Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Hardin, MT -> Sturgis, SD (330 Miles)
Despite the strong winds and hail that pelted my tent all night, I was able to get a pretty good nights sleep. My first stop before heading to Sturgis was Little Bighorn Battlefield. I had only set aside 30 minutes to walk around and see the monument, but I wish I had side aside half of the day. I had to skip the informational video, museum and ranger talks, which all sounded really interesting.
While heading up to Last stand hill there are makers that tell the story leading up to the Custer’s last stand. Along the way there are markers for exactly where soldiers and warriors had died. Since I had arrived right when the park opened, I was the only one at the top of the hill where there is a memorial for Custer and his army. It was surreal feeling looking around the open plains and seeing grave markers scattered around. I felt like I could really imagine what it looked like at the end of the battle. 
I was pressed for time but I took the winding road out to the actual Little Bighorn Battlefield monument at the Reno-Benten Battlefield site. Along the way you can see isolated grave stones that help paint a picture of the battle.
I had gotten tired of riding on interstates and opted to take a state road to Devil’s Tower where I would be meeting my old roommate Ben. Up until this point there were only a few songs that I had stuck in my head. Don’t ask why, but the predominate one was Shut Up and Dance. Now that I was riding on open roads with Harley’s passing me every few minutes and amber rolling hills I couldn’t help but hear Born to be Wild in the back of my head.
I was only about an hour away from Devil’s tower before I needed to stop for gas. I could tell I was getting closer to Sturgis considering the gas station was packed with motorcyclists. It ended up taking me 30 minutes to grab fuel.
After riding for a bit on a local state road I popped out onto HWY 24 and found myself in the middle of a 50 motorcycle pack. If you’ve ever watched Arrested Development, it felt like a Tobias moment. There is something to be said for strength in numbers, but being around so many motorcyclist in a close proximity got me a little nervous. To make matters worse, when I got to the KOA to meet with Ben it was like a zoo. There were motorcycles parked everywhere.
Ben, his dad, and I grabbed a quick lunch and headed up to Devil’s Tower. In the distance it looks like a steep mountain, but once you get closer you can see that it looks like it’s build of stone columns. Ben read in the gift store that scientist believe the tower is an extinct volcano and that as the magma cooled and cracked it created the columns.
Getting gas didn’t get any easier to closer we got to Sturgis. The Conoco we stopped at must have had over 100 motorcyclist and it took us almost an hour to get fuel.
Riding through Sturgis is a lesson in clutch management, sharing lanes, and parking in tight spaces. Generally, the attendance is around 500,000 people, but because this was the 75th anniversary they estimated that 1 million people passed through Sturgis throughout the week. Sturgis itself has a population of roughly 7,000 people.
The best way I can describe the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is it’s like a state fair full of debauchery and middle age white men with an average BMI of 35 who ride Harley’s that they brought in on a trailer. If you’re a small guy like Ben, good luck finding a shirt smaller than an XL. Also, these guys treat their pins and patches like they’re beanie babies except they are worth nothing. Some of the patches say something along the lines of “I Rode Mine Sturgis” even though most of these guys brought their bikes on a trailer. I saw everything from trucks with motorcycles in the bed to a truck pulling a RV pulling a motorcycle trailer.
Most of the bars you’ll see at Sturgis are way too overbuilt for a city of 7,000 people that has one major rally that lasts three weeks. They look like outdoor concert venues and have hip performances from the likes of Alice Cooper and Bret Michaels. I really wonder what will happen when this generation passes away and my generation fills in. What bands/artist could I expect to see at Sturgis in 30 years, if the Rally is still going on. My hope is for Kanye West.
As for the debauchery aspect of Sturgis, the list is almost limitless but here are some of the things I experienced:
Women wearing pasties and body paint with their husbands (?) showing them off.
Custom bikes complete with hydraulics that rival a cholo car.
Midget royal rumble wrestling.
And of course, midgets riding mechanical bulls.
Despite feeling a bit like white trash, I had a hell of a time. However, Sturgis is a lot like Vegas. It’s fun to experience for a day or two, but anymore is way too much. Most people come in for one night and then spend the rest of the week going on all the awesome local rides through the Badlands and Black Hills.
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