Riding to Sturgis Diary 2016 – Part 4 – Sturgis To-Do’s


Alright, I’ve been in town for two days and it is insane. One thing is for sure, rallies like this will make you fat! I swear, every time I turn around, somebody has a breakfast, a concession stand, or an excuse to get something to snack on.

Maybe that’s why there are so many fat folks here.

The next thing I’d have to say is that the music is great. I missed Willie the other night but caught a little of David Allen Coe. A couple of the guys that I had a beer with the other night had seen Kid Rock and said he was great. More importantly, there have been a bunch of really good no-names. Folks that you’ve never heard of playing and they are doing it up really nice.

On the other hand, for those of you who hated that the old Full Throttle burned down, they actually set up an outdoor bar in the old parking lot, but the new one is awesome!

It’s built on 550 acres where the old Broken Spoke was and it is simply insane whether you are just looking at it or inside. I knew what I was looking at and still am not sure of all that I saw. I still remember the old one, and all the junk that was inside of course is lost, but whatever you thought of Michael moving the location, I really agree with it. He’s got tons of space, tons more outside, and, let’s face it, this is a bucket-list item for any rider.

Simply put, if you come to Sturgis, you end up at the Full Throttle. Now, going forward, I’m sure it will be a little bit like New Orleans and Mardis Gras. You either went before or after Hurricane Katrina hit the city, and no matter how good the new version is, old timers like me will still complain that it is not as good as it once was.

Personally? I like the new version – its bigger, better, and a lot more friendly for what they do best at Full Throttle – have fun and put on some great shows. Now, I’m sure that they still have a ton of kinks to work out, but if they keep going the way they are, then it will be an amazing venue for years to come – just like the last one.

So what’s next on the list? I can’t even keep up with who’s playing where tonight and as usual, the age gap is really prevalent here. I mean, I know that it takes some coin to get here, but there are an awful lot of older folks. Probably two-to-one baby boomers to the under forty crowd.

All I know is that you can still get here and take part in Sturgis 2016, and if you haven’t ever been before, then you really have to. It’s in the low eighties, no humidity, and everything you need to finish your bike is being sold here.

And I know that UPS will let you ship it all home.

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