Rockers vs. Mods rally will ride Dallas’ Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

by Teresa Gubbins

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More than 1,000 scooters and motorcycles to cross bridge on Saturday.

DALLAS — The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge officially celebrated its opening with food trucks and mucky mucks, but the real inauguration takes place this weekend. Not on Thursday when it opens to the public -- but on Saturday afternoon, when nearly 1,000 scooters and motorcycles will roar over its span as part of the 6th Annual Rockers vs. Mods scooter-motorcycle-rally weekend.

"That's our goal," says organizer Mark Roberts. "Keep in mind that, when we picked the location, it was with the assumption that the bridge was going to be opening on March 4. The city has since postponed that date – I hope we don't get punked on that."

Saturday's processional will be the climax of a three-day weekend of rides and meetups that begins on Friday night at Bryan Street Tavern and ends on Sunday at the Dubliner on Greenville Ave.

The Dallas Rockers vs. Mods event was launched six years ago by Roberts and Michael Cook, who conducted a friendly rivalry about whose two-wheels were better. Roberts is a scooter devotee while Cook represents the motorcycle faction. The event was fashioned as a tribute to the 1960s British rivalry between the Mods and the Rockers. It's grown every year, and is expected to draw more than 4,000 spectators and riders.

"It's gotten bigger partly because of our appearance on Café Racer TV a couple years ago," Roberts says. "The café racer bikes are outpacing the scooters. I'm a scooter guy, but I can still appreciate them."

Previous years' rallies have been at Trees, the Amsterdam, and the Longhorn Ballroom. The riders cruise during the day and then head to bars that are hosting shows. This year's lineup includes the Gorehounds on Friday at Bryan Street Tavern, and Sleazy Mancini at the Foundry on Saturday. The full schedule of events is here. All events are free for spectators and $25 for bike and scooter riders; awards will be presented for Best Bike, Best Scooter, and Best Wrapped Bike.

Roberts is crossing his fingers that the chance of rain stays low and that nothing goes wrong. "Most years we've kept it under control -- the scooters will line up behind me, the bikes behind Michael, you turn around and look and there's 400 bikes behind you," he says. And if the bridge doesn't open, there's a backup plan.

"We'll meet at American Airlines Center, come down Riverside Boulevard, and if that bridge is open, we'll make a U-turn and get on it," he says. "If not, then we'll just get on the Continental Bridge. They're only 20 feet apart."

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