72nd Annual 2012 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

It’s the county seat of not-so-urban Meade County and named after one General Samuel D. Sturgis, but Sturgis, South Dakota is really only all about being the home of the largest annual motorcycle event in the world.

Held during the first full week of August. Motorcycle hardcores from around the globe fire it up and roll into this generally snoozy burg in the middle of Nowhere USA for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

And oh my, “rally” is a serious understatement for the sort of wretched, gasoline-fueled debauchery which goes on there every year like clockwork. On an average given week, there are only 6,627 people, 2,916 households, and 1,687 families hanging around in Sturgis. That amounts to a population density of 1661 people per square mile. Consider that the city of Chicago has some 12649 persons per square mile, and you get the drift.

During the rally, the population of Sturgis swells to something like that of your average New Delhi.

According to the South Dakota Department of Transportation, traffic during the official rally dates shows somewhere around 460,000 vehicles will roll into Sturgis during the the official dates of the rally. The locals say as many as 600,000 bikers will attend this year’s event, and they pay close attention to such numbers my brother.

During the Saturday and Sunday before the official Monday start of the rally, the count might be up more than the 17 percent it went up compared to the 2009-2010 stretch.

That’s a whole lot of bikers, hombre.

The following stats were provided by the Sturgis City Rally
Department, and is assumed to reflect the numbers that Sturgis
saw.

Other Info:

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2011
Parking Tickets

164

359

184

179

209

221

273

324

303

188
167
Felony Drug Arrest

58

56

9

8

8

16

17
3

4

5
4
Misdemeanor Drug Arrests

431

307

92

111

84

97

110
61

57
84
51
Arrests for Non-Traffic Violations

294

264

193

250

230

248

258
161

147
319
175
Traffic Violations (Sturgis)

329

500

132

149

172

145

115
167

143
153
165
Jailed

122

111

126

140

374

405

448
443

460
437
400
Calls for Service – Meade Co. Sheriff

1204

1150

1989

1119

1228

1441

1197
1217

1386
1248
910
Hospital Emergency Room Visits

326

390

275

292

334

340

317
448

289
370
275

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