Deadly Year at Sturgis

[cloudbase]

Source: KOTA TV

STURGIS, S.D. - A motorcyclist was killed Saturday afternoon on Highway 79, seven miles north of Sturgis, making him the 13th fatality in the deadliest rally on record.

With the official end of the 75th rally, the highway patrol data shows that the number of crashes (injury and non injury) are double what they were last year; and deaths are three times higher than 2014.



http://www.kotatv.com/sturgis-motorcycle-rally/Sturgis-Rally-ends-as-one-of-the-biggest-and-deadliest/34621534

[mtiberio]

Almost went

[Chuck in Indiana]

You'd have to drag me kicking and screaming.

[Zoom Zoom]

It IS a beautiful area. I prefer to visit it when it is NOT a parking lot!

John Henry

[Guzzistajohn]

I'd love to go up there. But you couldn't pay me to go during that CF.

[fotoguzzi]

cash seized $28,735.. wow, wonder how that gets spent..
thx for posting the stats.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I'd love to go up there. But you couldn't pay me to go during that CF.

Really?? Its literally the only thing going on there??  I guess Wall drug is worth a stop on the was to or from the Badlands NP but there's not much of anything else.


I can't imagine attending...  a 12-14hrs minimum ride on dead flat straight roads to get to a Harley Rally in the middle of nowhere.. NOPE

[swalker]

   I've been to Sturgis, but not for their party. Enjoyed the area, but have no business being there during stupid week. My thoughts.
Walker

[Kent in Upstate NY]

I went to Sturgis in '92. Stayed at Glencoe Campground and it was quite nice. Buffalo Chip is a zoo full of gay pirates and patch holders.

[blackcat]

What's a sturgis?

[PeteS]

Black Hills are worth the ride. We passed within ten miles of Sturgis last Sunday on our way to the  west coast. I thought about stopping but 92 degree temps and stories of  traffic stopped for hours made the decision to skip it easy. Many thousands of bikes though on all the roads for 500 miles in all directions. Decent rooms were going for 250-350 a night until we got well past Yellowstone.
Wait till September if you plan to visit the area.

Pete

[lucydad]

It is an incredible area, spent a lot of time there when living in Casper, WY. 

Zero interest in big Rallys.  Galveston is coming up in October, it is a zoo, and I avoid the coast that weekend.

Too bad on the deaths, violence, and drugs and such.  Stupid is as stupid does.

[twowheeladdict]

A ride through Custer State Park and the Needles Highway are also things to do.

[LongRanger]

 :1: Great roads and great riding out there, but best avoided during the rally if you want to have a curve to yourself. Sorry to hear about the fatalities.

[Two Checks]

Stands to reason there were more casualties the event was twice as long this year.

[1Sourdough]

Black Hills are worth the ride. We passed within ten miles of Sturgis last Sunday on our way to the  west coast. I thought about stopping but 92 degree temps and stories of  traffic stopped for hours made the decision to skip it easy. Many thousands of bikes though on all the roads for 500 miles in all directions. Decent rooms were going for 250-350 a night until we got well past Yellowstone.
Wait till September if you plan to visit the area.

Pete

A place to stay is much worse out that way than the Sturgis traffic used to make it.  The oilfield workers take up lots of lodging.  I stopped in Billings last summer and paid right at $50 for a tent space.  When I got back from supper I walked around the campground a little and was amazed how many oilfield service trucks were parked at the trailer spaces.  Someone told me lots of folks were driving several hours each way to work because there was nothing at all closer than Billings. 

With the right mind-set there is much of interest to do and to see in the Black Hills.  Once we slowed down from 'big-city hectic speed' my wife and I even began to find interesting and beautiful things to see in Iowa.  Took awhile but it's there!

[ken farr]

Are those stats. just for the Rally time frame?

If so, holy shite!!!


kjf

[Yeahoo Whoyah]

As usual, I've got friends who went this year, hope they are OK. 

