If you’ve never been to the legendary Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - you more than likely have an idea built up in your head about what it probably is. At least, we had a few ideas, since we’d never been before. Now that we’ve made the trek for the first time, we’re happy to inform you that whatever you’ve imagined is probably correct, and it’s also so much more than you think. Of course there are parties, concerts, and more motorcycles than you’ve ever seen in your life - but when you start peeling back the layers, you find out why so many people love Sturgis. Whether they come for the chance to escape everyday life, to surround themselves in a community of several hundred thousand motorcyclists, or ride some of the best roads in the country - you’ve got too many reasons to check out Sturgis for yourself. In this episode, we talk to people who decided to come to Sturgis for the first time, folks who’ve made it a point to make the trip every year for decades, and the team who’s made it their career to put on the best party anywhere - and we’re bringing you with us.
What comes to mind when someone says, “Sturgis”? As in, the annual motorcycle rally set in the South Dakota city of the same name. If you’re Mark Long, host of “Driven to Ride,” you know only what you’ve read or been told. See, before this year, Mark had never been to Sturgis, never mind the rally. So this past August, he packed his bags and pointed the headlight of his Yamaha XSR900 toward Mount Rushmore.
Among the half-a-million rally attendees, some, like Mark, are wide-eyed newbies. Take it from Richard Worsham, co-founder of Janus Motorcycles: “Driving through Sturgis at night, it’s wild—bikes back to back.” Others, like Zach Parham, president and CEO of Comoto Holdings, have been coming to the Black Hills for decades. “I rode my first time on my own bike when I was 16,” he says. “This is my 29th year.”
Long relates his own adventure, with insights from Worsham, Parham, photographer Michael Lichter, YouTube star “Doodle on a Motorcycle,” and others, including Cody Ertman, media and PR manager at the Legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip, known as “The Best Party Anywhere.” He says, “If I wasn’t working at ‘The Chip,’ I would definitely be one of those people who came every year. It’s such a cool experience.”