The Sturgis rally
 In
1938, motorcycle shop owner Pappy Hoel and the Jackpine Gypsies
Motorcycle Club launched the rally, featuring races around a dirt
track and rides through the Black Hills. Sturgis found hosting bikers
not much different from accommodating cavalrymen. The town first
counted bikers by the dozens, then by the hundreds and the thousands,
and eventually by the hundreds of thousands. |
As remarkable as anything about the rally is how the town, so typical
of a Great Plains community 51 weeks a year, is transformed for one
week in August. Some Main Street merchants occupy their shops just eleven
months a year. They empty their stores completely at mid-summer, yielding
to biker specialty shops that move in.
Scenic rides -
Spearfish canyon, Blackhills, Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Devil's tower,
Here is a list of just a few of the great rides. |
central, 16A south from Mount Rushmore to Custer State Park.
This will take you over pigtail bridges, and through tunnels. Be prepared
for delays when tourists try to stuff their campers through the 1-lane
tunnels. It's worth the wait, though, watching them try to figure out
what to do after they have both mirrors and the roof firmly planted
against
the tunnel. Once they have scraped out of the way, notice how Mt.
Rushmore is framed by every single tunnel.
Needle's Highway SD87 Packed with 'Bagos, but a pretty
ride.
north, Spearfish Canyon, US14A, south from Spearfish.
Wide, smooth, sweeping turns. Watch for bicycles. At the southern end
is
Roughlock Falls, a nice place to stop and catch your breath.
central, US385, from Lead/Deadwood to Custer. Not
terribly twisty, but a nice way to get from the Northern Hills to
the Southern Hills.
SD87 from US385, south of Hill City, to Mount Rushmore.
This is the backway to Mount Rushmore, not heavily travelled, smooth,
and twisty.
US16, from Custer, SD to Newcastle, WY. A bit out-of-the-way,
but if you are in the area, this is a nice,
twisty road.
US85 Newcastle, WY to Lead, SD a good road.
USA, SD, Rimrock Highway, SD44, Rapid City to US385.
A beautiful canyon, with Rapid Creek running along the road.
Somewhat populated, and fairly heavily travelled. An alternative is
Nemo Road. It's a little-travelled road out of the north west side of
Rapid City. Take West Chicago St. west out of Rapid City to South Canyon
Road. Follow this out of town to the northwest.
Sheridan Lake Road, Forest Road 328, Rapid City to Sheridan
Lake.
Follow Jackson Blvd. to Sheridan Lake Road. A nice ride, but somewhat
developed and well-travelled near town.
Boulder Canyon, US14A, Sturgis to Deadwood. Heavily
travelled, and well-patrolled during the bike rally. Still, probably
the best way to get to Deadwood. Watch for the drunks returning to Sturgis
if you travel this road at night. If there are any fatalities during
the rally, this is where they will be.
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