It’s been 12 years since the rally was held in Tyler. This year’s event should bring out even more attendees and owners. The Texas State Rally is the country’s second largest official HOG Rally after all. Holli Conley from the Tyler Convention & Visitors Bureau said her organization expects 3,000 to 4,000 people to show up next month.
The main hotspots for this year’s event will be the Harvey Convention Center and Latch Lonestar Harley-Davidson. If you happen to show up on Thursday, you’ll be able to party that night on top of Tyler’s new downtown Fair Plaza Parking Garage to the music of the Party Crashers, which is described as an “energetic dance band” by a local newspaper writer. You might even go home with $1,000 if you take part in the Rose Run Poker Run. The Tyler Police Motorcade – riding Harleys, of course – will lead a parade through the streets of Tyler on Saturday morning.
Are any of you Harley lovers going to the Texas State Harley Owners Group (HOG) Rally? If so, let us know in the forum thread below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
