Bikers rumble in for Street Vibrations

Although the street in front of the Harley-Davidson dealership may not be vibrating this weekend, the parking lot certainly will be.

The Carson City Harley-Davidson dealership will host a series of bands and stunt riders, in addition to 18 "factory truck" semi-trailers by various motorcycle vendors and 50 different vendors for Street Vibrations this weekend.

"Everybody, let's have some fun together," said Richard Tapia dealership owner.

In addition to the motorcycle vendors, six food vendors will be at the festivities that run today until Sunday.

The event will be "color blind," Tapia said.

Being "color-blind" is in contrast to Reno's Street Vibrations activities, which will feature a ban on gang colors after a fatal shooting last year during the event in Sparks.

"It's more of a relaxed policy," Tapia said. "Everybody understands the nature of having fun."

This year's Carson event will be twice as large as last year's, he said.

"We've been able to grow more and more every year" since 2002, Tapia said, when the dealership first became involved in Street Vibrations.

"They bring out a variety of products and it helps out the overall event," Tapia said.

On Saturday, Caravanserai, a Santana tribute band, will serenade the audience from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., while Jason Pullen does stunts on his Harley-Davidson and others do "X-Game style jumps," Tapia said.

In the evening, Motown Magic, a band that sings the hits of the Temptations to Michael Jackson, will croon from 4-8 p.m.

An estimated 30,000-40,000 bikers will attend Street Vibrations.

"We will see quite a few of those," he said.

The Carson City Sheriff's Office will be demonstrating how they are trained to maneuver their bikes, Tapia said.

Virginia City

Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro is ready for Street Vibrations.

"We're prepared, not worried," he said. "We have more problems on the Fourth of July."

While bikers should be aware that Nevada requires one to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle, those who come to Virginia City are usually wearing their helmets, he said.

"The last 4-5 years, we've issued a dozen citations for helmets," he said. "Come, have fun, behave yourself," the Sheriff entreats.

The only issue Antinoro will see is the huge quantities of people.

"The congestion is going to be insane," he said.

And while Reno may have banned colors, Storey County's sheriff has no worries.

"There's only three ways out of town," he said. "If something happens, you can't (sneak) out of here," he said.

When it comes to drinking and driving, Antinoro said that anyone who rides a bike should know they don't want to ride it after drinking, especially down Geiger Grade.