here
are few events that are this alive and kicking at their 65th anniversary,
and you have to hand it to the bikers; the Sturgis Rally is more alive
than ever! It consisted of Harley and custom bike riders numbering
half a million, vendors in the thousands - and almost the complete
aftermarket scene in a well-received ten-day combination of trade show
and party. But that doesn't catch the fascination of the event,
which has spread out over an area of more than 60 miles. Jump on your
bike and experience a ride into some of the most fascinating landscapes
the United States have to offer: The South Dakota Badlands, Wyoming's
grassland and Devils Tower and the Black Hills themselves - if
you can imagine that just 150 years ago this was just grass, wood and
rocks, you're getting into the spirit!
The rumble never stops during the rally
and the backup of motorcycles extends up to the Interstate: For every
Harley to enter the extended Main Street, another has to leave. Riding
the Main Street of Sturgis at sunset with Arlen and Cory Ness is one
of the great experiences of the Sturgis Rally. When the celebrated
customizer is presenting his latest creations, he doesn't hesitate
to ride them in the stop and go traffic. Here, just in the thick of
it, are the real Harley riders, looking for new ideas and trends. Main
Street Sturgis is much more fascinating for motorcyclists and bikers
than any other place on earth: It's
here that so many motorcycles are squeezed into such a small place and
since the turn of the millennium, the city of Sturgis had to extend several
more blocks down Main Street to add more parking space for motorcycles
- and that's despite the fact that new watering holes and event sites
all around the city compete every year for the customers. Even in 2000,
on the road to Bear Butte, you could hardly see anything but campgrounds
and the Hill Climb and Drag race tracks.
"The Governor of South Dakota rules over something more than 800.000
citizens, but during the Sturgis Rally, I'm the mayor of 500,000
plus," jokes the mayor of Sturgis at the annual induction ceremony
into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame, part of the new Sturgis Motorcycle
Museum on Main Street. He's right. After the 60th anniversary
five years ago, the crowds came in bigger and bigger year after year:
For a stunning 65th time, Sturgis was a mecca of Harley-Davidson and
custom bike riders - and the big manufacturers know the value of
the crowd as does the city and hotels around Sturgis and deep into the
Black Hills. There is no event like this (maybe with the exception of
Daytona...) where the hotels can milk the visitors so shamelessly - and
still
complain that the ordinary holiday visitors are fleeing the area! But
most visitors arrive in campers and tents anyway -sticking to the theme
of the first motorcycle events in the Black Hills: riding.
There are several reasons why this little
town has become the mecca of American motorcyclists, among them an Army
Fort Commander, the advent of electricity and a motorcycle manufacturer
named Indian. Why? At first: Names make events. You could hardly imagine
Harley-Davidson christening a motorcycle "Punxsutawney" (hometown of
the infamous Groundhog Day), can you? But "Sturgis" - that's the one!
Either Major Samuel D. Sturgis, first commander of Fort Meade or his
son Lieutenant J.G. Sturgis is responsible for the town's glamorous
name: Most probably the latter, since he died in Custer's fatal
expedition at "Little Big Horn," which started at Fort
Meade, today a historic landmark north-east of the town.
Metzeler's Sturgis V-Twin Custom Bike Contest just
keeps getting better and better every year. The quality of
entries this year was the best-ever. The concept is simple:
bring out the hottest thing you've got in a custom V-Twin...
outfitted in Metzeler tires, of course.
Bonnie Barnett sits on the amazing custom bike that her husband Scott
built. The pair took home the "Best of Show" prize,
top honors in the Metzeler Sturgis V-Twin Custom Bike Contest.
Some of the most amazing projects you'll ever
see are in Sturgis every year. The absolute attention to detail
on this machine really pops out.
Sturgis has a mayor for 50 weeks a year, but for about two
weeks, Arlen Ness pretty well holds that title. He is seen
here with his wife Bev, out on a cruise on one of his amazing
custom bikes. One of his sons, Zac, rides alongside on a Ness-inspired
Victory.
