STURGIS, S.D. (KELO) — Each year more and more people head to Sturgis before the Rally begins to get ahead of the crowds.
This also includes vendors who are setting up shop days in advance to be ready for opening day.
This is Mark McMahon’s second year bringing his Street Taco and Barbecue stand to Sturgis. This time he came early.
“Huge advantage of getting set up early. When we came and set up, we set up a couple different locations last time over there, we basically set up the day before the rally, how we normally set up for festivals across the county. But we found this rally is so demanding when the rally starts,” McMahon said.
Vendors here at the Sturgis Rally are putting the final pieces together as riders from all over the United States are already riding through the streets of Sturgis.
After 20-years of coming to the Sturgis Rally, Dick Edgar and his group also know the benefits of arriving early.
“We started probably five years back, we started coming just the week before, because there’s less congestion,” Wyoming Rider Dick Edgar said.
These early riders have more room and time both in Sturgis and in the Black Hills.
“It’s a lot easier to get around now. You can get in and out of every place and it’s just great. Now we actually do side-by-sides, come up here for that so we get to see the in-between towns on the dirt and it’s really nice,” Edgar said.
McMahon says the extra preparation will make the rally less stressful, allowing him to provide a better consumer experience.
“Because these people are going to be here for 10 or 12 days and the last thing they want to do is go somewhere and feel uncomfortable buying anything anywhere. So let’s give them a happy experience which will make us happy too,” McMahon said.
The Rally officially gets underway with the opening ceremonies this Friday.
