A Report from Stella M. Elias, Tucson, AZ

The little town of Las Vegas, New Mexico was host to one heck of a great weekend. The Rough Rider 2^nd Annual Motorcycle Rally kicked off Friday, July 27^th with a blood drive at the Railroad Depot.  Then the party began at The Plaza Park in the center of town. The park and its surrounding streets were filled with motorcycles, locals and bikers from all over. I enjoyed the live music by ‘Midnite Special’ and ‘Street Talk’. The party lasted till well after midnight with burnouts in front of The Plaza Hotel.

The rally continued Saturday and went on all day and into the evening. There were close to 4,000 motorcycles and 6,000 people in attendance. The poker run had a great turn out and with the help of New Mexico’s finest it turned out to be a really nice ride.  Saturday’s events also included a bike rodeo, bike show, tattoo contest and more live music by ‘Teardrops Blues Band’, ‘Full Moon’ and ‘Iron Chiwawa’.

The rally concluded on Sunday with breakfast being served by The Knights Of Columbus, the blessing of the bikes and the bike drawing at Plaza Park. Jeanie Moore, a local nurse won a brand new silver Harley Davidson FXST softtail, talk about a happy chick!

The rally was a lot fun but the rode trip to Las Vegas was a trip in it’s self!  I went with my boyfriend, Jack Gould who is the lead tech for Paul Yaffe Originals. Paul Yaffe was the invited celebrity guest of the rally. We trailered Jacks kickass 'Old Police Bike' and three of Paul’s awesome original custom bikes. At one point we were hauling pretty fast, about 90 mph when we passed the SUV that Paul Yaffe and his girlfriend Suzy were being chauffeured to the event in. Paul told the driver, ’Hey! There go my bikes!!! Catch up with them’. When they finally caught up with us we stopped for cocktails and a good laugh. At first Paul wasn’t too happy but he got over it. Needless to say Paul’s bikes made it to Las Vegas before he did!  I had no idea that being part of the Yaffe Crew would be such a blast. Suzy was my partner in crime all weekend and thank God the State troopers loved us!

We ended the weekend with one of the nicest rides I have ever been on. Paul, Suzy, Jack and I took off on the bikes to check out the scenery. Jojo, Diana, Bobby and Janea were our tour guides. By the time we left town there were about 20 bikes behind us. They took us up to Montezuma’s Castle, about 7 miles outside of town. The ride was awesome. We went up in the mountain pines, with overcast skies and the smell of rain. We got a few sprinkles, some wind in our face and then wrapped the day up with a farewell party at The Plaza Hotel. I don’t think the hotel will ever forget us!

The locals of Las Vegas, NM are some of the nicest people I have ever met.  he combination of the locals, the weather, the scenery and the great Mexican food at ‘EL Encanto’ and ‘Stella’s Café’ made for one of the best motorcycle rallies I have ever been to. I can’t wait till next year!

For more info on this event and more pics, check out their website www.roughridermotorcyclerally.com

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