Sunday morning. The day before the start of the 75th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, we decide to take a road trip to Presho, SD to visit family. The rally traffic made the trip eventful to say the least.

I don't think there was a state west of the Mississippi River we didn't see represented. Canadian provinces too. It was impressive! And it wasn't all huge motor homes and trailers. You could see husband and wife in a 10 year old pickup with make shift camping pulling a trailer hauling, you guessed it, a Harley.

The rally is going to be epic this year. I think the only way you could draw a bigger crowd would be a visit from the Pope. And then you would have to invite Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and surrounding states.

The riders on the way to the rally are courteous. And it was good they were, traffic was heavy. I'm into counting cars or vehicles per mile while I drive down the road. 30-35 per mile wasn't uncommon Sunday morning. That's a lot of cars on otherwise sometimes desolate South Dakota highways.

(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Kicker Country Stampede)
(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Kicker Country Stampede)
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This morning, the rally is in full swing, but co-worker Rick Knobe mentioned that Travis Tritt's trailer and bus were over at a local hotel. I know Tritt is big into Harley Davidson Motorcycles and I also know he's toured through The Badlands in Western South Dakota a time or two. Welcome to South Dakota Travis! The coffee's on here at the station and we're a short walk from your hotel!

Brantley Gilbert played the Buffalo Chip Campground Sunday night. I'm sure it was packed. I wish I could have caught One Hell Of An Amen at the show. That would have been incredible. Travis Tritt and Tanya Tucker will play The Full Throttle Saloon on Wednesday, August 5th.

It's a huge boom for the State of South Dakota. To think that on any day of the rally there will be easily more people in Sturgis and the surrounding area than in Sioux Falls. Heck they're expecting nearly a Million this year. Coming from a state that doesn't even have 1 million people that's huge.

And the small towns along the way are benefiting as well. The gas station in Kennbec, SD gets slammed! I'm sure it's because it's about halfway across the state, but you can also see it from about a mile away.

My brother from Presho, SD said you can really tell it's rally time. He said sometimes his phone doesn't work as well. Obviously the traffic along the interstae is maxing out the system.

Enjoy your ride out and back. Stay rested and stay alert. The South Dakota Highway Patrol has done a great job of putting signs up and alerting people of pinch points and slow downs.

Places to expect slowdowns include a mile east of Mitchell where they are working on the bridge over the James River and again just west of Murdo, SD. That is the only major road construction along I-90 this year. Officials must have been planning ahead for the big rally.

Drive, and ride safe!

 

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