The Big Boys Play in Sturgis

© Ken Bingenheimer / RumBum.com

It happens every August, and it has for the last 70 years. Sturgis, SD, is now inundated with motorcycles and those who love them as the 70^th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is in full swing.

With attendance this year estimated to be in the 600,000 to 700,000 range, however, Sturgis only serves as Ground Zero. The rally itself consumes the entire region. From the moderate-sized city of Rapid City 30 miles to the east to the smaller towns such as Spearfish, Deadwood, Custer, Keystone, and more, the rally is everywhere in evidence. On the scenic, winding roads of the Black Hills, motorcycles outnumber cars 10 to 1 or more, and every town has marked off dedicated motorcycle parking to accommodate their guests.

In all the towns, but especially in Sturgis, every available space is given over to vendors and their tents. Shops along Main Street that normally sit empty are doing land-office business selling t-shirts, leather jackets and chaps, maps designed specifically for motorcyclists, accessories for your bike, and just about everything else you could imagine. Eateries of all sorts hawk their goods and tattoo shops are swarming with customers. Motorcycle manufacturers have brought in truckloads of their newest bikes and would like nothing better than to have the chance to tell you all about them.

© Ken Bingenheimer / RumBum.comOf course, 50 weeks out of the year there’s really not a lot to do in Sturgis. No matter, the bars have taken care of that. Drinking establishments that would be considered huge in Chicago or Dallas or Atlanta are commonplace here, and at this moment they’re full. Women in skimpy outfits serve drinks while beverages are consumed by the barrel.

The main occupation in Sturgis, however, really consists of three things: drinking, people-watching, and looking at motorcycles. For block after block on Main Street, thousands upon thousands of motorcycles line both sides and form two rows down the middle. Customs mix with bone stock bikes, and while the majority are Harleys, there is more than a smattering of Hondas, BMWs, Victorys, and any other bike you could name.

All day long Main Street is jammed with people and bikes, and Lazelle Street, running parallel one block to the north, is just as full. All roads into town are backed up and it’s a slow creep to make it to the downtown area. Then at night it really gets busy. But the Sturgis crowd has aged over the years, and with so many of those in town spending their nights elsewhere, Main Street calms down by 10 or 11 p.m. and things are dying down.

Not that the town ever fully goes to sleep. This is Sturgis. It may be the world’s largest campout; you only thought it was a motorcycle rally. This little town of 6,400 does an amazing job of providing facilities to accommodate the huge annual early-August influx, but hotels and motels can’t get by operating just two weeks a year the way bars can. So where do all those people sleep?

© Ken Bingenheimer / RumBum.comThe need has been answered here by campgrounds. They come in all sizes, from the private homes with a dozen tents strewn across their lawns to the mega-campgrounds like the Buffalo Chip that also feature stages with top-name acts like Bob Dylan, Kid Rock, and ZZ Top. Baby boomers who may not spend another night in a tent all year make an exception for this most affordable type of accommodation, while many more come in their own campers with the bikes on a trailer behind. Plus, every motel room within 100 miles of Sturgis is booked well in advance, at premium prices.

And did we mention the shows? In past years, rally goers have been greeted by presidential candidate John McCain, got to witness Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler falling off the stage to end the performance prematurely, and seen and heard a list of performers that could rival Las Vegas. This year they got Pee Wee Herman. After two shows at the Buffalo Chip early in the week, Herman on Monday led the annual Legends Ride out of Deadwood on his power-assisted Schwinn bicycle, wearing his Captain America helmet. Others on tap this week include Tesla, .38 Special, Billy Ray Cyrus, the Marshall Tucker Band, Gallagher, the Scorpions . . . the list goes on and on.

Of course, the rally got its start from the Jackpine Gypsies, who organized some motorcycle races here all those years ago. The races still run, with hill climbs, flat-tracking, and more, and some of the people who come to Sturgis actually go to see them. For most, however, Sturgis is a party. Hey, you can sleep when you’re dead. For now, it’s time to kick out the jams!