Solo Road Trip to Sturgis: The REAL reason people go

Today, we are going to Sturgis, the biggest motorcycle rally in the world. The rally is not without its controversies, with some of the first things coming to mind. So what does it mean to be a 1%er? To me it means, if you broke into my house, I'm not calling the cops, I'm calling my brother. People dressed in, well, not really dressed actually. From Russia with love. But what is not being shown in the news or the viral YouTube videos that is bringing 700,000 people and riders for the past 84 years to this small town in South Dakota. I suspect it's something the news isn't talking about. So I decided to take a road trip and find out. My plan was to ride through the desert to Sturgis and once I got there, to ride some of the famous nearby routes, known as being some of America's most beautiful but dangerous roads. So not wanting to miss anything, I would stay for the whole 10 days of the rally. And it wasn't my original plan, but I'd be going alone. I once again had said goodbye to my little street fighter, hopping on the nearest affordable flight where I could borrow a bike from my friends at Harley-Davidson. A month away from the rally that just happened to be 400 miles away in Denver, Colorado. I'm here in Eagle Rider, Denver, Colorado and I'm picking up my bike. It's a Harley Heritage. I've already met two groups of people going to Sturgis too. The Heritage is only 697 pounds, which is over 100 pounds lighter than the bikes I took on my first three road trips. And it made the Heritage feel like a feather. It wasn't long before I really wished I didn't have a backpack and the triple-digit heat advisory started really getting to me. What's your YouTube? What's your name? It's called Doodle on the Motorcycle. Yeah, remember her? You guys going to Sturgis? Yeah. Me too. It's so hot. I need like a cooling vest. We're used to this. We're from Arizona. It's not hot until it gets above 110. Oh my gosh. So I am just an hour from my Airbnb, but I am so tired. The sun's gonna set in like 15 minutes. With my garbage night vision and tiredness, I just don't want to risk that. So I'm gonna stay here in this little town called Newcastle. It has like three hotels or motels. I believe in treating yourself and if you're tired, stop. It's better to be safe than sorry. Always. Home sweet home. How did this happen? You have, look at all your Sturgis patches since 2012. Yeah. Pikes Peak, Glacier, Rocky Mountain. Switzerland in there. Cool. Patagonia, South Africa. We got Matt from Harley, Meg and Michael from Meg's Motorcycle Journey, and Randy who is Matt's friend. We're gonna go say hi to George. I traded in the Heritage for the Lowrider ST for the day. What we were going to be riding today would be some of the most beautiful roads I had ever been on. And on top of that, the hardest. It made Tail of the Dragon seem like nothing. Where Tail of the Dragon has 318 curves and 11 miles, where we would be riding had 314 curves and 17 miles. And on top of that, 14 switchbacks and 3 pigtails. I had never been on a pigtail other than a highway exit. I was afraid for my life. I'm like, this is scarier than the dragon. I think the dragon is so overrated. I really do. These are like the coolest roads I've ever been on. Yeah, me too. Wow, this is cool. Just trying to understand what the space between Lincoln and Roosevelt is. It's the vault. We're expanding the vault. Mount Richmoor. We can climb up in here. Where'd he go? Gollum! Cowboy boots are not great for climbing, but... Oh, wow. You might be careful, right? I got you. People can be pretty harsh about Meg's online presence sometimes. She's still a human being. And she and Cameraman are a couple. They've known each other since they were 14. Two minutes. I guess Matt's not afraid of heights. No, I am. Needles Highway. And then the coolest part of Needles Highway. Riding through the tunnels that have been blasted through the mountain. Oh, my. Is this a good time? Hey, no means no. She's walking away, man. This was when I started to see why people come to Sturgis every year. $25 unless you have a National Parks Pass. How much is it if you had a National Parks Pass? It's free. Oh, okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Not from what they're telling you. Not the parties. Not the demo rides. But roads like the Badlands. It's been radio silence. I was having a bit of a breakdown and hid from everybody for a day because Cody got caught up in this disaster and couldn't make it to Sturgis like we had planned. So then Stacey's like, I think that's her. How are you? I'm so good. How are you? You made it. I know. Am I late? No, I was the most late. Oh, okay. That's a beautiful bike. That's the best bike in the world. I was especially excited for today. I'm interested in getting more off-road training and I'm looking for a more road trip friendly bike. That's why I'm on a different bike on all these road trips. I'm shopping. My bike is great for commuting and mountain riding. Not so much so for touring. I love the baggers I've been riding and I really got my eye on the Tiger 900. The touring friendly, off-roading capable version of my bike. I'm at the Triumph 900 Low. Hello! Wait, it's hard to keep... I am? Okay, great. Good to see you. Do you want to get experienced riders? Tiger 900. I'm on the low version because if I'm on the high version and I'm not used to it, I might drop it. I'd like to buy the high version because then I can practice all those tips that Jocelyn Snow teaches. We would ride just a few minutes away from the rally where we could take these bikes off-road for some drills and a test ride around a field. You'll never guess who's in my off-roading class. It's Adam Sandoval! We're whispering because someone's doing drills right now. We're going to start going around the course just slow. Stay 30 yards behind him. 30 yards! That's like 90 feet, right? This is my kind of demo ride. Sturgis may have a reputation for being pretty wild. Motorcycles and Trump, baby! Don't forget my mother****** guns. But even for someone who was in bed by nine o'clock every night during the rally, I had a great time. The roads that a commuter in a car would call dangerous are some of the most beautiful and technical roads I had ever been on. This is why people come back every year. You either know or you don't. Whether you're on a Harley or not, a trip to Sturgis should be on every must-ride list. But it's not the only ride on there. Every rider must ride over the ocean to the end of the U.S. Click this video to watch it next.