We were email this article and we felt that it needed to be shared with the readers of Biker-Space.com. If you are in Sturgis, South Dakota then you don't want to miss this week long event.
IT'S OFF THE DAMN CHAIN!!!!!
Today marks the opening of the outrageous phenomenon known as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a week-long, $987 million party for about 500,000 people. Every year in early August my sleepy hometown, Sturgis, population 6,500, hosts a half million biking enthusiasts who swarm here for a combination carnival, racing event, party, music festival, and shopping mall.
Tucked into the scenic Black Hills of western South Dakota, for one memorable week each year Sturgis becomes the epicenter of the oldest, biggest, loudest, most authentic and out-of-control motorcycle rally in the world. We become the largest city in the state by a factor of three. That equates to each household in town hosting 183 “guests.” Nearly 500 festival-goers will land in jail; hundreds will be issued tickets for violations such as indecent exposure, open container, or driving on the sidewalk; 350 or so will require hospital emergency room visits; two or three will die of heart attacks; and a half-dozen or more will be killed in traffic accidents. Keeping its guests safe costs the city of Sturgis over $1 million in insurance, increased law enforcement, attorney costs, fire and ambulance services, and the like.
