Tag Archives: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

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Fallout from world’s biggest motorcycle rally

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So what is the fallout from the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last week, the biggest mass gathering in the world since the pandemic was declared?

Organisers had predicted attendance would be about 250,000, down from an annual average of almost half a million.

However, official figures are 365,979 which is only about 7% down on the previous year. Fewer people aged 60-70 attended as this is the age group statistically most vulnerable to COVID-19.

It seems many riders chose to thumb their noses at the pandemic.

This is despite 63% of the town’s citizens voting not to hold the rally. It went ahead anyway after a gift wholesaler in nearby Rapid City threatened to sue the council.

The world’s media was there to record the event, leaving some scratching their heads and others cheering for freedom.

Rally falloutSturgis world's biggest motorcycle rally fallout

The fallout in infection rates and deaths is yet to come as the incubation period ranges from two to 14 days.

However, the damage to motorcycling’s image may already have been done.

One of the results of the rally in the small town of Sturgis is that many of the 7000 residents, especially the elderly, will now go into a 14-day lockdown.

This will put a strain on the town’s Meals on Wheels program, so a fund was set up to collect donations for the charity.

Robert Pandya, a motorcycle industry veteran and founder of the GiveAShift motorcycling lobby group that initiated the fund drive, says they had hoped to raise $US8000.

Instead, they raised $15,750 online and collected an additional $1408 in cash along Lazelle St during the rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

That’s a total of $17,158 from motorcyclists and motorcycle brands both attending and electing to skip the rally.

”This was wild and completely unexpected,” says Jamie Helms, manager of the Sturgis Meals on Wheels program. “Due to COVID-19 some of our donations coming in have slowed down in the past few months, this fundraiser from the motorcycle community will help so many here in Sturgis! I am overwhelmed by the generosity!”
USA America Sturgis Rushmore South Dakota rally crowd fallout
Riders in the Black Hills of South Dakota

While the number of infections and deaths from the spread of coronavirus is not known, we do know that there were 50 crashes reported over the 10 days of the rally.

That’s up from 41 last year.

There were four fatal crashes with five people sadly losing their lives.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

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Rally fundraiser to aid Sturgis senior citizens

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Riders are being asked to help raise $US8000 for Meals on Wheels to service senior citizens who will be advised to home quarantine after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

The world’s biggest motorcycle rally from, this weekend until next weekend (8-16 August 2020) will also be the biggest mass gathering since the pandemic was declared six months ago.

Robert Pandya, a motorcycle industry veteran and founder of the GiveAShift initiative that initiated the fund drive, says “motorcyclists are incredibly generous”.

The fund-raising project should go some of the way to dispelling the image of riders flouting social distancing and risking the spread of the coronavirus through the community and taking it back home when they return after the nine-day rally.

Organisers expect about 250,000 to attend the rally which is half the usual crowd.

Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen says they have increased cleaning schedules and cancelled many group activities. Following the rally, a mass Covid-19 testing program will be held.

Michael Osterholm, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, says the rally could cause a major virus spread.

“Come mid-August to late August, early September, Sturgis will have one hell of an imprint on this country,” he says.

Senior citizensUSA America Sturgis Rushmore South Dakota rally

Meanwhile, the Sturgis Meals on Wheels (SMoW) program has already been stretched thin by the pandemic increasing need and reducing resources, says manager Jamie Helms.

“With the uncertainty of the world right now, our seniors depend on us just so that they don’t have to worry about leaving their homes where they feel safe,” he says.

“With our ageing population taking the city advice to quarantine for a couple of weeks after the rally, we are a needed service now more than ever, but we will get it done as we always do.”

Cash donations will be accepted under the blue tent at 1230 Lazelle St between 2-5pm from today (8 August) until next Saturday.

Click here for the official GoFundMe page for those who chose not to attend the event.

“We respect any riders who choose not to come to the event due to Covid, but encourage them to ‘donate a tank’ to thank and help the local seniors who have seen the rally become the most famous of its kind in the world,” Robert says.

“Supporting the Sturgis Meals on Wheels program is a natural fit for any biker and will have a hugely positive impact for local senior citizens.”

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

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Sturgis is biggest crowd since pandemic

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Motorcycle riders are about to inherit a bad reputation around the world as hundreds of thousands crowd into the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this weekend.

