Happened to be in Austin Friday as the ROT (Republic of Texas) Motorcycle event roared in. What I immediately noticed is the Cops closed off upper Congress and put 'tow away' signs near all the meters (I know as we almost got towed). Anyway, the Bikers came in for a 'Parade' around 7 PM and then were allowed to park their bikes in the middle of Congress 'Sturgis Style' and the street remained closed. I'm sure this has been done before by El Jeffe and the Kontinentals, but has anyone suggested to the City of Austin that the same be done for Lone Star Round Up? I'm sure we could put on one hell of a parade with our vehicles. Closing Congress for one group, you would think, would allow another group the same latitude..
I think the difference might be in that if the cops didn't shut down Congress, then the bikers would just do it themselves. The police are probably saving themselves a lot of trouble. Car guys tend to be slightly more (for lack of a better term) law abiding.
Another difference is that with the ROT rally, all motorcycles are in. If you're on a bike you're part of it. With the roundup, only 1 out of 50 cars on congress actually fit the show criteria. The rest are showoffs and OT rides and most of them don't even know that there was a show. They think congress is the show. Which is why we're starting to party elsewhere.
The Jalopy Journal
