STURGIS...........ARE

Sturgis is here once again. It's about a month out. This years dates are August 4-13th, 2023 and we can’t wait to ride all those familiar roads, see old friends and just enjoy the countryside.

This year marked the 83st anniversary of the “Sturgis Motorcycle Rally”, the largest motorcycle rally in the world. It all began in a small town of Sturgis, SD in 1938. Now, you may say that the years don’t add up; 1938 to 2023 is 85 years. There were two years during World War II that the rally did not take place, due to gas rationing. (And if the current Administration keeps up it, we will be doing that again…..)

In 1938 Clarence “Pappy” Hoel formed a small group called Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club. On August 14, he gathered about 9 racers to compete on Main Street in Sturgis for a two-day event. Within the next several years preceding this event, vendors started setting up and more and more people came out as spectators. By 1960 the attendance topped out at 800 people. By 1965 the rally was extended to five days; in 1970 the attendance was 2000; in 1975 the rally was extended to seven days. Year after year the rally has grown exponentially; people from all over the world gather for the rally to have a great time. In the year 2000 the rally saw its largest attendance reaching over 600,000 people. Due to the fact that people began to show up earlier and staying later, the rally extended to ten days.

But nothing topped the charts like the 75th rally in 2015, which reached a staggering 1.8 million in attendance. The entire state of South Dakota’s population is only 853,125. This year’s rally more than doubled the population of the state. Closing it in a bit further; if you combine the cities and towns that are directly involved with the rally; Sturgis, Rapid City, Deadwood, Lead, Keystone, Hill City, Custer & Spearfish, it does not even add up to 100,000 population. This is mind blowing to think. That’s like taking ALL of St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County; men, women and children, adding another 100,000 people and having them all go up to South Dakota for the rally. It was crowded to say to least.

But any who, most motorcycle enthusiast simply refers to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as “Sturgis” it’s easy and simple to articulate and everyone knows what you are talking about. But what really goes on? Why do people keep going back year after year? Why do newbies want to take that adventurous trip? On top of the fantastic scenery, bike shows, concerts, motocross events, lot and lots of alcohol and the extremely unconventional entertainment; what make this rally tick?

It’s exciting, it’s adrenaline rushing, it’s the big open sky, it’s nature, it’s the winding roads, it’s the racing to beat the rain storm that is vastly approaching, it’s the not knowing exactly where that rain storm is heading, it’s the crowd of crazy people, it’s the roaring of hundreds of thousands of motorcycles racing down every road, it’s the walking around and shopping, visiting every vendor, it’s the live music everywhere, it’s finding that perfect spot to park your bike after riding up and down the gauntlet on Main Street, it’s the planning for all whether conditions (except for snow, although one year it damn near got close), it’s making sure your go and visit FULL THROTTLE SALOON, it’s heading to the Buffalo Chip for an amazing concert from famous headlining acts, it’s going to visit Hewlett, Wyoming for the “No Panties Wednesday, Ham N’ Jam” festivities, it’s riding the Black Hills to take in the spectacles of Mount Rushmore , The Crazy Horse Monument, and Tatanka, it’s making