As riders start to roll into the town, organisers predict attendance will be about 250,000, down from an annual average of almost half a million.

Yet it will still be the biggest crowd of people in the one place in the world since the pandemic was declared six months ago.

That will be a tremendous black mark against motorcyclists everywhere and already America and the world’s media is massing in the small town to record the spectacle.

Vendors

The number of vendors is down from about 700-800 to 330 as some companies decide it is not worth risking the health of workers nor the associated bad image.

Harley-Davidson employees are forbidden to travel so they will not be there but will have a lot of signage at the event.

Meanwhile, Indian Motorcycle will be on hand offering demo rides.

The company vaguely claim they will do it “in a way that keeps them safe and makes sure we are keeping employees and the dealership employees safe when they are interacting”.

Crowd checks

USA America Sturgis Rushmore South Dakota rally crowd
Riders in the Black Hills of South Dakota

Town leaders say they will be handing out masks, advising social distancing and offering testing to the crowd but it is doubtful many of the freedom-loving riders will comply.

They say there is little likelihood of transmission in the outdoors event, although a lot of the activities do take place in close quarters and in clubs, hotels and inside venues.

Currently South Dakota is recording about 75 new cases a day and increasing.

In April, the Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls became what was then the nation’s largest coronavirus hot spot when more than 600 staff contracted the virus.

So far, the state has recorded 9273 cases and 141 deaths with four in the past day.

Death projections for the state are 250 by December 1 as restrictions ease. That could be reduce to 180 if masks were made mandatory.

However, South Dakota is among several states that has not locked down nor made masks mandatory.

Those projections for deaths don’t take into account the Sturgis rally.

Nor do they show how the virus can be spread in other states and countries as rally goers head home, taking the infection with them.

As this becomes evident, the stigma that motorcyclists have spread the virus will taint riders everywhere.

Vote against rally

Of the 7000 Sturgis citizens, 63% voted not to hold the rally, but a gift wholesaler in nearby Rapid City threatened to sue the council.

Sturgis City Council member Terry Keszler says they should have postponed or cancelled the rally in March.

However, Doreen Allison Creed, Meade County commissioner who represents Sturgis, says the county lacked the authority to shut down the rally because much of it takes place on state-licensed campgrounds.

“We are either going to be a great success story or failure,” she says.

“I truly believe it could not have been stopped.”

The state’s Department of Tourism has estimated that the annual festival generates about $800 million in revenue.

Warning

Neighbouring Minnesota Department of Health commissioner Jan Malcolm called the decision to go ahead with the event “disappointing”.

Malcolm and other state public health leaders have warned that the rally could be a potential petri dish for spreading the virus here and across the nation.

Michael Osterholm, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, says the rally could cause a major virus spread.

“Come mid-August to late August, early September, Sturgis will have one hell of an imprint on this country,” he says.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

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French close fest, USA rally still on

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While a motorcycle festival in France has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s biggest motorcycle rally in the USA will go ahead next week despite almost 1000 Americans dying every day.

Wheels and Waves

Even a week ago, the Wheels & Waves event at the Biarritz Lighthouse in France, was a goer and Hedon helmets even launched a limited-edition Wheels & Waves 2020 open-face Hedonist helmet worth $A711.

Hedonist helmet
Hedon Wheels and Waves helmet

However, the festival which had already been postponed from June to 3-6 September 2020 has now been further postponed to June 2021 for their 10th event.

“The intensification of the situation has made it impossible for us to continue to prepare the ‘Hors Serie’ (out of series) edition as we imagined it at the beginning of June,” officials say.

“And even if we were to bring the project to fruition, where would the pleasure be in coming together without the spontaneity, coolness, craziness and freedom?

“What is the point in holding an event based on exchange and sharing at a time when everywhere we go, we have to keep our distance?”

In France, only a handful of deaths from coronavirus are recorded daily, with 184k confirmed cases, 81,311 recovered and 30,223 deaths so far.

Sturgis Motorcycle RallySturgis rally motorcycle rally usa

Main Street at the 2014 Sturgis rally

In the USA, about 1000 Americans die every day from the virus. There have been more than 4.4m cases in the USA and a total of more than 152,000 deaths so far.

Yet in the land of freedom and litigation, the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will go ahead from 7-16 August 2020.

