Deadwood Main Street

Phew! We did it. We survived the 75th Sturgis Rally week!
They told us it was going to be crazy, and it sure was! What an unbelievable spectacle!
Since the motel and campground filled up completely, there was close to zero Internet, so I couldn't post at all, and because of working full-on in housekeeping for 2 weeks, I was too tired to do anything beside that anyways.
I took a gazillion pictures and although I made a (tough) selection there's a lot left to show you, so sit back and enjoy! 
The Sunday before the official opening (on Monday) we drove to Deadwood and made our way to Main Street, to watch the bikers slowly drive by in an endless parade ...

I wish you could have heard the sounds! It was LOUD!

The streets were lined with incredible bikes:                                                          

How about a completely chrome one ....?

Trikes are immensely popular!

Yes, that's a coffin (bottom right)

A fire trike!

                What the .....?



                               It's a (Polaris) 'Slingshot'!

My favorites. Choppers!

The bottom part of this skull helmet could be moved up and down!

It's all about the details ....

 

After walking up and down for a while we decided to 'park' ourselves at the Mustang Sally's bar, where we were lucky to snatch up a couple of seats in the shade, and just watched the crowds go by ...

The weather was absolutely perfect, and the beer tasted great!

       Nothing more fun than people watching at an event like this ...

Meanwhile, back at the farm, we had have to move for the rally, since Brett, the owner had screwed up a reservation ... 

Oh well, although the moving part is always a pain in the patouty, the site was not bad, with a lot of free space in front of us ...

                 

.... closer to the road, and the noise of all that, but farther away from the barn, where the bands (every night, for 7 nights in a row) were going to be!

The motel and campground were completely full:

Lots of bikers coming in during lunchtime:

From our launch chairs we had a perfect view of the road ...

We didn't try to go to into Sturgis until the second half of the week, hoping that it would start to get a little less crowded towards the end, in comparison to the start of the event, when they expected over a million people to show up!!!          

The roads were a zoo throughout the week. Fortunately, James didn't have to go very far for work, since the projects he was working on were only a few miles away, and didn't require to go through any of the (packed) towns.

On Thursday afternoon though, we braved the traffic and the crowds and drove to Sturgis, the town where it all began ....

For those of you who are not familiar with the Sturgis Rally, here's a little history:

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is an American motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota usually during the first full week of August. It began in 1938 and was originally held for stunts and races, but has evolved into being a meeting for motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world. It brings significant income to the citizens of Sturgis, a town of only 6,627 people. It is one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world.

This year was the 75th Rally and they expected 1.4 million people!! 

Coming into Sturgis on the main thoroughfare:

Notice the Street name?

Not in my best motorcycle attire but hey, I was there! How 'bout you?

Main Street

James too!

Every morning they make an areal picture of Main Street with whomever happens to be there. They're sold later that day, for a nice price, in lots of shops.
There's one they've enlarged and put up on the side of a building, so you can put yourself sort of 'in the picture', in case you weren't there for the shot ...

Fun-ny!

We were at the Knuckle Saloon in April when there were only  a handful of people. Just look at it now!

The people watching here was out of this world. Just look at these cool dudes:

And a LOT more cool bikes:

.... and cool bikers ...

.... and some not so cool .... but hey, they come in all sizes ..

How about these girls and their bikes:

..... and their braids:

     

.... and their ... eh, ... girls ...

.....  o, .. those girls!

.... and their cheeks ... eeks!

 

                    

..... even girls washing bikes ....

And there was this BIG truck:

( 'truck envy')

To say it was overwhelming is an understatement! The sounds, people, bikes, it was all just unbelievable!

One of those 'once in a lifetime', or 'Bucket-list', events ....

It's now the Friday 'after' and once again there's peace (and QUIET) on earth and we're almost recuperated from the chaos.

Most bikers have left the Hills, the roads are drive-able again and the towns accessible.

It's like someone turned off the faucet ... and, it's kind of weird .... NO SOUND ...!

'Born to be wild!'