SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is officially underway in the Black Hills.
But bikers were streaming into South Dakota weeks before Friday’s opening ceremony.
We caught up with some of the early Sturgis arrivals making a pit stop and spending money in Sioux Falls.
“Dutch” Carstensen of St. Joseph, Missouri is a grizzled Sturgis Rally veteran who sticks with the same ride that brought him to South Dakota for decades.
“My bike’s 50 years old and I’m 70 years old. So I used to run that bike up here all the time,” Carstensen said.
Carstensen usually makes J & L Harley-Davidson in Sioux Falls his first stop on the last leg of his trip to Sturgis.
“I bought a new CVO here and I trade here quite a bit,” Carstensen said.
Carstensen says getting to Sturgis early makes it easier to find a place to stay during the course of the rally. A lot of other bikers have had the same idea.
“We’ve been seeing people on the roads since about the middle of July. I feel like it has started earlier this year. People traveling, coming through, stopping by,” J & L Harley-Davidson owner Jimmy Entenman said.
Sturgis-bound bikers have been showing up earlier to J & L in part, because of a pent-up need to hit the road since the wet spring and summer cut into riding season.
“We like nice weather for people to get out there and enjoy what they’re riding, so I feel like with the weather we’ve been having in July, people have really been getting out and enjoying their motorcycles,” Entenman said.
That includes Denny Wright, who drove all the way from Vero Beach, Florida to experience riding in the Black Hills.
“For us, it’s getting some winding roads. In Florida, everything’s flat, so we don’t get an opportunity to see a lot of elevation,” Wright said.
The economic windfall of Sturgis blows for hundreds of miles, all the way into Sioux Falls where riders stock up on plenty of motorcycling merch.
“T-shirts, poker chips, stuff like that’s been handy. We’ve been selling rain gear this year,” Entenman said.
Bikers say inflation is a financial concern to them, but not enough to keep them from pulling back on their rally spending.
“A couple of guys might have broken into their piggy banks to get in here, but at some point, we work hard and you need something like this,” Wright said.
“Whatever I can get away with, yeah. It’s changed over the years, what I spend,” Carstensen said.
One way to ensure that bikers keep spending their money here is by offering them perks during their stay in Sioux Falls.
“We help people find hotel rooms if they need hotel rooms. We’ll shuttle customers to and from hotels if their bikes are getting serviced. Anything we can do to make their trip memorable and help them out,” Entenman said.
For many Sturgis-bound bikers, Sioux Falls is their introduction to the South Dakota motorcycling experience. And so far this year, it’s left a strong impression on so many visitors.
“I look forward to the rally every year. It’s the best rally in the nation,” Carstensen said.
J & L Harley is open seven-days a week during the rally, with extended hours each day.
On Saturday, they’re hosting Breakfast Before Bouncing, with food trucks serving coffee and waffles to bikers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