This is despite 62% of the 7000 people who live in Sturgis, South Dakota, voting last month against holding the famous rally, the biggest tourist event in the state.

It seems that vote was overturned by threats of litigation from a gift wholesaler based in nearby Rapid City.

The rally has attracted about half a million people in recent years with a record of 2015 of 739,000.

Authorities still expect several hundred thousand to attend the rally.

That’s hundreds of thousands of people from all over the USA and perhaps from many other countries coming to the small rural town.

There they could spread or pick up the virus, then take it back to their home state or country.

Rally organisers and city officials say they will have various “modifications” for health reasons which you can hear about in this video from Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen.

The Black Hills Motorcycle Film Festival which was to be part of the rally will now be held online from 14-16 August for free! Click here for details.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

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Pandemic forces virtual DGR and INTERMOT

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The pandemic has forced the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and INTERMOT motorcycle show to go virtual, while the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will go ahead. 

DGR operations manager Ramsey Sayed says it will still go ahead on 27 September 2020 around the globe, but as a “ride solo, together” event.

“Riders around the world will be encouraged to dapper up and either hop on their bikes if they’re able to, or snap a shot of them with their classic and vintage styled motorcycle and join us online,” he says.

In the absence of formally organised rides, participants are asked to register online, fundraise for Movember, dress-up, and ride as individuals and/or with a pillion.

While it could conceivably have gone ahead in some countries such as Australia, it would not be possible to conduct the event in the usual manner in many other countries as they still have stringent lockdowns in place.

Virtual DGRDistinguished Gentleman's Ride ladies

“The focus for this year will be to connect riders from all around the world, despite their COVID-19 social distancing restrictions,” Ramsey says.

“We want riders to know that we may be socially distanced, but we can still be connected digitally. It definitely came at a difficult time.

“We not only need to take people’s local lockdown restrictions into consideration, but we also needed to consider how riders and hosts have been financially affected in losing jobs and security, and how this may have impacted their lives. It’s a three-degrees of separation thing, some hosts either had COVID-19, or knew someone who did, and even have family members who lost their lives because of it. We wanted to be sensitive to those who spend countless hours volunteering to run their ride, who may not be able to get involved. 

“The main thing we’d want people to be aware of here is that we know that some areas of the world might be opened up by the time DGR hits in 2020, but DGR isn’t only a local event – it’s a global movement – and when we have so many folks who are integral in running their rides who have been heavily impacted by this, we need to look out for each other.”

Many DGR fans may not like the virtual DGR idea but it will be a real test of the commitment of participants and whether they are doing it for the benefit of others and in the spirit of the event, or just for pleasure.

Movember fundsDistinguished Gentleman’s Ride record year Brisbane

Meanwhile, Movember has released the $A1.15 million DGR-funded Social Connections Challenge to provide grants for new programs helping the mental and physical health of men in motorcycling.

Movember and DGR are looking for ideas that:

  • Cast a wider net to engage socially isolated men and strengthen social connections;
  • Leverage opportunities to engage hard-to-reach men;
  • Strengthen peer-to-peer support;
  • Improve knowledge about mental health and suicide prevention; and
  • Create opportunities for role modelling and mentorship.

If you are interested in submitting an idea, click here to learn more or email [email protected]. The closing date for submissions in all markets is 6 July 2020.

Motorcycle show cancelled

Intermot motorcycle show virtualIntermot motorcycle show

Meanwhile, the biennial Intermot motorcycle show in Cologne in October has been cancelled.

It will be replaced by a virtual event before the end of the year with the event not scheduled to return again until 2022.

There is no word yet on the fate of the annual EICMA motorcycle show in Milan in November.

Sturgis goes ahead

2015 Sturgis Motorcycle RallySturgis Motorcycle Rally

While the pandemic has forced events, races and shows to go virtual, the world’s biggest motorcycle rally will go ahead in real life.

The Sturgis City Council has voted to go ahead with the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally from August 7-16.

The event may not draw the usual hundreds of thousands f spectators this year and it will not include the usual parade, opening ceremony and B-1 bomber flyover.

Vendors will be required to wear personal protective equipment.

Mass testing is being considered for the safety of residents, but has not been approved.

Each test could cost $75 to $150 per person.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com