'We're Not Scared Like Liberals': Tens of Thousands of Motorcyclists Pack Lake of the Ozarks for Bike Rally

[Bradley K. Sherman]

Along the Bagnell Dam Strip in the heart of the Lake of the
Ozarks, thousands of motorcycles are tightly parked in the
middle of a two-lane highway.

Tourists from across the country have been cutting loose along
the historic stretch, known as the “main party hub” of the
Missouri resort area, for months—but over the last three days,
the highway lined with bars, hotels, and concert venues has been
home to one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the Midwest:
Lake of the Ozarks’ Bikefest.

Tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts have flooded the
area for the annual rally, which started Wednesday,
participating in five days of rides, fairs, music concerts, and
coordinated stops at local bars and restaurants.

In one video from Thursday night, hundreds of patrons—most
maskless—could be seen crowding into the strip’s bars and
restaurants, clearly flouting federal social distancing
recommendations. And Bikefest is not the only gathering at the
lake this weekend. Hundreds are expected to show their support
for President Trump at a boat parade taking place across the 92-
mile-long lake.

“There are thousands of bikes here. A lot of people here—this
weekend there will be even more people,” Dan Ousley, a 51-year-
old local who has participated in Bikefest for years, told The
Daily Beast. “It’s great to see. Honestly, I think that the
COVID-19 thing is a little overblown, to be honest. We made
national news for having large crowds, but we just want to live
our life.”

Ousley, who is hosting a 15-mile “Bikefest-Trump parade” ride on
Saturday that is expected to attract a couple hundred
participants, admitted that local residents are “not real big on
masks here,” because they don’t want to “infringe on anyone’s
rights.”

“Around here, if people don’t want to go out and want to stay
home, that’s totally fine. We’re all about freedom here,” he
said. “We did the whole stay-at-home order thing and enough’s
enough. People have to live and feed their families and life
goes on.”

Health experts, however, are concerned that Bikefest, which was
attended by 125,000 bikers last year, and the Trump boat parade
will lead to a surge in the already fast-growing number of COVID-
19 cases in Missouri, a state that even the White House has
deemed in danger.

“For mass gatherings like this bike rally, it is very unlikely
people are going to social distance. People are going to
congregate from all over the country, and it will likely spur a
chain of transmissions that has impacts in various different
states,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins
Center for Health Security who specializes in infectious
diseases, told The Daily Beast. “It will be a major task for
public health officials because it is very difficult to track
this mobile population.”

The rally comes just weeks after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in
South Dakota, a 10-day event that attracted nearly a half-
million visitors. The August gathering has since been deemed a
coronavirus “super-spreader” event that infected hundreds and
killed at least one biker.

But several participants of Bikefest told The Daily Beast
they’re not at all worried about the rally becoming the next
Sturgis, with one rider insisting that participants “are
thinking and acting responsibly as it relates to spreading a
virus.”

For Greg Surdyke, the 54-year-old owner of Surdyke Yamaha, whose
store is participating in Bikefest this weekend, the ongoing
pandemic—which has already killed nearly 200,000
Americans—shouldn’t get in the way of an annual tradition.

Surdyke’s store is just one of the 24 bars and restaurants
participating in Bikefest’s passport system. Each participating
rider must get their “passport stamped” at all the participating
venues to be entered in a raffle for a Harley-Davidson
motorcycle. Surdyke’s store is also handing out free “beer n’
brats” to bikers as they go on a ride that spans three counties.

“Motorcycle riders have one thing in common. They all thrive on
freedom, thrills, and camaraderie,” Surdyke told The Daily
Beast, adding that he will be participating in the festival on
Saturday. “I can assure you 10 times more good will come out of
this showing of freedom than will arise from COVID-19.”

Since the state lifted its coronavirus restrictions in June,
Missouri has seen COVID-19 cases climb. According to the
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 1,780
residents have died from the coronavirus and 110,129 more have
been infected.

Now among the top 10 states for cases per capita, Missouri is
currently battling a daily positive COVID-19 test rate of about
11 percent and an average of 1,000 new cases each day. The
state, which does not have a mask mandate and has left all
public health decisions up to local officials, has also seen
record daily hospitalizations over the last week, according to
data from the Missouri Hospital Association.

