Choppers and shoppers riding toward Rosalia

ROSALIA, Wash. – It is afternoon at the Longhorn Café and a waitress plays dice with a few diners and shares a laugh.

Things are slow, even during the first days of harvest as grain trucks rumble into town.

Behind the quiet, however, is anticipation. In two weeks – on Aug. 20 – the town of Rosalia, population 660, expects to be turned into a city of motorcycles, population 10,660.

The big draw of the “100 Years of Motorcycles” rally will be the surging fascination with custom-built choppers. These stretch bikes (some are longer than 10 feet) ride low and fast, and have captured the attention of average Americans through shows like The Discovery Channel’s “Biker Build-Off” television series.

Organizers hope it will become an August ritual – thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts rolling into this Palouse town 30 miles south of Spokane on the northern fringe of Whitman County.

If the rally meets expectations, it will be the biggest thing in Rosalia since the building of the railroad.

At last count, 19 builders or their representatives are expected to set up displays along Main Street.

Some wish it to be a Sturgis-like rally in the making. Others worry it could be just that. Such comparisons are premature: After all, this is a first for Rosalia. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota has been around 65 years and draws about a half-million people.

Rosalia businesses are excited about the prospect of sales. The city is excited about tax collections.

There’s some concern in the community, acknowledged Mayor Ken Jacobs. What about security? Parking? Noise? Liability? Vandalism?

Josh Bryan, who dreamed up the rally, says folks should give bikers a chance.

He is so confident that he bills it as a family event.

Bryan lives in Rosalia but owns a little bike shop at 9313 E. Trent in Spokane Valley. It’s little in two ways – the business is small and so are the bikes. At his Northwest Custom Motorworks, Bryan assembles small motorbikes that he calls three-quarter size – though compared to, say, Harley Davidson Road Kings, the bikes appear much smaller than three-quarters.

Bryan wanted to meld his passion for motorbikes with his desire to give his hometown an economic jolt and boost his own business.

Though Bryan is quick to point out that everyone is welcome, Jacobs said residents know that biker rallies mixed with live rock ‘n’ roll, hot summer weather and plenty of cold beer probably don’t add up to the sort of small-town wholesomeness expected when an event is billed as “family friendly.”

“Do we expect trouble? No, not really,” Jacobs said. “But I think people know they shouldn’t let their children run around in the street later in the day because they may see things they wish they hadn’t.”

Jacobs has served three stints as mayor. After a breakfast of pancakes and coffee, he offered a quick tour of town, including a prized clock that serves as the showpiece, a beautiful timepiece that originally kept time during a Portland exposition in 1905.

The mayor walks to the well-kempt city park and adjoining baseball field where throngs are expected for a concert featuring Freebird and southern rocker Jimmy Van Zant.

He complains about some vandalism to public restrooms that forced the city to lock the doors at night. But the town has a clean swimming pool and recently bought a house on Main Street to turn into a medical clinic where two nurse practitioners expect to offer advice and treatment. Up the street is the school, home of the Spartans. With 200 students in grades K-12, Jacobs said the whole town delights in top-notch academic success and the high number of college-bound graduates.

“One of the highest around here,” he said.

It’s all part of Rosalia’s effort to enliven the economy and grow. The town even opened a new library and formed a human chain to move books from the old building to the new one.

“Neatest thing you’ve ever seen,” he said.

Jacobs talks about ways the rally can help the town.

Rosalia is acquiring water rights, an expensive proposition that perhaps some rally-generated taxes can help offset. Because with new water comes new housing and dollars.

There’s maybe one empty house in town, he said, as more people want to escape city life.

Bonnie Stites, owner of the Longhorn Café and Lounge, is all smiles about the rally. Her bar is the only hard-liquor hangout in Rosalia and she figures to make some money.

“People around here can’t wait,” she said, taking a break from the kitchen to have a smoke and talk up the rally. Battle Days is the town’s big celebration, a nod to the area’s frontier beginnings.

Bryan is mindful of stereotypes, including that of bikers bringing trouble. That was a long time ago, he said, pointing to the fact that motorcycles are now major investments often ridden by the affluent rather than outlaws.

Yet the rally website includes a plea to motorcycle clubs to please leave their “colors” behind to discourage conflicts.

Rally goers will be asked to wear wristbands and follow these five “Noes”: No guns or knives, no fighting, no pets, no glass bottles and no ATVs.

Heading the security effort will be the Rosalia Police Department. Number of officers: one full-time and one part-time.

Bryan said a private security firm from Spokane will be in Rosalia, and Whitman County Undersheriff Ron Rockness said his deputies will be available to help, though they have not been asked to take an active role.

The security situation is a bit unorthodox, but deputies will be ready on an as-needed basis, he said.

Washington State Patrol says it will have increased patrols on Highway 195 that weekend. But that’s due more to Washington State University students returning to campus than to the Rosalia motorcycle rally.

Stites just wants everyone to have a good time.

“This is just what the town needs,” she said, hoping that the activity can spark new business interest.

“You can’t take things for granted in a small town,” she said. “We need this inspiration.”