El Niño Bets and Sturgis Regrets
Maybe we’re jumping the gun by bringing up an El Niño winter before the leaves have even thought about turning. But let’s face it, as Michiganders, we are hardwired to be obsessive weather watchers. We just can’t help it.
The whispers of a mild winter already have us playing that familiar game of Russian roulette with the riding season. Do we roll the dice, keep the bikes out, and try to bleed every last mile out of the year? Or do we swallow our pride, play it safe, and start winterizing on schedule? Trying to predict what the skies in this state are going to do is a fool’s errand right now. Honestly, I wouldn’t trade places with a late-night meteorologist for all the chrome in the world.
Speaking of weather that’ll humble you real quick… hats off to everyone who battled through the hellish hail and torrential rains out in the Black Hills and made it home in one piece. Aly and I are still counting our blessings that we somehow dodged that kind of chaos on our first and only trip out there last year.
Even though we stayed back this time around, we were tracking the action. We read the posts from our die-hard Michigan friends who never miss the rally and watched the content creators hash out how this year stacked up against the glory days. We especially got a kick out of watching Jack over at Cycle Drag brush off the endless parade of internet haters and keyboard warriors like an absolute champ while keeping his coverage rolling. Drama aside, it sounds like everyone is confirming exactly what we felt on our maiden journey for the 85th: downtown Sturgis just isn’t what it used to be. And from the reports rolling in, that vibe took an even harder nosedive this year.
The word on the street is that the real rally has officially moved out of the city limits and into the campgrounds. That makes perfect sense to us, but let’s be honest, even the campground scene brings its own brand of headaches. The times are changing, and the landscape of the rally is shifting right along with them.
Keep your heads on a swivel out there, and let’s ride this season out until the snow actually hits the pavement.
~ RJ & Aly