STURGIS, South Dakota — Dozens of motorcycles carrying American flags rolled down Main Street in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Friday signaling the start of the annual motorcycle rally.
The rolling procession was part of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s opening ceremony and parade. It also included a welcoming message from the mayor of Sturgis for the 500,000 attendees expected to pack the small Black Hills town over the next nine days.
A member of the military sang the national anthem, and a “blessing of the bikes” was held. With the patriotic pomp and prayer over, it was go time for one of America’s most raucous events.
The odd thing was, the event was over just after 4 p.m.
Not 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. or even high noon, a time befitting of Sturgis’ Western heritage.
Why such a late start to the first day?
“They like to go riding in the morning when it’s cool,” speculated Cassey Weinhold, a bartender at One-Eyed Jack’s Saloon.
Maybe, but it’s also awfully convenient for those waking up late after imbibing a little too much on the eve of the rally, typically a big night for Sturgis bars.
The late-day start seems in-character for a city that published an entire webpage of drink recipes — like Jack's Tennessee Honey Tea, Grape Sunrise and the Bacardi-infused Arctic Soda — on the official website for the city government.
The rally also remains one of the few major public events in the country that allows open containers, albeit in a zone that stretches about eight blocks on both sides of Main Street. Drinkers must use a special events cups, and only wine and malt beverages are permitted inside them.
Get Them An IV — Stat
This year, Sturgis has at least two vendors offering intravenous fluids to help rehydrate rallygoers.
One of those was Hydration Station IV Lounge, tucked away in the Thunderdome, a cavernous, 38,000-square-foot entertainment center located about 13 miles east of Sturgis that holds concerts and other events during the festival.
On Friday, stunt drivers were peeling out and making tight donuts in the Thunderdome parking lot as part of a rally contest; their junk cars pumping smoke, bits of rubber and screeching loud noise into the 93-degree heat.
But inside the arena, two men relaxed in foldable reclining lawn chairs as if they were in an oasis. Needles jutted out of their arms and saline solution bags dripped fluids over their heads back into them.
“When you’re dehydrated, you’re losing essential nutrients and minerals,” explained business owner Stacy Kenitzer.
It was the first year Kenitzer had opened a vendor booth at the rally. Her brick-and-mortar business is located in Rapid City, South Dakota, where she said she serves mostly people with medical conditions who have a hard time staying hydrated.
She also administers IVs for Rapid City Rush hockey players and rodeo participants, some of whom want to hydrate ahead of their events and others who desperately need to replenish fluids after.
Customers can choose a plain saline IV or one loaded with energy and vitality boosts that include vitamins C, B and magnesium, which helps prevent cramping, a symptom of dehydration.
Kenitzer, who is a registered nurse, said she believes her services would be in demand at Sturgis this year, primarily because so many riders are exposing themselves to 90-degree-plus rides this week.
A motorcycle passes spectators on Main Street during the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s opening ceremony and parade. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily) 
Stacy Kenitzer, 56, stands outside her booth for Hydration Station IV Lounge at the Sturgis Thunderdome. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily) 
It may not look it by the crowds of bikes lining the main drag in Sturgis, South Dakota, but locals say the first day of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a little slow. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily) 
It may not look it by the crowds of bikes lining the main drag in Sturgis, South Dakota, but locals say the first day of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a little slow. (Justin George, Cowboy State Daily)
Also Good For Hangovers
Kenitzer also recognizes that some of her clientele will likely be seeking help after rough nights.
Her goal was to serve 100 customers over the 10-day gathering. But by early afternoon Friday, she said she had only hooked IVs to four.
“One was really hungover,” she said. “The others were just dehydrated, overheated.”
A Slow Start
Some wondered why there seemed to be fewer people at the bars on the first day of the rally. Many of Main Street’s establishments that had opened during breakfast hours saw slower-than-normal business, bartenders told Cowboy State Daily.
Was it a case of an aging demographic? Boomers dominated the sidewalks Friday, but the rally has in recent years been getting younger.
The average age of attendees dropped from 53.1 years old in 2015 to 50.8 in 2022, according to a city survey.
At the Oasis Bar and Fireside Lounge, waitress Keri Jones bemoaned the lack of customers by lunchtime. It was her second year working the rally, and to the inexperienced eye, she seemed busy, juggling multiple tables.
But she said she only had four tables to mind. On a good day, she would be waiting on an entire section.
“Oh, looks like he needs a drink,” she said, before running over to a pair sitting at a high top. “I’m telling you, this is not busy. This is dead.”
Jones, like others wasn’t discouraged. It was just Day One. Nine more days to go.
Perhaps much like the rally’s opening ceremony, rallygoers are just getting a late start.
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Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.
