Oh, talk about time really flying when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Sturgis' 50th birthday. The year 2005 marked Sturgis' 65th anniversary, and the event just seems to keep growing. By growing we mean not only in participant attendance but also in sheer physical size thanks to a growing trend in decentralization. What does this big word mean to the average person in search of a good time? Well, one can still find fun things to do in Sturgis proper like check out the Chop Lot at the Full Throttle Saloon (which is across the road from the Thunder Roadhouse and Strokers Bar).
Just on the outskirts of town past Fort Meade, the Chop Lot featured a proverbial plethora of custom builders including the likes of Kendall Johnson Customs, Denver's Choppers, K.C. Creations, Chica Customs, Indian Larry in memory. Paul Yaffee Originals, Paramount Custom Cycles, and Hotmatch Custom Cycles, just to mention a few. You could also head right smack into the middle of town to the Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse on Main which featured builders Jesse Rooke, Doug Keim, Johnny Chop, and Roland Sands along with the Hawaiian Tropic girls. Another fun deal was the Horsepower Shootout hosted by Charlie Mitchell and Custom Performance.
For the folks who wanted to rack up some scenic highway miles and do a little good in the world, the Charity Ride to the Crazy Horse Monument left on Thursday, headed by Branscombe Richmond; Keith Ball of Bikernet.com; Steve Bohn, Editor of HOT BIKE, Greg Friend, Editor of STREET CHOPPER; and of course some of the staff from HOT ROD'S BIKEWORKS. Currently, the focus of the work being done on the monument is the horse's head, which stands at 219 feet or 22 stories tall.
Rapid City, South Dakota, which is 30 miles east of Sturgis, played host to the H-D Factory Show at the Rapid City Covention Center. A few blocks away the Journey Museum was hosting the Metzeler Custom Bike Show in its parking lot, while inside Michael Lichter once again put together a splendid display of motorcycles and artwork in an exhibit called "Speed Demons." The Metzeler show lasted for only one day while the Speed Demons exhibit went on all week.
Later in the week, the crew from Jesse Jurrens' shop Legend Air cleared the shop's lot for the Legend TOP50 Show for the second year in a row. Legend Air is based on the west side of Rapid City off the same freeway exit as the Harley dealership.
Of course there were plenty of other places to check out in Rapid as well. One place we frequented was the Firehouse Brewery which served up really good food. There is also this big stone mountain outside of town that's been carved on with some past presidents' likenesses which you may recognize from the bills in your pocket.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since we've provided over 12 pages of Sturgis photos that means you have a lot of words to look at. We hope you enjoy them.