“As the number of COVID-19 cases in our community continues to
climb, we again face a stark truth: This pandemic is not just
happening somewhere else—it’s happening here,” CEO Dane Henry of
Lake Regional Health System wrote in a July letter.

“Although many are wary of the national coverage and political
debate about COVID-19, the fact is there are things you can and
should do to protect yourself, your family, and others. Here’s
why—we are now seeing widespread COVID-19 cases in each of the
counties Lake Regional serves, as well as a recent uptick in the
number of patients hospitalized with, and dying from, this
illness.”

The rising number of cases has also put Missouri on the White
House’s radar, according to a September report by the
administration’s Coronavirus Task Force. The task force
recommended that bars and some dining establishments be
restricted in counties marked as “yellow” or “red” zones,” where
there are higher rates of transmission.

The White House also recommended a mask mandate for
Missouri—which Gov. Mike Parson publicly rejected.

Among the counties in the “red zones” are Camden and Miller,
which cover the Lake of the Ozarks. Combined, the two counties
have 1,187 active COVID-19 cases. While local leaders have not
yet instituted any official restrictions, the Camden County
Health Department has posted over a dozen guidelines for
residents, including avoiding gatherings of over 50 people and
eating and drinking in bars.

Similar concerns were also raised before the Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally. Since the August rally, cases in North Dakota and South
Dakota have surged, and experts are still trying to determine
the full extent of the event’s nationwide impact.

“The lessons from Sturgis are that this chain of transmission
will happen in any mass gatherings and it will have mass
consequences,” Adalja said. “So in this case, social distancing,
mask-wearing, and screen people entering the bike even would be
beneficial. At the very least, anyone that attends a mass
gathering should get tested a couple of days after the event.”

But despite pleas for public health officials to beef up
coronavirus measures in Missouri, local leaders in the Ozarks
have refused to take a hardline approach. In an interview with
the Kansas City Star, Lake Ozark Mayor Gerry Murawski admitted
that he has been concerned about the ongoing pandemic for
months, but does not expect Bikefest participants to wear masks
or adhere to other coronavirus prevention guidelines.

“But this is our last event of the year and I keep thinking,
‘Let’s just get through this,’ and then we can quite frankly go
to sleep for a few months,” Murawski said. “And hopefully by
next year, it’s gone. Probably not, though.”

Murawski and the governor’s office did not respond to The Daily
Beast’s requests for comment. Organizers for Bikefest also did
not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Julie Fowler, a local who has gone to Bikefest for the last
decade, thinks this year’s rally is “going to be bigger” than
ever before because “people are desperate to get out.”

“It won’t be as big as Sturgis—it never has been. Though I think
the organizers would like it to be,” Fowler told The Daily
Beast. “But I think people are desperate to get out and also
Missouri just passed a no-helmet law and that’s huge for a lot
of these bikers. Also, we don’t have a mask mandate at the lake
area.”

The 56-year-old is eager to participate in the Trump boat rally
with hundreds of other residents clad in presidential
paraphernalia. Fowler insisted that since everyone will be in
their own boats, “absolutely no one is worried at all about
COVID-19.”

“We’re not scared of COVID-19 around here,” said Fowler, adding
that she still practices social distancing and wears a mask in
public. “Trump supporters, whenever we get together, we just
have a good time. We want to live our life. We don’t have to
live in fear, we don't want to fear corona.”

But not all residents in the Lake of the Ozarks are unconcerned
about the potential consequences of these dual events.

Kim Flynt, a 58-year-old who has lived near the Ozarks for about
six years, is very anxious about the huge event—telling The
Daily Beast that while Bikefest has been a great way to generate
local business in the past, it “seems nuts” to hold it during
the pandemic.

“Most of the residents that live here are older adults that
can’t afford to get sick,” Flynt said. “If our governor would
have taken some initiative and had a mask mandate, we wouldn’t
be where we are.”

Flynt said she and her husband will stay home this weekend to
avoid the crowds.

“I truly have never seen it so packed,” she said, adding that
her biggest concern is what will happen to her home after
“everyone goes on their merry way.” “They will leave behind the
virus at our restaurants, bars, and even grocery stores.”

“The only saving grace is most of the bars will close soon for
winter.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/tens-of-thousands-of-motorcyclists-
pack-lake-of-the-ozarks-for-bike-rally