The big gold rush of 1876 put Sturgis on
the map, since this was the gateway to the infamous gold digger and
outlaw town of Deadwood, which takes more and more part in the Rally
too. In the 1930's, the Black Hills area ushered in the 20th century
with the installation of the first electric system. A local family, the Hoels,
had made a living by producing and selling ice. This crumbled away
when the first electric-powered fridges were plugged in at the bars,
hotels and private homes. Clarence "Pappy" Hoel
decided to get into motorcycle business, trying to set up a Sturgis
dealership to compete with a similar one in Rapid City. Probably too
close for comfort, the deal never worked out - and meanwhile Hoel had
applied for and received the "go" to set up an Indian dealership, at first
located in his home garage in 1936.
Motorcycle travelers were nothing new to
the area, since the glorious "Wild West" was romanticized in times
of depression and unemployment. With national monuments at Mount Rushmore
and Devils Tower plus the scenic "Black
Hills" whose beauty you can appreciate even more if you arrived
through the deserted "Badlands" of South Dakota, several "Gypsy
Tours" crossed the area in the twenties. When Hoel started his
dealership, his business was boosted by the nearby cavalry camp Fort
Meade, which at this time had switched from horses to motorcycles.
World War One has made the horse obsolete. The activities of Hoel soon
led to the founding of the "Jack Pine Gypsys Motorcycle Club," and
to the first "Field Day" and races of August 1st, 1937.
One year later the city joined in the promotion and attending numbers
increased. During the late thirties, the racing became AMA sanctioned
and the crowds bigger. This was an event that made Sturgis compete
with the big rodeos and the historic "Days of 76" festivities
in Deadwood. Still, it was family-style enough that "Pappy's" wife
Pearl Hoel was able to cook for the whole club members and sometimes
parts of the crowd too. It was in those pre-war years that most of
the excitement was added. Flat Track racing, hillclimbs, motorcycle
stunts, even car races were held at the same location of today's
Flat Track. Even in August 1941, the "Black Hills Motor Classics"
was far away from the battlefields of Russia, which Germany had invaded
in June: The party was over though on December 7th, 1941.
Although from today's view, the war ended with the bombs dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (historic 60th anniversarys that fell in
the time of this year's event too) Japan didn't sign the surrender
before September 15th, 1945. So there was no rally in 1945 either.
The authority returned to "Pappy" Hoel and a crowd of 4.000
plus re-started the rally successfully.
When in the seventies and eighties the
rally and races sometimes also attracted the "outlaw" type of biker,
the Harley boom of the nineties swept them out of town. Today's Main
Street is a parade of chrome and steel and the visitors are more mature.
If you want to park your bike on Main Street, you have to get up early:
At noon time there is hardly a space for a single bike left on one
of Americas most valuable parking grounds!
Today, the Rally has become a multi-million
dollar business, which is proved by the huge show trucks parked at
the city's entrance and Lazelle Street: It's at Sturgis, where Harley-Davidson
introduces the next years models each year. Harleys rule the town and
country, but other brands are catching up too: U.S. manufacturers like
Victory, the big Japanese names and countless clone manufacturers with
custom-made V-Twins introduce their bikes and look out for customers.
The big and small custom parts manufacturers and distributors share
the excitement of reaching 500,000 plus motorcycle-related visitors
in a holiday mood, with deep pockets. Better to spend it on accessories
than lose it in the slots at Deadwood...
But you don't have to spend your hard-earned
cash if you want to enjoy nature's scenic views: The Black Hills, Mount
Rushmore, Devils Tower/Wyoming and the scenic wild Badlands are within
days reach - all
of them worth a day trip and more. The traditional Wednesday run to
Hulett, Wyoming has 250,000 plus bikers invade a town of 512 - and
it's
not as restricted and police enforced as in SD. The massive silhouette
of Devils Tower is one of the best motorcycle trips you can experience
during the Rally. Who wants to get in line for the free hog-roast anyway?
The only sad note on this year's event
was that one of the major persons founding the event didn't make it
to this years anniversary: Pearl Hoel, born 1905, died February 27th,
2005 - just half a year
short of the full "century," she has attended since the
conception of the event. She loved the Black Hills, she was the heart
and soul of the Rally - and she will be missed!
The Sturgis Rally, which ever name it
will bear in the future, has become unstoppable - and there is
no doubt that the event will flourish and prosper in the future. 
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