlin Contest, Leather, Lace & Bikini Swimsuit Party, Bedroom Babes Lingerie Contest and Sin City Kitty’s Kitties & Titties Wet T-shirt Contest, and other, less official bod-to-bare-bod competitions and gentlemen and lipstick rider entertainments.

This body beautiful buffet was highlighted by the Riverside’s Biker Burlesque. The all-girl, mostly topless but tasteful review featured stunning dancers, crisp choreography and pacing, and the sultry talents of burlesque queen Michelle L’Amour. While the dancers dazzled, teased and turned-on the audience, comedian Kathleen Dunbar cooled the crowd with her sharp wit and homespun banter, setting the stage for the burning crescendo to come.

The Laughlin candy cult was dealt a hard blow this year, however. Temperatures plummeted, the wind howled and most, if not all, the ladies in attendance kept more of their clothes on than the rabid, drooling crowd could barely stand. Jacket, glove, chaps, and scarf vendors cheered; everybody else sobbed like virgin schoolboys.

We’ve reported for sometime that unaccompanied-by-men female attendance has been climbing at motorcycle rallies for years, as are women riders. Laughlin may be the best example of this trend. Women rode in on baggers, choppers and bobbers, looking less girlie than we can ever remember, but that may have been because of the nippley weather.

With 10- to 20-degree below normal temps and relentless high winds and tent shearing gusts, some high-heel and itty-bitty-bikini events had to be moved indoors, which created some panic among confused spectators and lost judges, which led to this intrepid reporter presiding over the Miss Laughlin Contest, almost. But that’s another story.