Here is a short summary of our trip to Sturgis.
By Gary Mellott

It had been about 16 years since my last trip up to Sturgis. Boy have
things changed! This was the 2000 rally, so I expected a large crowd.
Needless to say, my expectations were met. My first observations were that there were a lot more cops, thus no carrying around a beer in public. I noticed that there were fewer women that were willing to exhibit their assets, at least in public anyway. 16 or 17 years age it was the norm to ride down main street topless or nude, while wading through knee-deep beer cans. I also noticed that there were more vendors than in years past, thus making for some great eating and shopping experiences. There were also more events and live music to keep everybody entertained until the wee hours of the morning. We saw some great acts from the 70's and 80's. Many of myfavorite bands were in Sturgis, so I was pumped, but also a little disappointed. They just didn't sound the same. I guess that's what old age will do to you, (speaking both for me and the bands).

The weather was almost unbearable except for the last 2 days or so. YES IT DOES GET HOT IN SOUTH DAKOTA! Party wise, things were pretty mellow (at least in Sturgis). I heard Glencoe and the Buffalo Chip campgrounds were getting a little rowdy, but we never bothered to drive through and check out the excitement.

Crowd estimates were around 800,000 during the entire week making this the largest biker rally of all time. The great thing about Sturgis, is there is so much to see and do outside of Sturgis, so all 800,000 or so bikers were spread out over a 100 mile radius. At any one time, there may have only been 100,000 people in Sturgis and maybe around 50,000 bikes parked on main street and the surrounding blocks.

We stayed in a beautiful B & B in Deadwood, S.D. and had a great time.
Deadwood is the place to stay if you are ever thinking about a trip to
South Dakota. The city is immaculate and offers gambling, great food, and great entertainment. Plus it's just a short ride to Sturgis. The town of Deadwood extended it's hospitality this year and allowed bikes to park on main street. There were a few days when I thought that all the action was in Deadwood given the large crowd and the amount of bikes in town.

We took in a lot of scenery around the area as you will see in our pics. We did want to make it to Devils Tower, Wyo, but I think we'll do that next year when it isn't so crowded and we have more time to ride that direction. Huelett, Wyo., which is near Devils Tower had a HAM AND JAM FEST that just overwhelmed the town. They had about 200,000 people just for that event alone, so you can take a guess where we were. NOT THERE!

During the week, we mingled with the crowds on main street in Sturgis,
shopping, eating, bar hopping, and just hanging out watching all of the
bikers. We waited for everybody to leave on Sunday and then did our touring of the Black Hills area. There was little or no traffic at all and was simply beautiful! I guess the older you get, the more you notice things. Many years ago, I took all of the scenery for granted because I worked in that area. You have mountains, clean rivers, green grass, wildlife, and peace. What more could you ask for?

As with all rallies and events, we always learn some inside secrets. Take
the back roads whenever possible, unless you like sitting in traffic in 100
degree heat. Find a favorite parking spot (preferably FREE) and stick with it. Whenever we were playing the crowd game, we always parked at Roscoes which was right across the street from the Broken Spoke Saloon. Roscoes had a humongous shade tree and $1.00 RED DOGS! Needless to say we made friends with the owners and staff and now have a permanent spot for years to come.

Buy T-shirts on the last day, and out of town! We went to Spearfish for
dinner a couple of times and found some shops down town that were selling the exact same T-shirts for $5.00 that were selling for $15.00 or more in Sturgis. We also found some great deals in Custer.

Another bit of advice... DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK! At last count, there were 8 deaths and about 300 accidents attributed to drinking, speeding, and just general stupidity.

All in all, we had a very fun time and would recommend the trip to anyone wanting ride through some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.
It's well worth your time!

Gary and Val