[LowRyter]

I heard it was really packed this year.  I've been there twice, once to the Rally and one not.

[leafman60]

I hate to hear of all the deaths. A few years ago, H-D mega-dealer Bruce Rossmeyer was killed riding at the Sturgis rally.

Never been to the Sturgis thing.

Although I like and ride H-D, I have little in common with that element of The Faithful.

I'm sure a lot of good people are there, though.  It's just not the sort of thing that attracts me to ride as far as I would have to ride across some hot-ass terrain.

I do go to Daytona Bike Week but I'm not hanging out with the typical crowd attracted there. I'm usually found with the likes of LowRyter, PYoung and the gang eating awesome seafood at Martin's !

[segesta]

1. "Vehicles seized"--nice way for the local police to make some money.
2. If I wanted to be surrounded by really old, well to do white guys who desperately yearn for the past, I'd attend a Bernie Sanders rally. 

But the stats don't adjust for the larger number of attendees this year. Perhaps the "deaths per capita" is the same as ever.

[canuck750]

I went the week after once. Beautiful scenery

I have no interest in the Gay Pirate / White Trash festival.

[lorazepam]

I personally love the Black hills. One of the most beautiful places in the country, the scenery rivals any place in the US. That said, I wouldn't try to ride there during the shit show at sturgis, too many idiots and drunks for me.

[jumpmaster]

Really?? Its literally the only thing going on there??  I guess Wall drug is worth a stop on the was to or from the Badlands NP but there's not much of anything else.


I can't imagine attending...  a 12-14hrs minimum ride on dead flat straight roads to get to a Harley Rally in the middle of nowhere.. NOPE

Ditto to most of the comments, both positive & negative.  IMO, every dedicated motorcyclist should go to/ride thru one of these events (Sturgis, Daytona Bike Week, Myrtle Beach, Americade, etc.) once just to see what all the fuss is about - it took me about an hour to decide it wasn't something I wanted to do again, but others may feel differently.  As one person said, there are a lot of places & things to do both in the area and on the way (even from the east) that make the "boring" stretches of highway worth the trip, if you have the time to slow down a bit & get off the interstates.  A trick I learned about Sturgis was to go to the area about a week or so before the rally & stay up thru the 1st day, then move on.  You can find places that haven't jacked up their prices yet, & if you go to the rally site a day or 2 before it officially opens you can see what its all about without most of the crowds & stupidity having arrived yet.

[paper]

What's a sturgis?

They're delicious smoked.. If you can find papers big enough..

Here's from the only time I've been there.. Day after the rally.. HD dealership contained one HD and our two BMW's.. We left shortly thereafter..

[canuguzzi]

Like a lot of these things, they devolve into more chaos than civil gatherings. The burning man of motorcycling. There are some good points, they would be on the way back home.

[JeffOlson]

I wonder if Tobias Funke was there...

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

2. If I wanted to be surrounded by really old, well to do white guys who desperately yearn for the past, I'd attend a Bernie Sanders rally. 

Bernie supporters have better weed than the pirates, thats for sure! 

[kballowe]

It's a big party.  Lots of motorcycles and lots of people.

I went ONCE during bike week.  What was I thinking?

Have been there probably ten times - nine of them at least three weeks before or after the scheduled rally.

Ran into Michael at the Full Throttle Saloon
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Rapid City is only about 950 from my house, so I went with a naked bike.  No windshield or saddlebags.  A roll on the front and a bag on a fender rack.
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I agree that the scenery is nice and it's a good ride. 
Just..... NOT with thousands of other people.
Of course, the same could be said for just about any other large gathering of people.
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I am seriously surprised that the numbers are not larger - given the amount of tourists, motorcycles, alcohol, and drugs.
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Me?  I'll continue to stay completely away from those types of events and keep to the more obscure two lane roads.
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[segesta]

I wonder if Tobias Funke was there...

"I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world's first 'analrapist.'"

The first two seasons of Arrested Development were hilarious.