Sturgis Bike Rally: Commericalism And Clean

The annual Sturgis Bike Rally held in South Dakota every August use to be an event that was like Vegas...what happens in Sturgis (during the bike rally) stays in Sturgis. I am not a 'biker' nor do I even own a motorcycle, but I have been to Sturgis a few times but not since the mid-90's. At that time I could see how the event once was and how it was slowly transforming into what it is slowly becoming... it once was a wild spectacle...bikers from all over the globe came and let loose...there was plenty of drinking and wild activities that would happen around the clock...at the campground we stayed at there was a biker that made 'dirt bombs' and would set them off throughout the day and seemed to increase in frequency as the night went on...and these 'dirt bombs' could be heard for quite some distance...

At this time, my friends and I knew that if we wanted to have the 'best' time possible during the bike rally we needed to stay in a campground because the town of Sturgis had already begun to crack down on a lot of the wild biker activities...bikers would/could drive their cycles right into a bar and rev it up...peel out down the main drag and so on...but that was already stopped by the time we went there...so these activities were moved to the campgrounds and other locations. The town of Sturgis, at one time, could have rivaled New Orleans' Mardi Gras...plenty of boobs, drinking and fun...but not any more.

As time has passed since even my last visit to the rally I have paid attention to what has happened...and it is disheartening to say the least. There is clearly an overt attempt to 'clean up' the rally and make it more of a 'family' like atmosphere. The latest change is that bars and campgrounds need a nudity license if they are going to permit nudity in their bar/campground. This attempt is firstly, just another way to make money off the event and secondly, another way police can find another 'law' to enforce. Of course if a bar/campground has any other 'legal' problems I'm guessing one of the first 'punishments' will be to take that license (or prevent them from obtaining) away. I know during my trips to Sturgis, it wasn't like there was naked women running around non-stop (or else I would probably still be attending on an annual basis...wink, wink) and the little nudity we did see...well, if you are familiar with what most 'biker chicks' look like, a person really wouldn't spend too much time concerned about it.

Now of course this nudity license isn't the 'straw that broke the camel's back' for me but just another in a long list of things being done to take all the fun out of Sturgis...or at least strip the Sturgis Bike Rally of the identity it once had and the identity that I had once associated it with...that being a carefree, wild, yet good time.

I remember seeing Motley Crue in 1994 at the Buffalo Chip campground and, to date, is one of the craziest spectacles I have ever seen... the stage was a very respectable stage in size and for the first 3-6 rows from the stage, parked side-by-side...solid...were Harley's and after each song the Crue cranked out every one of those cycles would 'fire up and rev up' their motors sending a huge plume of exhaust and noise into the air and then all the cycles scattered throughout the crowd would follow suit... I am telling you right now it almost sends shivers up my spine just thinking about it, it was unbelievable. I recall seeing the 'anti-gravity' rings that would be lit up at night and girls would get on the ride and just before it would start would pull down their tops... I remember watching W.O.W. (Women's Oil Wrestling) and the Budweiser Jet Car melt a Honda Civic and 2 motorcycles (of Japanese manufacture) among other things that a person could see without paying a dime... these things are probably no longer even permitted near Sturgis...or at least not without a license and then you would probably have to pay to view them now to cover the insurance, permits, etc...

Another thing I have noticed in many of the articles and shows I have watched about Sturgis of late, is the fact that it has become extremely commercialized...again, while I was there the 'wild' activities in the city had pretty much ceased and there was one major camprground, The Buffalo Chip, where all that 'wildness' migrated too. Now there are a lot of campgrounds owned (or co-owned) by celebrities and sponsors ... so there is much more competition for the entertainment ... so that in itself, diversifies the 'mass of humanity' that a person could have once seen ... since there was only one big entertainment stage back in the 90's EVERYONE went there and the wild-ness ensued ... now with a bigger selection no one place could possibly gather enough crazies to match the wild nights that once happened...it is just not possible.

The wild west of America is about fully tamed when the Sturgis Bike Rally beomes a fully commercialized and regulated event...