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Historic Groups that Started Innocent then Took an Evil Turn

Khalid Elhassan November 8, 2020 32 min

Harley-Davidson - Harley-Davidson WLA — Harley-Davidson WLAs. Motorcyclist

33. The Small Town Motorcycle Rally That Went Off the Rails

Pre WWII bikers like this Oakland club were less into leather vests, and more into shawl collar sweaters, bow ties, and khaki riding pants. Valet Magazine

In the 1930s, the small town of Hollister, California, began hosting an annual Fourth of July motorcycle rally known as a Gypsy Tour. Such tours were innocent affairs that typically revolved around social activities, motorcycle races, and partying. Gypsy tours were canceled during WWII, but in 1947, Hollister let it be known that its annual motorcycle rally was back on.

Unfortunately, the good people of Hollister had not reckoned with the dramatic increase in motorcycle popularity, or the changed demographics of motorcycle enthusiasts. Hollister was about to host thousands more bikers than it had expected. Many were nothing like the wholesome motorcyclists with whom the townspeople had dealt before the war, being both younger and rowdier. As seen below, the result was chaos.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.