Monday, August 15, 2011

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally


"I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride, I’m wanted, wanted, dead or alive!”

This could be the theme song for Sturgis, South Dakota this week, during the 71st Annual Motorcycle Rally. Every year, motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the world, ride or bring their bikes to the Sturgis area for a week of Hog Heaven! Approximately 650,000 bikers come to this event (the population of SD is only about 750,000 in total). Many of these bikers camp for the time they are here. We saw a ton of huge motor homes pulling utility trailers with their motorbikes inside. There are bikes on the highways everywhere: Harleys, crotch rockets, bikes with sidecars, with mini trailers, CanAm spyders, choppers, and custom made machines. We saw one that was a motorbike in the front and a Volkswagen beetle in the back.

This photo is the main street in Deadwood, famous hangout of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Every space on the street and parking lots were full of bikes, so we could not even stop to look around.

The towns in this area cater to the riders with tons of T-shirts and riding paraphenalia. There are beer gardens and pubs full of bikers everywhere. There was some fairly big name entertainment, too. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Toby, Keith, Ted Nugent, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Gregg Allman, Styx, Bachmann Turner, Poison, George Thorogood, Leon Russell, Edgar Winter…. I am sure some people just come for the entertainment. You could even get your bike washed by bikini babes in leather outfits! Sean was disappointed that he missed the midget bowling!

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