Wicked Ice Storm Hits Unsuspecting Sturgis Bikers!
BASEBALL Size HAIL!
Local radio/tv outlets were slow to warn bikers of the impending doom. It looked like a shower was approaching the Full Throttle/Monkey Rock/Glencoe/Buffalo Chip campgrounds, but what we got, was a half hour barrage of falling ice. ABM didn't see any hail smaller than the size of an ice cube. At least 50% of these chunks of falling death were golf ball to baseball sized, and the stuff wasn't falling straight down, it was comming in horizontally.
Milions of dollars in Bike/Cage/Rv damage:
The front, as has been the norm during the past 12 days, blew in from Wyoming, showering downtown Sturgis with hail from small up to golf ball sized. As the storm raced up the hill toward the campgrounds on rt 34, the hail grew in size until baseball chunks weren't uncommon.
Carnage:
Bikes with dented gas tanks, busted windshelds, pok-marked fenders, chipped paint, but it was cages & rv's that really got slammed. Every camper, and every vehicle in the campground was damaged in some way. Most need windshields replaced. Windows shot outof campers like someone took 'em out with buckshot. The storm was nearly a half hour long, leaving the ground coated in ice, like the scene from a northern town. Hours later, returning bikers were shocked to find their new vehicles were now elegible for the "cash for clunkers" program. How do you repair a hood, roof, doors, front & rear quarter panels? Some were so heavily damaged, it'd take a body shop two years to ball peen out the dents.
We told ya so..
ABM's first two Sturgis week programs dealt with expecting the unexpected here in the Black Hills. We warned you to be armed with a noaa weather radio. Some of you took out advice. You'd be the ones without gas tank dents. ABM's been comming to this rally for years and years, but this was the first time we really got slammed. Earlier, we'd just returned from a nice ride up to Lead & Deadwood, with clear sky all the way up & back. If we'd stayed for some prime rib & a beer or two, there's no telling what could have happened to us.
Get me the h--l outaa here!
Sturgis # 69 will go down in history for some of the weirdest reasons...
Weather: Millions in damage
Attendance: At least as many bikers as last year, vendors did gangbusters.
Party Animals: In force. There isn't a forum open enough to explain some of the goings-on.
The Weather: More rain than all the previous years combined, yet, plenty of sun, too.
The Shows: Steven Tyler breaks his shoulder after falling off the runway.
Tenters: Unprecedented tent to rv ratio. Trampin' is back in style. (just make sure you pitch your canvas near a building!
What Now?
San Juan Mountains, baby. After all of this partying, ABM is ready for the solitude of our favorite trout stream, where they're so thick you can walk over 'em, & catch 'en on nothing more than a hand line & a bare hook. Gonna take a couple days to get there. We'll let ya know how they taste this year!
PS:
One more thought regarding the rally: Even with all of the damage, the rain, the ice, & being up all night with the party people, come next August, ABM will return. (We're gluttons for punishment!)
Local radio/tv outlets were slow to warn bikers of the impending doom. It looked like a shower was approaching the Full Throttle/Monkey Rock/Glencoe/Buffalo Chip campgrounds, but what we got, was a half hour barrage of falling ice. ABM didn't see any hail smaller than the size of an ice cube. At least 50% of these chunks of falling death were golf ball to baseball sized, and the stuff wasn't falling straight down, it was comming in horizontally.
Milions of dollars in Bike/Cage/Rv damage:
The front, as has been the norm during the past 12 days, blew in from Wyoming, showering downtown Sturgis with hail from small up to golf ball sized. As the storm raced up the hill toward the campgrounds on rt 34, the hail grew in size until baseball chunks weren't uncommon.
Carnage:
Bikes with dented gas tanks, busted windshelds, pok-marked fenders, chipped paint, but it was cages & rv's that really got slammed. Every camper, and every vehicle in the campground was damaged in some way. Most need windshields replaced. Windows shot outof campers like someone took 'em out with buckshot. The storm was nearly a half hour long, leaving the ground coated in ice, like the scene from a northern town. Hours later, returning bikers were shocked to find their new vehicles were now elegible for the "cash for clunkers" program. How do you repair a hood, roof, doors, front & rear quarter panels? Some were so heavily damaged, it'd take a body shop two years to ball peen out the dents.
We told ya so..
ABM's first two Sturgis week programs dealt with expecting the unexpected here in the Black Hills. We warned you to be armed with a noaa weather radio. Some of you took out advice. You'd be the ones without gas tank dents. ABM's been comming to this rally for years and years, but this was the first time we really got slammed. Earlier, we'd just returned from a nice ride up to Lead & Deadwood, with clear sky all the way up & back. If we'd stayed for some prime rib & a beer or two, there's no telling what could have happened to us.
Get me the h--l outaa here!
Sturgis # 69 will go down in history for some of the weirdest reasons...
Weather: Millions in damage
Attendance: At least as many bikers as last year, vendors did gangbusters.
Party Animals: In force. There isn't a forum open enough to explain some of the goings-on.
The Weather: More rain than all the previous years combined, yet, plenty of sun, too.
The Shows: Steven Tyler breaks his shoulder after falling off the runway.
Tenters: Unprecedented tent to rv ratio. Trampin' is back in style. (just make sure you pitch your canvas near a building!
What Now?
San Juan Mountains, baby. After all of this partying, ABM is ready for the solitude of our favorite trout stream, where they're so thick you can walk over 'em, & catch 'en on nothing more than a hand line & a bare hook. Gonna take a couple days to get there. We'll let ya know how they taste this year!
PS:
One more thought regarding the rally: Even with all of the damage, the rain, the ice, & being up all night with the party people, come next August, ABM will return. (We're gluttons for punishment!)
posted by americanbikerminute at 7:17 AM
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