Sturgis Run: In need of more police protection?
Brrrr!
If you've ever wanted us to suffer, this is your lucky day!
ABM was prevented from roaming out into the desert yesterday, by a "flash flood" warning for Mexican Hat, Ut. Good thing we paid heed. By 6pm, that front had reached our campsite far up in the mountains. Rained cats 'n' dogs, 4 straight hrs. This morning, we woke up to 41 degrees. Chrome on the bikes looked like brushed aluminum. They steamed for a few minutes after we cranked 'em up for the ride down here to where it's 20 degrees warmer. Still better than 99 Florida degrees!
Sturgis Run: Do we need more cops?
The record for bike week fatalities was back in 2006, in Daytona when 16 bikers lost their lives. Since we were there, ABM can testify that if police presence were a mitigating factor, there would still have been 16. We're reading "biker" notes begging for more police "protection". We wonder if these are really bikers, or someone else with a bone to pick, or with some sort of vested interest..
Sturgis Mishaps: The Big Three Factors-
(1) Altitude Sickness/Euphoria:
Flat landers living at sea level, or a couple thousand feet above, come to Sturgis, and they're suddenly up nearly a mile high. (4500'). Unless you're used to the elevation, it takes 2-3 days to acclimate. If you took only one week off, and had travel time to and from of 2-4 days, you'd hardly be used to the altitude before it's time to leave for home.
(2) Trip Tired:
The hassle and excitement of getting ready to leave, then the long road trip. ride or haul, when you get there, you're a mess. Time zone changes, countless hours of road fever, so when you finally arrive, the last thing on your mind is relaxation..what to do..? Go for a ride. Never mind the possibility of judgement errors.
(3) Sturgis Virgins:
ABM has never seen as many new riders, as Sturgis2010. Nearly 2 out of 3 bikers we interviewed for the show were fresh meat. Many reported that their home business or employer's work week had been reduced to the point where they now had that precious extra time to take off and head for the Black Hills. A silver lining in the recessionary cloud, so to speak. Even more time to run off the road while gawking at the scenery, the emergency call blasting from the ranger's two way radio even as we were forking over our ten bucks for admission to Custer Park.
So...would doubling the police presence make any difference?
The short answer is likely "no". Daytona experienced nearly twice as many fatalities at a rally with 200,000 fewer bikers. As reported from Sturgis by ABM, the main cause of Sturgis proper traffic jams was the inability of many bikers to simply do the speed limit. Many, no doubt out of total respect for safety, chose to do 20mph in a 40mph speed zone, mucking up traffic into accordion-like snakes of disgusting stop-n-go. We suffered through it for a whole week. Some couldn't do more than 10 or 20mph on a gravel or dirt surface. Doing 20 in a 40? How about 10 in a 30, or 60 in a 75? You're gonna get passed, often. Weirdest is that this was happening where there was little or no police presence, just a few of those little white trailers which tell you if you're speeding. That's how I know they were doing 20-25.
One biker fatality is one too many, and we feel awful for their loved ones. Would an extra 50 or 100 cops have prevented these accidents? The short answer is no, but you can bet that if people in high places have their way, we're probably gonna get them.
If you've ever wanted us to suffer, this is your lucky day!
ABM was prevented from roaming out into the desert yesterday, by a "flash flood" warning for Mexican Hat, Ut. Good thing we paid heed. By 6pm, that front had reached our campsite far up in the mountains. Rained cats 'n' dogs, 4 straight hrs. This morning, we woke up to 41 degrees. Chrome on the bikes looked like brushed aluminum. They steamed for a few minutes after we cranked 'em up for the ride down here to where it's 20 degrees warmer. Still better than 99 Florida degrees!
Sturgis Run: Do we need more cops?
The record for bike week fatalities was back in 2006, in Daytona when 16 bikers lost their lives. Since we were there, ABM can testify that if police presence were a mitigating factor, there would still have been 16. We're reading "biker" notes begging for more police "protection". We wonder if these are really bikers, or someone else with a bone to pick, or with some sort of vested interest..
Sturgis Mishaps: The Big Three Factors-
(1) Altitude Sickness/Euphoria:
Flat landers living at sea level, or a couple thousand feet above, come to Sturgis, and they're suddenly up nearly a mile high. (4500'). Unless you're used to the elevation, it takes 2-3 days to acclimate. If you took only one week off, and had travel time to and from of 2-4 days, you'd hardly be used to the altitude before it's time to leave for home.
(2) Trip Tired:
The hassle and excitement of getting ready to leave, then the long road trip. ride or haul, when you get there, you're a mess. Time zone changes, countless hours of road fever, so when you finally arrive, the last thing on your mind is relaxation..what to do..? Go for a ride. Never mind the possibility of judgement errors.
(3) Sturgis Virgins:
ABM has never seen as many new riders, as Sturgis2010. Nearly 2 out of 3 bikers we interviewed for the show were fresh meat. Many reported that their home business or employer's work week had been reduced to the point where they now had that precious extra time to take off and head for the Black Hills. A silver lining in the recessionary cloud, so to speak. Even more time to run off the road while gawking at the scenery, the emergency call blasting from the ranger's two way radio even as we were forking over our ten bucks for admission to Custer Park.
So...would doubling the police presence make any difference?
The short answer is likely "no". Daytona experienced nearly twice as many fatalities at a rally with 200,000 fewer bikers. As reported from Sturgis by ABM, the main cause of Sturgis proper traffic jams was the inability of many bikers to simply do the speed limit. Many, no doubt out of total respect for safety, chose to do 20mph in a 40mph speed zone, mucking up traffic into accordion-like snakes of disgusting stop-n-go. We suffered through it for a whole week. Some couldn't do more than 10 or 20mph on a gravel or dirt surface. Doing 20 in a 40? How about 10 in a 30, or 60 in a 75? You're gonna get passed, often. Weirdest is that this was happening where there was little or no police presence, just a few of those little white trailers which tell you if you're speeding. That's how I know they were doing 20-25.
One biker fatality is one too many, and we feel awful for their loved ones. Would an extra 50 or 100 cops have prevented these accidents? The short answer is no, but you can bet that if people in high places have their way, we're probably gonna get them.
posted by americanbikerminute at 8:54 AM
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