Even with an estimated 40,000 visitors swelling the city last weekend, local authorities said there were relatively few instances of Rally on the River-related misbehavior.

“I think it went rather well,” Ironton Police Capt. Chris Bowman said. “I think we had two arrests related to the rally and they were cited to court. I don’t know what everyone else had, (such as) the state patrol.”

Ohio State Highway Patrol Commander Lt. Mike Gore said his troopers wrote 90 tickets for various infractions during the weekend biker bash and made eight arrests for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Five of the eight arrests were motorcycle riders.

“It was nothing out of the ordinary,” Gore said, noting that some holiday weekends generate 400 to 500 citations. Still, he said the Rally weekend is “considerably higher than an ordinary weekend.” Gore said on an ordinary weekend his troopers will issue anywhere from 20 to 40 tickets for various infractions.

Mayor Rich Blankenship said, from his perspective, there were no major problems for city police in spite of the activities.

“I didn’t get any phone calls over the weekend and that’s always a good thing,” Blankenship said. “I talked to the chief a bit ago and he said things went pretty well. There were no major incidents we know of. It seemed to be more controlled and better organized this year.”

The Rally on the River brought thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to Ironton for a weekend of camaraderie. The late summer event is organized by the grass roots community group the Friends of Ironton.