What Happened?
I was super excited to attend the Las Vegas event called BikeFest. From what I understood, it had been running for 25 years, with attendance above 20K.
Where Were The Riders?
Although I saw groups of people throughout the day and night, they were clusters of only 5-10 people and stayed for about 30-60 minutes at most. They enjoyed some food and shopped the vendors that decided to remain open. Even the Poker run was eventually canceled and pushed out a day (no refund clarity for those of us who had to leave on Saturday).
Will It Survive?
I felt so bad for everyone. I have been to a lot of bike events, and I must say BikeFest pulled out all the stops. They had the cleanest restrooms I have ever seen (huge air-conditioned trailers); hundreds of vendors (some with 5-7 10×10 spaces); and truly wonderful food. The food/beer prices were very reasonable, the staff was amazing, and the vendors were always so welcoming.
It was truly confusing that the place wasn’t completely packed. I got turned away the first day because they wouldn’t allow any vests with patches, and I thought that was odd, as I’ve only seen colors turned away lately. However, I just tucked it into my saddlebag and went back in.
Maybe this was the silent killer for the event attendees?