Hot Springs Gives a Roaring Welcome to Bike Rally
Food, music, bikes and riding were the focus of the Arkansas State HOG Rally that took place July 29-31 in Hot Springs. The Austin Convention Hotel and Spa was the host hotel for the event, which drew thousands to the Spa City.
KATV-TV, Channel 7, has video here. Officials said it drew bikers from all over the world:
Organizers say 3,000 people pre registered, and perhaps as many as 2,000 more are expected to just show up at the event--which for the last two years has been held in Northwest Arkansas.
Aaron Gamewell is the general manager of the Harley-Davidson store in Hot Springs.
"We've got people from all over the world, literally," Gamewell said. "We had a guy here yesterday from Chile. We have had some people in from Portugal in the last two days. And we're going to have people from all over the U.S. going to ride in or trailer in and spend a full weekend in Hot Springs."
The last two rallies took place in northwest Arkansas. Steve Arrison of the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau was happy to see the group return. In 2004, the Hot Springs event drew more than 7,700 bikers, the bureau said.
"Hot Springs has been host to the biggest gathering of HOGs in its history, and we welcome their return to the scene of their most successful rallies," Arrison said. "We are extremely grateful that the organizers decided to come back to Hot Springs. We guarantee their members will have one of their greatest rallies ever."
On Saturday, when we drifted through downtown, bikers had parked all along Central Avenue opposite Bathhouse Row. In the nearby park, a group of Christian bikers played music and held an all-afternoon worship service. The roar of engines was constant. And on the south side of town, bikers filled the parking lot at Jones Harley-Davidson.
Yep, it was hot. But I bet when you've got 'er wide open winding through the hills in the shade on Highway 7, you can ignore the heat for just a little while.
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