Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on his bike at Sturgis 2021

As you all know I missed the 2020 Sturgis motorcycle rally due to the fact that there was a coronavirus pandemic, and I was high risk. At the time of the 2020 Sturgis motorcycle rally there were no vaccines available.

This year with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, there were warnings before the rally to mask up even if you are vaccinated, to avoid large crowds, etc., but that was not going to stop me from going to Sturgis. I had not had a vacation in two years and being an attorney at law is one of the most stressful jobs on earth.

I not only needed a vacation for my sanity, but for my clients as well because they need an attorney with a clear head. I opted to go to the motorcycle rally Delta variant or not.

My wife Little Teri as you all know is in medical school, and is scheduled to graduate in October 2021. Unfortunately for her, her school transitioned back to in person classes as opposed to remote classes, and her clinical training requires her to be on site at hospitals. In other words, she was not going to be able to go with me this year to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, not even for a couple of days by airplane.

Little Teri and I have not been apart since we met. Basically, we had our first date, and she never left.

I told myself after the Sturgis 2013 motorcycle rally, that I would never go alone again. Unfortunately, since Little Teri could not go this year, and she would not let me bring a surrogate 🙂 I had to go alone this year without her.

I could have gone somewhere else, but let’s face it there is no Sturgis motorcycle rally anywhere else on earth.

Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez riding motorcycle in a montage of 4 pics at Sturgis 2021.

Teri is a cool head and encouraged me to go because she knew I needed the break from work, it was that bad for me. Not only that, but I have an upcoming total knee replacement surgery, so the vacation was imperative.

Frankly, as the time got closer to the rally, Little Teri became a little irritable, because she could not come with me, and she loves it there. I promised her that I would call all the time, that we would do video calls while I was there, plus I would do Facebook live. I will discuss all of this below.

Everybody who reads the Biker Law Blog knows that I go to the Sturgis motorcycle rally every year (except 2020), and that I take my motorhome, trailer my motorcycle, and stay at the Glencoe campground which is the best place to stay when you’re at Sturgis.

This year I started prepping at least two months in advance to get everything ready. Got the motorhome serviced, my motorcycle serviced, had a new rear tire put on my Indian Roadmaster, had the mono shock replaced on the Indian Roadmaster, etc.

I could not wait to go to the rally, but it did suck that little Teri could not come with me.

I have been to the Sturgis motorcycle rally so many times now that it is almost like going home. It is over 1300 miles away each way, and as I get older the drive kind of sucks especially when you’re by yourself. But once you arrive at Sturgis you cannot wait to get on the bike.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez in the Black Hills

This year more than anything, I rode my ass off at Sturgis. I put over 2600 miles on my motorcycle at the Sturgis motorcycle rally, and my subsequent trip to Yellowstone National Park right after the rally.

Thank God for the Russell Day Long saddle that I had custom-made because without a good seat on the Indian, there is no way I could’ve put that many miles on the bike. You can see my story about the custom seat here.

Unfortunately, on my Russell Day Long saddle part of the ten coloring is rubbing off on one side of the seat. I will be contacting them very soon to get it repaired.

I put more miles on my bike at Sturgis this year than any other year that I can remember. One of the reasons being that I was by myself, and this is the first year that I did not get off the bike on the main drag and walk around like I normally do. I decided to protect myself from coronavirus, not to interact with the crowds on the sidewalk. I did ride my motorcycle up and down the main drag many times.

Also, when I went into stores at Sturgis, for the most part, I wore a mask. What was surprising to me, is that many people in South Dakota were wearing masks inside the stores, not just me.

I rode so many miles on certain days, that it was almost dangerous. Meaning, by the end of the day, I was so tired that it was not safe to ride anymore.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez’s campsite at Glecncoe Campground, Sturgis 2021

On one particular day near sundown, I rode from Mount Rushmore through Custer State Park, through the Iron Mountain Highway, and took the back route to the Needles Highway, just before sundown. In normal circumstances this would be a super advanced ride. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest this would be a 10 ride. We are talking first gear twisties.

Just before sundown going in that direction the sun is in your eyes and you literally have to take one hand off the handlebars to block the sun so you can see. I don’t care what kind of sunglasses you have the glare is so bad if you don’t block the sun, you will not be able to see the road in front of you.

During this ride, I had to do this quite a bit. Once sundown hit, I realized that I was the only one on the road. I did this ride on Friday and the last day of the rally was on Sunday, so usually it starts winding down on Friday as far as people on the road. But at this time and at this location, I owned the road.

Now I don’t know if any of you have ridden through a forest like what exists as you are heading up to the Needles Highway in the Black Mountains through the back route, by yourself, with no one on the road, just after sundown, but it is almost like a scene from a horror movie. I knew that if I ate it, no one would probably find me until the next day, there is no cell phone service in this area. Secondly, all the forest critters come out at night at this time, and they own the forest in the dark. It was downright eerie. I am not a man that is afraid, but I knew I was not in a very good position and needed to get through there and back to the main highway to Deadwood as soon as possible. You definitely do not want to get stuck in the Black Hills at night, because of deer, Moose, bighorn sheep, and other critters that roam around there, especially at night.

California Injury Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez at Needles Point, Sturgis 2021

Long story short, I learned my lesson, and I will never do that ride again just before sundown. It was a great ride, but I was kind of anxious to get out of there before it got dark. That is not the kind of ride you want to rush.

One thing I do want to say about Glencoe campground, and the rally overall, is that it is simply not the same as it used to be. They claim that the crowds were much bigger than last year, I do not know, I was not there last year. I can definitely say that the crowd was not as big as it was in 2015, that the rally is steadily losing attendance, seems to be dying out sooner, and there are many more trikes, and older people that then there used to be.

Simply put, we bikers who attend rallies such as Sturgis, are getting older, we are dying out, and we are not being replaced by the newer generation. The demographic at Sturgis is older than it was when I first started going there, then again, I am older is well.

Do not get me wrong, this trend is occurring all over the nation at every motorcycle rally, not just Sturgis. Further, Sturgis is still the mother of all motorcycle rallies. It is definitely packed, just not like it used to be.

When I first started going to Glencoe there was all sorts of adult debauchery going on at night, now the debauchery lasts only one or two nights maybe three, and then it dies out. By Tuesday the main drag at the Glencoe campground is dead compared to what it used to be. The main rally is still off the charts, but the campground dies out.

This could be due to the fact that Glencoe does not have name band acts like it used to, or simply that everyone is getting older.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on his bike showing a little muscle at Sturgis 2021

Another factor is the rally is longer than it used to be. The rally used to be only one week, whereas now it is 10 days.

Obviously, I always recommend going to Sturgis. I have tried to get my friends to go with me every year to no avail, hopefully this year they will come.

Now with respect to Little Teri, I was able to do video calls with her, video calls while I was riding so she could actually be a part of it, and Facebook live videos.

I know she was bummed that she could not be there, but she is in a heavy-duty school, and she will be done soon. When I was in law school which took four years, all I cared about was getting through school, you kind of get used to sacrificing when you are at that level. Like I told Teri it’ll be over soon and next year you’ll be able to come with me.

I hope you enjoy this article and pictures that I posted with it.

God forbid if you’re in an accident anywhere in California give me a call at 800-816-1529, extension 0.

By California Personal Injury Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.