Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is an American motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota each first full week of August.

The first rally was held on August 14 1938, by the "Jackpine Gypsies" motorcycle club [http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/rally-history/ Official Site: Rally History] ] (who still own and operate the tracks, hillclimb, and field areas where the rally is centered). The first event was called the "Black Hills Classic" and consisted of a single race with nine participants and a small audience. The founder is generally considered to be Clarence "Pappy" Hoel. He purchased an Indian Motorcycle franchise in Sturgis in 1936 and formed the "Jackpine Gypsies" that same year.

The focus of a motorcycle rally was originally racing and stunts. In 1961, the rally was expanded to include the Hillclimb and Motocross races. This could include half-mile track racing (the first year in Sturgis, there were 19 participants), intentional board wall crashes, ramp jumps and head-on collisions with automobiles.

The Sturgis Rally has been held every year, with exceptions during World War II. For instance, in 1942, the event was not held due to gas rationing. In recent years, there has been a revitalization of motorcycling and a new group of fans that are interested in the old rallies. This has led to huge attendance numbers for classic rallies such as Sturgis. Attendance was estimated at 514,951 in 2004, and 525,250 in 2005—statistics rivaling the South Dakota's population and 754,844 in 2000. Many of the new attendees of the Sturgis Rally are families, bringing their children and driving trailers and campers to the rally, riding their motorcycles the last few miles. This has prompted several of the attendees to start wearing patches and shirts saying "I Rode Mine to Sturgis" with the date instead of the traditional patch stating that the wearer attended the event in that year.

In 1997, the crew from the "COPS" television series attended the rally, as well as Dennis Rodman. From 1996 to 1999, it also featured a WCW wrestling pay-per-view television program called "Road Wild".

Annual television coverage of the festival by the VH1 Classic network includes interviews and performances as well as rock music videos. The rally was featured in 2005 as part of the ESPN "SportsCenter" promotion 50 States in 50 Days.

Notes

ee also

*Daytona Beach Bike Week
*Bikes Blues and BBQ

External links

* [http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.sturgismuseum.com/ Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.jackpine-gypsies.com Jackpine Gypsies Official Website]