A Sturgis Rally Kickoff Party That Speaks Only the Language of “Hell Yeah,” Screams, “Give it to Me, Baby,” and Inspires Your Legs to Move of Their Own Accord – Officially.
Eighty-three years ago, a man named Pappy knew that to throw a proper party you had to set the right mood.
If he were advising on first dates, that might include a flower on the seat, a bottle of wine on moonlit haystacks and her arms wrapped around you when you…ride home.
But Pappy wasn’t there to stare deep into your eyes and make babies. Instead, he was about to launch the world’s largest motorcycle rally – a party he knew would require high energy, entertainment, and, let’s not forget, smiling faces.
There’s more to the formula you don’t know.
First, let’s be honest. When someone invites you to an event, you ask yourself, “Is that worth submitting a vacation request, packing gear, and pushing myself up off this couch?”
“Does it make my spirit say, ‘Hell yeahs,’ my heart scream, ‘Give it to me, baby,’ and my legs move in that direction by themselves?”
The reality is that to commit to spicing up your life, it needs to satisfy a deep curiosity, be part of something authentic, and make you feel more alive.
Getting out the door shouldn’t be that hard, but sometimes it is.
That’s why, on the very first kickoff of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, WHAT DID PAPPY HOEL DO?
He smashed through a wall of fire! (SURPRISE!)
He threw a picnic. (FREE FOOD, GUYS!!!)
He had friends lock handlebars while going fast around corners on motorcycles. (WHO KNEW IT’D BE SO MUCH FUN?)
Saying it without saying it, Pappy said, WE AREN’T HERE ONLY TO RACE. WE’RE HERE TO LET LOOSE, ENTERTAIN EACH OTHER, SLAP BACKS, AND SMILE.
At that original festivity, you bet that more than one person experienced their first “Holy S***!” moment and talked about it with their friends after.
Although we find comfort in the known, predictable and commonplace, it’s the unusual, random, and surprising that cements a place in our memories, flavors our stories and impacts our lives, sometimes even changing them.
The Legendary Buffalo Chip understands this when planning its Sturgis Rally Kickoff Party. They know you don’t come to read “The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” in your tent; you do that at home between monotonous, on-repeat workdays.
Repeat doesn’t belong at a good party. Each smile should feel fresher than the last. Otherwise, you’re not at the Best Party Anywhere.
Ironically, one thing people will repeat is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Not because of an addiction to Jager Bombs, deepening connections with friends, and smiles that grow into laughs that hurt.
Well yeah, that.
But also, because even the 10th time you visit, there is a new takeaway, friend, and smile to find.
You can fall in love, lust, and get married at the rally. You can come for decades, make more friends than you have back home, and request that your friends spread your ashes there.
I received an email the other day that read, “My husband recently passed away. He rode to Sturgis starting in 1961 and rode there for his last ride in 2022. He attended 61 years
consecutively. Everyone thought he must have been a badass. No, he was just a biker obsessed with Sturgis.”
The rally touches you in unusual, random and unexpected ways.
Every year is different, exciting, and new, which is why we celebrate life at Sturgis.
You might not be surprised to find there’s still a strong tradition of smashing through walls to kick off the party. This time, however, the smashing comes with a twist.
In the spirit of Pappy, the founder of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Joe Mielke and I will smash through a wall of 1,440 cans of beer, not fire, with homemade battering rams mounted to the front of our bikes to welcome in the Buffalo Chip’s Official Sturgis Rally Kickoff Party.
Why beer? Because a wall of fire seems so, you know, 1938.
And we’d like to open some refreshments for you.
To add spice to the excitement, Jason Lightner and his entourage will follow through the spurting wreckage in a motorized couch, two-wheeled Sea-Doo, boat, mini bikes, other mechanical creations, and a street roller to finish the job.
But the Beer Wall Smash is only a tiny part of the fun that will get you off the couch and kickstart the rally with a bash.
This year, join a parade of motorcyclists into The Largest Music Festival in Motorcycling’s amphitheater for the “grandest first day in Sturgis Rally history.”
The party begins at the Big Engine Bar with the Support Bikers Moto Meetup. Then, line up and parade into the amphitheater.
The Buffalo Chip Bikini Models will take the stage with their “Everything But Clothes!” Homemade Bikini Contest.
Next, the Hot Hunks will face off against the gals, show off their homemade mankinis, and keep the smiles coming.
We’ll also get serious and recognize that all this fun is a freedom we don’t take for granted with the Star-Spangled Banner and, with the help of your throttle hand, a thunderous roar at the front of the stage to power up The Best Party Anywhere and welcome in ZZ TOP at the no. 1 Sturgis Rally destination—the Sturgis Buffalo Chip!!
If this all seems a bit unusual, the kickoff is meant to remind us why we left the confines of our boring jobs, help us escape the scrutiny and stresses of everyday life, and set the tone for the next nine days of music, motorcycles, freedom and friends.
It might even set the tone for your future.
If that rings true to you, here’s what you should do.
Get out the door. Leave your work and routine behind. Add unusual, random, surprising excitement to your life, and join the Not So Unusual – Officially Part of a Long Tradition – Sturgis Rally Kickoff Party at the Legendary Buffalo Chip.
That’s the rest of the formula for an unprecedented-level good time.
Now, stop reading and go have a blast! Your spirit, heart, and legs are already taking you there.
