The Black Hills Delivered Big

ell, Sturgis has come and gone, and what did we learn from it this year? I, W for one, would have to say that the main lesson is the same that has drawn us to the Black Hills, year after year, “Live

Your Life.” Yes, some people caught Covid.

Some others did not.

Some people died in motorcycle accidents, some people got married, some got divorced, some babies were made, some police records were earned. In short, it was the same as it has ever been. Life goes on. Now, in terms of the number of people in town, it was monumental. The last report we heard from city officials was that the number was around 800k. Of course, there is speculation about that number, but I would surely agree that it was a record crowd. As Kid

Rock took the stage, the headcount was around 110 thousand or more crammed into the Buffalo Chip

Amphitheater, a number I’m not sure anyone expected. What these record crowds meant to average rally-goers is that there were more concerts, bike shows, activations, more of everything.

For us, the week started off in a way that I was proud to be a part of. In honor of losing a

good friend, we took a memorial ride for Brett Hatt. It wasn’t an advertised event. There were no sponsors or prizes. A bunch of us just got together and took some time to remember a friend. As it turned out, this was our only quiet time of reflection for the next two weeks. With a brand new magazine, double the events, and working full time on two properties, this would be nuts. Saturday saw the Schools Out Chopper Show put on by Mondo at the Buffalo Chip. It also marked Dave Nichols retaking the helm for Easyriders Magazine, coming back to newsstands near you this winter. There were so many great bikes there, but Gerald Casey’s Denver’s throwback took top honors, and with good reason, it was a perfect example of the bikes that built an era. At the same time, Warren Lane held his True Grit gathering at the Iron Horse. With the success he has built up doing these shows in Daytona, there was a solid crowd of antique bikes and old choppers. Sunday was the 15th Annual Cycle Source Custom Bike Show in Sturgis. The temps were well over 100, and the crowd was insane again. Paughco

provided a rolling chassis for our grand prize and this month’s cover bike, built by Steve Iacona, took those honors. We had many prizes from sponsors, including Twin Power, Steel City Black Smithing, Twisted Choppers, Spectro, No School, Twisted Tea, and Drag Specialties. We thank them all for their support. That night at the Chip was the first peek of the Tea Dragger. Twisted Tea rolled out another incredible build that all of you have the chance to win. This time it’s a Gasser-inspired old school FLH. I hope you dig it. There will be a full feature in an upcoming issue.

Monday was Old School Chopper Show at Full Throttle with Poppy’s show. As always, they had a crazy crowd with so many great builders helping pick bikes for awards. The big news for us was the Iron Horse Vintage day. After missing an opportunity to hold field games last year and getting some harsh feedback on it. We held enough old-time games this time around to make a full day of it. Carl Olson and the Black Hills Chapter of the AMCA helped put together an incredible day of antique bike celebrations, old-style AMA road run type awards, free sack lunches provided by Reverend Darla and the Vale Community Country Church. Monday night, we were invited to the Hamster Banquet in Spearfish, where an incredible over half a million dollars in donations were raised for Lifescapes, with an additional $15,000 raised for Meals On Wheels in Spearfish. The work this group continues to do is a testament to the goodwill of the motorcycle community.

Tuesday was the 5th Lil Evil Original Performance Show presented by Torque Performance show at the Steel Pony. With Pistol Pete providing the anchor for the new performance lot, it started off right outta the gate in a strong way. Great bikes came in all day and provided a banner year for the Original Performance Show of Sturgis. In town, the Dennis Kirk Garage Build Show was filling up fast. We provided support by doing live interviews with contestants. Our favorite of the day was a father and son who were in Sturgis as part of a long-standing family tradition. Each time one of the kids, 6 to be exact, came to legal driving age, they were mandated to get their motorcycle licenses and make a road trip to Sturgis on a bike with their dad. You can see that interview and the others on the Cycle Source YouTube page. The best of show was a killer knucklehead by Steve Bonk, which was seriously a barn find. We are doing a full feature on that

in an upcoming issue as well. Roadside and I took a break from the day to run out and pick a bike at the Paul Yaffe’s Baddest Bagger. I seriously thought that the guy who got our award would be disappointed, but he was actually excited. It was a long sleek old school looking build that reminded me of an old Merc.

