TOWN OF BLOOMING GROVE — Will Owens isn't sure how much he'll spend and he isn't worried about it.

His four-week journey from Palmer, Alaska, and back on a black 2000 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic is the trip of a lifetime. The cost, while important, is not about to become front and center on his list of concerns.

He's more interested in the scenery, meeting other riders and getting to Milwaukee to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the company that made his motorcycle.

"I'll figure out how to pay for it later," said Owens, 64, who also took a week and a half of paid vacation and almost three weeks of unpaid leave from his job as a driver's education instructor. "To me, it's worth it."

The thousands of motorcycles converging on Milwaukee this week need gas and sometimes repairs. Their drivers, food and a place to rest.

The effect of the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Celebration, even though it is much smaller than the 100th anniversary five years ago, is being felt throughout the state.

Hotels, motels and campgrounds, gas stations, convenience stores and restaurants are among the biggest benefactors of the rally that on Wednesday drew about 1,000 motorcycles, including Owens' bike, to Capital City Harley-Davidson near the interchange of Interstate 39-90 and the Beltline.

Owens figures he will log about 8,500 miles on his motorcycle but will save some costs by staying in inexpensive motels and camping. Still, the costs, which include buying T-shirts, hats and pins at dealerships throughout the country, will add up. As will the food bill.

"We're eating at different places and stopping for gas," said Owens, who is riding with 31 other people in a group of 29 bikes. "This group isn't known for skimping."

Record sales reported

Bob Oyler opened Capital City Harley-Davidson in the fall of 2002, less than a year before the 100th anniversary ride and festival. That event brought an estimated 8,000 riders to his business, which includes a full sales and service department in a 50,000-square-foot building on 7.3 acres.

Despite concerns about the economy, Oyler said he had a record year for sales of motorcycles, which range in price from $8,000 to $34,000. Wednesday's event helped add to the bottom line as hundreds strolled his showroom and clothing department.

"It's a boost," Oyler said. "It helps the economy. It will bring money into the county, no question."

Oyler's motorcycle oasis served up free sandwiches, potato chips and water to riders who began arriving late Wednesday morning for the 2 p.m. departure to Milwaukee.

The Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau did not have an estimate on the economic effect on the area but in Janesville, home to Cutter Harley-Davidson, about 750 hotel rooms and several restaurants, the event will mean more than $500,000 in business.

"Their tank of gas isn't the size of a car so they're going to splurge on dinner," said Christine Rebout, executive director of the Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and who expects hotels to sell out this weekend. "A lot of that may be last-minute but that is how this crowd works. The Harley group is fun."

To help riders find a place to stay, the Wisconsin Innkeepers Association has an online list of available hotel rooms, some up to two hours away from Milwaukee in places such as Appleton and the Wisconsin Dells area. Several hotels in the Madison area listed rooms available through Monday but only a few hotels in Milwaukee County had openings.

"It is a significant (economic) impact," said Trisha Pugal, president and chief executive officer of the Brookfield-based innkeepers association. "The properties in this area are blocking off areas for motorcycles and they're accommodating the groups that are coming in."

Cyclists are spending

Estevan Garcia, 54, of Cedar Crest, N.M., was among those using the hotels. Each member of his riding party of three expects to spend about $3,000 in their two-week trip, which included a stop in Sturgis, S.D., and next week a run into Canada to see Niagara Falls.

"You know it's got to have an impact," Garcia said at Capital City Harley-Davidson. "We spend money."

Roger Marzano, 47, of Medina, Ohio, spent Tuesday night in Wausau before riding to Madison on Wednesday with his wife and another couple.

Marzano said he is spending more in gas not only because of the increased prices but because his wife is now riding her own motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson Screaming Eagle V-Rod. Marzano rides a 2006 Harley-Davidson Street Glide and pulls a matching blue trailer.

He and his wife expect to spend about $3,000 on their eight-day, 2,000-mile trip, which included a route through lower and upper Michigan and northern Wisconsin.

Marzano, who works fitting patients with orthopedic braces and prosthetics, spent about $100 Wednesday at Capital City on T-shirts and pins.

"This will give them a month of sales in two days," Marzano said of the growing crowd. "It's a boost for the community."