The Sturgis Motercycle Rally! The one rally to rule them all! 10 Days and Nights of Riding, Food, and Music. THE RALLY! Whatever you want to call it there is one rally that most everyone has heard of in the United States (and many parts of the world) and that is the annual motorcycle rally held in Sturgis, SD. Last year was the 82nd annual event, and we were lucky enough to be living in Sturgis at the time of the rally.
We heard so many horror stories before it started. These included the following: The roads will be parking lots. Gas stations will run out of gas. Grocery stores will run out of food. Drive through lines aren't even accessible. There will be non stop fighting. And drunken brawls. You won't be able to sleep because of all the partying. Etcetera, etcetera. The list went on and on. Instead, our experience was much different. We found this event is a well oiled machine and everyone in the local area knows how to keep things moving.
The calm before the chaos
(This shot is not our picture but was posted on a public rally page)
There were a few things to consider though. The city of Sturgis is home to roughly 7,000 people. For most of the year this is a sleepy town with more parking lots than businesses. However, for two weeks in August the population swells to 300,000 to 500,000 people. Sturgis quickly becomes the largest city in South Dakota. Suffice to say there is not a hotel room to be had within three or four hours of Sturgis in August. They are usually booked years in advance.
Fact: The 2022 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Attendance Was 505,000
We were amazed how the city transformed itself as more and more people came to town. Blue collar workers, white collar workers, biker clubs/gangs, doctors and lawyers, and everything in between road in on their bikes. The empty parking lots quickly changed to massive tents and temporary buildings. Stop signs and temporary lights popped up to keep traffic in line. Food trucks showed up from all directions. You could easily tell that everyone had done this before.
What was even more fascinating was watching how capitalism took over. Everyone is there to spend money and/or make money. Homeowners rented out their homes, set up campers in their driveways or even rented space in their yards for tents. Kids set up lemonade stands for the thirsty bikers. An army of grandmas showed up with sewing machines in tow. They would sew patches on jackets, shirts, bags, etc. They never charged much, but their tip jars were overflowing. One thing we always noticed is everyone tipped the workers. Say what you will, but bikers show their appreciation for the people working hard at this rally. Heck, even the local churches would get donations from people using their parking lots. Everyone made money!
As for us, we just took it all in. It was a wonderful experience, and we had a delightful time each evening we walked around downtown. Everyone was nice. We had great conversations with people from all over this country and a few from Central America as well. Some people have come to this rally every year for as far back as they could remember. They could prove it by all the patches on display. For others this was their first time and they were overjoyed to finally have this experience.
What I will say in closing is that if you ever get the chance to go to this rally just do it! Figure out all logistics later and relish the experience. Disregard all preconceived notions and just be prepared to soak it all in. You can walk around with a beer in hand, listen to some amazing music, watch the various motorcycle events, and shop until your heart is content. Yes, there will be some drunk and disorderly people. Yes, you will see varying degree of nakedness. Yes, traffic can be a little slow at times. However, you will have some amazing stories to tell, meet some wonderful people, and have a lot of fun. Plus, some people bring their dogs and that was a highlight for us. They stole the show!
Oh, and for anyone who asked if we got in the middle of those crowds.....yep! We even got to be in the annual picture.
Can you see us? How about now? We are in the red circle.
Ok, here is one more close up.
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