Wisconsin town debates pros and cons of bikers

When the motorcycles thunder into Prescott, Wis., for a spring rally, Lorraine Eichman will leave the house on Elm Street where she's lived since 1948 to have a look. She finds the cycle culture fascinating -- except for young riders who give her attitude.

"The ones I talk to are very respectful to me," said Eichman, who is 78. "I have totally white hair and they know I'm old."

She's yet to click with "the young ones who think they're too cool yet."

Prescott, population 4,000, is a city somewhat divided over being a crossroads for motorcyclists who cruise the vistas along the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. A recent city survey shows that some business owners welcome the thousands of riders who come to eat, drink and shop. Others wish they'd go elsewhere.

"People say they're loud, we have some open-container issues," said Jayne Brand, the city's zoning administrator. "We have that side of it, but we hear when they come to town they bring business."

City officials haven't decided what to do about motorcycles -- if anything -- but the debate is similar to one that took place in Stillwater two years ago when the city decided it had had enough with loud motorcycles. The city invoked a state law that said muffler noise can't be louder than overall engine volume.

"We weren't looking to ban motorcycles, but to calm them down," said John Gannaway, Stillwater's police chief. Business owners complained about some bikers who gunned their motors "thinking they're impressing whoever," Gallaway said.

Dwight Smith, president of the 1,250-member St. Croix Valley Riders, said he doesn't approve of riders who gun their motors on city streets to show off. But loud exhaust pipes have valid safety uses on highways, he said. They make vehicle drivers aware that motorcyclists are present.

Smith estimates that from 6,000 to 10,000 motorcyclists will pass through Prescott on the spring "flood run" and said that riders stop there on every summer weekend.

"They've got a lot of dollars going through there," he said. "I don't think they're going to be putting out a warning to loud motorcyclists to stay away."

The Prescott City Council will discuss the issue Feb. 23, although Brand said no ordinance is proposed. "If we look at a motorcycle being loud, it's going to be enforcement across the board, it's not going to be just motorcycles," she said. "They're a pretty well-behaved crowd."

A big backer of motorcycle gatherings is the No Name Saloon. In a letter to city officials, owners Paula and Walt Weisbeck defended big rallies in April and September as fundraisers that generate substantial donations for the Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul, the Amber Alert missing children program, for guide dogs and other causes. One of the motorcycle runs, they said, benefits the Prescott Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.

But other business owners, in responding to the survey, expressed concern for loud mufflers, traffic congestion and problems related to alcohol consumption. "The resulting exposure is painting Prescott as a lawless biker town," one business owner wrote in an unsigned survey. "Families are too afraid to stop."

Eichman said she happens to like motorcycles but knows that not everybody does.

"They make a terrible lot of noise, I understand that, but the majority of them in Prescott are very nice and friendly," said Eichman, who's retired from her job as a nursing aide.

Brand said that Prescott is accustomed to comings and goings including boaters at local marinas. During weekdays, the city exports many of its residents across the Hwy. 10 bridge to jobs in the Twin Cities metro area.

For many motorcyclists, Brand said, Prescott is a short stop on a long ride. Bikers tend to follow the Great River Road south to Bay City, Maiden Rock and other destinations, she said.

"It's just your average person who loves to ride motorcycles," he said.