Motorcycle riders gather, despite the coronavirus pandemic, for a large motorcycle rally that Sturgis has hosted since 1938. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
Motorcycle riders gather, despite the coronavirus pandemic, for a large motorcycle rally that Sturgis has hosted since 1938. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
Meet the motorcyclists gathered in Sturgis, South Dakota, for a giant annual rally, with plenty of regard for one another but little for the pandemic.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts converged over the weekend outside the small South Dakota community of Sturgis for the 80thannual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The sounds of screeching tires and engines revving echoed across the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, a 600-acre campground that will be home for the next week for the majority of attendees. This year, many said they were not concerned about the virus, as they walked around without masks and took helicopter rides and attended outdoor concerts and motorcycle shows.
Some of the bikers were here for the first time. Others have been attending for decades, and said they were unwilling to miss what they consider an annual tradition.
Officials said about 250,000 enthusiasts were expected this year — about half the number who attended last year, but a figure that would still make the rally one of the country's largest public gatherings since the first coronavirus cases emerged in the spring. Here are some of the attendees, their thoughts and their rides.
Michael Brown, 47, Lemoyne, Nebraska, riding a 2005 Harley Fat Boy
Michael Brown has been coming to Sturgis for 15 years. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
"I come to meet up with old friends, people I haven't seen in forever and a lot of folks I grew up with."
"My biggest concern is drivers — they just don't pay attention to bikes. But I don't know one person in a six-state radius who has had Covid. I think it is all just political."
Monica Hartman holds her husband's leg at Bikini Beach in the Buffalo Chip campground. The couple married at Sturgis three years ago. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
"We got married here three years ago, so we come out here every year for our anniversary. Now we have a reason to come here every year."
"We have no concerns — if we are going to get sick, then we'll get sick."
Lee Wheeler, 57, Tyler, Texas, 2015 Indian Chief Vintage
Lee Wheeler came to the Sturgis rally for the first time this year. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
"I'd always wanted to come to Sturgis. Then it was 2020, and it's the 80th anniversary, so the numbers worked out for me."
"You've got to be smart. I've got masks. When I walk around or ride around, I wear a mask."
Guests walk by the Big Engine Bar at the campground. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
Parked motorcycles filled Main Street in Sturgis as the rally began on Friday. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
Chuck Chamberlain is one of the oldest members of "The Island" on the Buffalo Chip campgrounds, an invitation-only spot where he has camped for two decades. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, New York Times
"I've spent every birthday since I was 24 here. My first year was 1986. This is my family. We communicate for the rest of the year. My children come here, my brother comes here, my daughter met her husband here. My daughter got married here."
Scott Corrolli, 38, Northern Minnesota, 2013 Harley Davidson Street Glide
Scott Corrolli cools off from the August heat. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Time
"We are burying our buddy and putting his plaque on Mt. Rushmore. I don't have a worry in the world."
Attendees take photos. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Time
Thomas Seale, 41, Denver, 2007 Harley Davidson Softail
Thomas Seale, who has been to the Sturgis rally twice before, said he was looking forward to riding through Custer State Park. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
"On my trip out here, I had a problem with my bike, so it was a fight to get here. Right now, I'm trying to sit back and relax."
As for the coronavirus, Seale said he was not concerned.
"I'm not convinced it's real. I think it's nothing more than the flu. If I die from the virus, it was just meant to be."
In a field by the entrance to the campground, nearly 1,000 flags are set up along with a memorial wall to honour fallen armed service members. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
Todd Irwin gets a free tattoo. Irwin said he had missed only three rallies since his grandfather first brought him when he was 8. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, New York Times
"I took my grandma up to be buried with my grandpa in the military cemetery. It was just me and my wife who came out here and did it. We tried to do it a couple of times before and got snowed out."
Kellyn Fluke, 21, Bath, South Dakota, 2016 Harley Davidson Road King
Kellyn Fluke washes motorcycles at the Iron Horse Campground. She has worked at the campground's Bikini Bike Wash, which charges $20 a bike. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
"I've been coming for four years now. My dad is really into motorcycles and is a really big biker. So when the owner of the Iron Horse Campground got in contact with a friend of mine and asked if I would come out, I did, and have been ever since. I don't ride out here, but I want to soon. I just need more experience before riding out to Sturgis. I mostly ride with my dad, it's our thing to do together."
Men on horseback carried flags through the Buffalo Chip campground on Saturday. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
James Lathrop, 50, Broomfield, Colorado, 2005 Harley Sportster
James Lathrop has been coming to Sturgis for 23 years. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
"I come out every year. This is my first year staying on the Island. I was invited in by my cousin. The people here, we have become extended family."
Campers at the Iron Horse Campground in Sturgis on Saturday. Photo / Benjamin Rasmussen, The New York Times