Tuesday night saw our Industry Party and Torque Launch Party but more importantly, the Baker Burnout Drags. A regulation Drag Race tree set the tone for heads up racing where you had to get through your gears the fastest to move on to each round. The winner took home $300 cash and bragging rights for an entire year. Bert Baker was on hand to toss out tons of baker swag and provide color commentary. One of the highlights was Ari from Law Tigers taking the Sweepstakes bike into the mix and winning a round or two!

Wednesday was our ride. You can read more about it on page 66... The Perewitz Paint Show had a new twist this year with the inclusion of John Shope’s Dirty Tail Awards. The Iron Horse was packed to the brim by the time winners were announced. Wednesday night, we joined Yaffe, Law Tigers, and Queensryche at Shade Valley to cover the give-a-way of the Stylin In Sturgis sweepstakes bike. The bike was awesome, but my report has to mention the incredible vocals of the cat fronting Queensryche now. Damn, does that kid have some pipes. All in all, I was pretty impressed with Shade Valley too, quite a joint.

Thursday, I seriously got to be part of a Sturgis Historic Happening. I was invited to join the Hamster lunch and ride into town. After all the years of seeing the pictures of this and the Dave Mann paintings of them flying through outer space, once we were in that legendary line of bikes heading into Sturgis, it was pretty damn cool. With a police escort, the bikes stretched from Spearfish nearly to town along interstate 90, a Sturgis memory I will always cherish. At the end of the ride, the award for the mayor’s pick of the best bike in Sturgis was given out. Everyone spent the afternoon kicking it before we decided to get ready for the Balck Hills Boogie. Oh, what’s that, you ask? Well, it’s the only Sturgis 70’s Chopper Show and Pimp and Hoe party at the Steel Pony. As bikes pulled in poolside and the pimps and hoes of the night strolled in, we listened to the sultry sounds of 70s disco music. We watched as roller girl put on a masterful display of disco dancing on

roller skates. This year the folks from the High Seas Rally signed on to help us throw this party and, along with that, picked a couple to receive a free cruise on the High Seas Rally 2022. In classic Black Hills Boogie fashion, we held a soul train style dance-off. Each contestant got a chance to wow the judges before going to a crowd vote for the trip and individual awards for the best dressed pimp and best dressed hoe. Steve Broyles took the cash prize for best pimp, and Roller Girl took the best dressed hoe. In truth, it was her skills on those skates that won her the cash. What child of the seventies can ever forget going o the local roller rink and seeing someone bust out dance skills on skates? She ruled the joint!

Firday night, the 13th, to be more specific, we joined Paughco, the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, and Hall Of Fame, friends of Charlie Brechtel and the Buffalo Chip on the main stage to help pull the winner for the Golden Chopper Give-a-way. Dennis Sanfelipo, Charlie Brechtel’s brother and biggest supporter, had decided to let his friends and partners in the Golden Chopper give away the bike in a sweepstakes that would benefit the Sturgis Hall Of Fame and Museum. With all the proceeds going to the museum in Charlie’s name, it would be the perfect way to memorialize our brother after he was tragically taken from us last year. It would be our last official duty of Sturgis, and I couldn’t be more honored to be part of something. As we asked the crowd to send a salute up to the heavens in the way only the Buffalo Chip could, the very ground shook with the sounds of motors and cheering. It was a fitting tribute that any Viking would have been proud of. Special thanks to Dennis for making this happen, Emma from the Museum, Steve from Paughco, Mondo from Denvers, S&S, and Charlie’s friends who helped carry out this tribute.

As another chapter of the Sturgis history books drew to a close, our minds raced with what next year would be like... how could we squeeze more in, get more out... After all, in the immortal words of Mr. Jay Allen, there will only be one Sturgis Rally each year. What will you do to make it one for the ages?