Little Teri on left, Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on right, Sturgis, 2018

If you are a reader of the Biker Law Blog, you know that I attend the Sturgis motorcycle rally, in Sturgis South Dakota, every year. This year was no different.

I actually was contemplating not going this year, because the last 2 years of the rally have had a sharp decrease in attendance, most likely due to the fact that everybody went to the 75^th anniversary of the rally, in 2015.

As usual, I ended up making reservations early, and went on my annual trek to the rally with my wife this year.

This year also marked the 2^nd year that my wife Little Teri attended the rally with me.

Many people wonder why people like me go to the Sturgis motorcycle rally every year. As a matter of fact, I was stopped for speeding by a South Dakota state trooper in 2015, and we had a conversation in his patrol car about this exact subject.

By the way, if you do get stopped anywhere near the Sturgis motorcycle rally, you will find that the law enforcement officers in vehicles, will invite you to sit in the front seat of their patrol car for quite some time while they evaluate you. I venture to guess that they’re checking to see if there’s a smell of alcohol, or have dilated eyes to indicate drug use, etc. This is another subject.

Little Teri wearing an injuredbikers.com T-shirt at Sturgis 2018

If you are a motorcycle rider, you may not want to say that you are a biker, but you are a biker. I don’t care what kind of motorcycle you ride. Many people think that a biker dresses a certain way, looks a certain way, etc., however, a biker is a general term to describe people who ride motorcycles. There is much debate on the Internet about what a biker is, I thought I would set the record straight here and now.

Getting back to why bikers and motorcycle riders go to Sturgis every year, Sturgis is a small city of approximately 7000 people in South Dakota, which swells to over half a million during the rally, the answer is simple, Sturgis calls us. It’s almost like that movie Close Encounters of the 3^rd kind, we are driven to go by an internal voice, which is hard to explain.

1^st rally goers hear about the rally from friends, magazines, the Internet, etc. Once you go, you get the bug to continue returning.

Now as for Sturgis 2018, at least for my wife and I it is a hell of a drive from Huntington Beach California, Sturgis South Dakota.

At least for us, the Sturgis motorcycle rally experience includes camping in the RV at the Glencoe campground. You’ll hear a lot of guys squawking about “you mean you do not ride to the rally?” But these guys have no clue. If you ride your motorcycle to the rally which is a great experience in of itself, you either have to stay in a hotel, rent a room or a house somewhere, or camp in a tent. You can also rent a cabin at some of the campgrounds. I can assure you that it is not the same as staying smack dab in the middle of Glencoe in an RV amongst all the other rally goers.

Brian on left, Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on right

Part of the Sturgis motorcycle rally experience is the party at the campground amongst all the RVers. There is a lot of partying going on at the campground after hours that people in hotels, rented homes, or in tents just are not going to experience. Another pleasure of being at one of the major campgrounds, is that you can sit out with whoever you go to the rally with, barbecue, listen to music, look at the stars, and relax in preparation for the next day’s ride.

As for Little Teri and I, Sturgis, 2018 was mostly about a shit load of riding. We put about a thousand miles on the motorcycle during the 8 days we were at the rally. Only on one day due to weather, did we end the ride early. I have been going to Sturgis for many years, but this year I discovered some significant rides that I have never done before. Even after 6 prior years of going to the rally, it was truly nice to be able to find new rides that were not only substantial, but also advanced with respect to curves and twisties.

A brother from my motorcycle club, Brian, showed up with his old lady, and we rode together part of the day. They rode their motorcycle from the inland Empire, California, to the rally. This year the weather was super-hot going through the Western Desert and it was in the upper 90s in Sturgis. My bro told me they had quite a time getting to the rally.

Little Teri on left, Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez on right

It was much hotter this year at the rally, then last year. Within 3 days, a thunderstorm came through and destroyed my flag pole along with many other people’s tarps and awnings.

This year I was able to shoot some virtual reality, 360° video of many of the main rides in Sturgis, including the main drag.

Rather than dump all the video that I have into this post, I will make separate blog postings, with each video. Each virtual reality video will also be posted on my profile on Facebook, and my YouTube channel. You can either watch the videos here on the Biker Law Blog, or on Facebook, or YouTube.

As usual, I will also be producing a video slideshow of our Sturgis, 2018 trip. This year we got many more pictures than we did last year, it will take me a bit to go through the pictures and decide what to include.

I was worried last year that the Sturgis motorcycle rally was dying out, I was pleasantly surprised this year that the rally was much bigger than last year. The official estimates are that more than a million people attended the rally this year.

I noticed that there were many more trikes this year than in past years, the baby boomers are aging, and many of them cannot ride on 2 wheels anymore. I say go for it, God forbid if I am not able to ride on 2 wheels in the future, I will also switch to a trike if need be.

California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Sturgis motorcycle rally 2018

I also noticed that there are many more women riding motorcycles. I remember a time before the year 2000, when it was very rare to see a woman on a motorcycle. Back in 2000, and 2001, the women that you did see on a motorcycle, were usually riding small Japanese cruisers, or Harley-Davidson sportster’s.

Times have changed, many women are not only riding all sizes of motorcycles now, but they are also riding big baggers. There are still many more men on bikes than women, but I am sure one day it could equalize. As for me I think it is sexy this see a woman on a motorcycle. My wife without a doubt wants to stay on my backseat, and I like it like that, but it’s nice to see men and women on motorcycles.

Another thing I noticed this year was that Indian motorcycle has gained a substantial portion of the motorcycle market compared to last year. At the rally, Harley-Davidson is still King, but there are Indians all over the place now. Unless Polaris goes out of business, sells off Indian, or discontinues the brand, at this rate I predict that in the next 5 years Indian may make up almost 50% of the domestic American made motorcycle market for cruisers.

Little Teri in the Black Hills, Sturgis 2018

I think there is a genuine competition now between Harley-Davidson and Indian, that Harley-Davidson can no longer ignore. This will make it much better for American made motorcycle consumers.

Teri and I talked about whether or not we will go to the rally again next year in 2019. The plan is that we will go back to the rally. At this point we are still recovering from the Sturgis 2018 motorcycle rally. I am quite positive in a few months my dander will get back up, and I will make the reservations for 2019.

The 2018 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for me stood out most on two counts, (1) It is back, there were much more people, and (2) the riding was excellent.

I look forward to your comments on this article.

By California motorcycle accident attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, August 2018.