Towing the Line in the Black Hills

How to best enjoy Sturgis?
Avoid encounters with the man.

An IronWorks Magazine Exclusive by Marilyn Stemp as appeared in Sturgis Rider News

“We don’t want nobody tellin’ us what to do. We don’t want nobody pushin’ us around. We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man.” – Peter Fonda as Heavenly Blues in Wild Angels, 1966

Peter Fonda made a good point: bikers, the quintessential rebels, want to be free of restrictions, unfettered by rules and social concerns when we ride. What a drag to have that notion sidelined by the appearance of flashing blue lights in your mirror, a sure sign that you’ve been nailed by “the man.”

Funny thing, though, unlike Fonda’s Heavenly Blues character and his outlaw riding buddies in Wild Angels, bikers and law enforcement don’t need to have a contentious relationship. Contact between the two groups is clearly inevitable, especially at large rallies, but the outcome of that contact depends entirely on the biker and the official in any given exchange. And here at Sturgis, law enforcement’s attitude is guided by two steady leaders with decades of practice at such encounters, Sturgis Police Chief Jim Bush and Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin.

And what’s their attitude toward visiting bikers? Actually, their common desire is to see you, the average Joe and Jane biker, have all the freedom and fun you want.

“It’s kind of like the way you look at your children,” said Sturgis Chief of Police Jim Bush who has worked the rally since 1978, taking over as chief in 1990. “You want them to have fun but not hurt themselves.

Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin, who started with Sturgis City police in 1984 and took over as Sheriff in 1991, concurs. “Our number one intention is to make visitors feel welcome and help them safely return home.”

Not surprisingly, both officers also agree that it’s a balancing act to attain this goal. “We go from a town of about 6,500 to one of two or three hundred thousand in a few days. Our infrastructure isn’t designed to handle beltway traffic,” said Bush. Added Merwin, “We go from one of the smallest departments in the state to one of the biggest departments—overnight.”

Preparation for Sturgis is always ongoing. The State of South Dakota concentrates on completing major road construction well before rally time, even working during the winter and encompassing areas up to 150 miles of Sturgis city limits. Meanwhile, a task force that began in 2000 gathers representatives from surrounding communities, hospitals, the highway patrol, national guard, blood banks and other public safety and community relations people to try and cover all the contingencies.

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