Buffalo Chip (Sturgis Motorcycle Rally)

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

Today’s undertaking was just one of more than 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link:

 

 

Randy’s Complete Track List

 

 

If you’ve got a question, comment or whatever please leave it at the bottom of this report.  It’s very easy to do.  I’ll try my best to respond.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

A bucket list item.

Today’s trackchasing adventure was also one of my bucket list items. I have always wanted to go to Sturgis, South Dakota for the famous Sturgis motorcycle rally. Carol and I had been to Sturgis previously but not during the rally.

 

 

The biggest in the world.

I’m guessing the Sturgis motorcycle rally is the largest of its kind in the world. They get between 400-500,000 visitors almost all of which are riding motorcycles.

 

 

Lucky for me I guess.

I have visited many of the most famous sites in the world. I have trackchased in 70 different countries. It’s lucky for me that my trackchasing hobby has motivated me to go to the far reaches of the globe including such places as Russia, Chile, Japan and India.

 

 

Trackchasing would bring me to Sturgis now. However the actual TORC off-road race would be a sidelight to this particular trip. Let’s get started and I’ll tell you all about it.

 

 

Not geographical neighbors?

On Sunday I had trackchased in Grayslake, Illinois. My plan was to be in Sturgis, South Dakota for my next racing event on Tuesday afternoon.

 

 

Grayslake and Sturgis are not exactly geographical neighbors. As a matter of fact the one way driving distance from Grayslake over to Sturgis, South Dakota is 891 miles. It was going to be a bit of a hike.

 

 

On Sunday night I had reposition myself. I stayed overnight in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Even from La Crosse it was still going to be a 662-mile driving effort. After the races in Sturgis I would drive back to Minneapolis, Minnesota, a distance of 607 miles. My plan was to get to my Minneapolis-based hotel at 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

 

 

Then on Wednesday morning, a little later than 3 a.m., I would hop on a flight to Washington D.C. to meet up with Trackchasing First Mother. She would be flying in from Los Angeles via Dallas. In D.C. we would begin a week of East Coast touring, visiting relatives and of course trackchasing. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m here in Sturgis, South Dakota to knock off another bucket list item.

 

 

 

MONDAY

 

 

This was an interesting idea…or at least I thought it was.

During the drive from La Crosse to Sturgis I came up with an interesting idea. At least I thought it was interesting. I would create multiple texting distribution lists of my 25 closest friends to keep them abreast of the trip for the next 36-hour period.

 

 

I was able to send them photos and videos as I clicked off the miles getting closer and closer to Sturgis. Several folks got back with questions and comments and everyone (O.K. most everyone) seemed to be in enjoying the “Twitter like” experience. By the way I am not a member of Twitter.

 

 

Was I out of place in a Toyota Avalon?

During rally week the number of motorcycles traveling the highways and byways toward Sturgis is nearly beyond belief. I felt a little out of place driving a four-door Toyota Avalon sedan but you gotta dance with who brung you.

 

 

I must tell you this.  I do not go out of my way to keep my rental car interior clean.  It’s my office on the road.  I’m into efficiency and effectiveness.  I am not one to mistake activity with achievement.  Keeping my rental clean does not support any of these objectives.  Make sense?

 

 

Help. Yelp!

I pulled into Rapid City, South Dakota, about 25 miles from Sturgis, at about 7 p.m. on Monday night. I was looking for supper and Yelp! helped me pick out a good place.

 

 

Soon I was ordering a chicken cheesesteak in Philly Ted’s in Rapid City. Some 80 reviewers had given Philly Ted’s a 4.5 star rating. I’m not eating bread now so they were kind enough to prepare my cheesesteak on a bed of lettuce. It was quite tasty. I would go back. 

 

 

The history of Philly cheesesteaks.

As most people know the Philly cheesesteak business began in, wait for it, Philadelphia. Geno’s was the place. Carol and I been to Geno’s and their staunch competitor just across the street Pat’s to compare their cheesesteaks. Actually from my limited experience I think I prefer Jim’s steaks in Philly. Eating at Geno’s was a bucket list item.

 

 

The first day of “Sturgis”.

I wanted to get into Sturgis while it was still daylight so I could get a lay of the land. I barely entered the city limits when I began to see tons of motorcyclists. There were lots of people already camped out in the front yards of homes and every nook and cranny of the town.

 

 

One woman seemed to “stand out” even though she was sitting down. Yep. This young woman was sitting in a lawn chair bare-chested with the appropriate pasties in place. How was I to interpret this? It certainly seemed like a welcoming gesture from the residents and visitors Sturgis. I was thinking this was going to be a good time.

 

 

Did I not get the memo on dress code?

In so many ways I sensed that I wasn’t exactly going to fit in. I was wearing blue suede deck shoes, Hobie Cat board shorts and a Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt. Most other folks had heavy duty motorcycle riding boots (we called these ‘shit-kicking boots’ where I grew up), blue jeans and various Sturgis shirt apparel. Nope. I didn’t look like I was from around here or from this particular demographic.

 

 

That certainly wasn’t going to stop me. I was here to have a good time. I wanted to watch other people having a good time and simply enjoy myself.

 

 

I parked near my hotel….er in my hotel.

I found a place about four blocks off the main drag to park my car. My plan at the end of the night was to drive over to the Wal-Mart parking lot in Spearfish, South Dakota. There I would sleep in my car for the night. However that plan was a few hours off and subject to modification.

 

 

So where would they sleep?

The town of Sturgis has less than 7,000 people. I’m wasn’t exactly sure where 400,000 people were going to sleep. But in the end everyone figures out their own situation right?

 

 

Just big.

The number of women that had come to Sturgis with their boyfriends and husbands surprised me. If I had to make a physical characterization of these motorcycle mamas I would classify them as “big”.

 

 

I’m not talking about being grossly overweight. These women were simply taller than the average woman and looked to be fun loving ladies. Certainly nothing wrong with that. Several of their outfits were most provocative as well. Certainly nothing wrong with that. Of course these comments come from a fellow wearing blue suede deck shoes.

 

 

How does a town of 7,000 have well over 50 t-shirt stores?

The number of t-shirt stores in town amazed me. There had to be 50 or more. Many of them were set up in large temporary tents. Can you imagine a downtown area with a normal population of 7,000 having 50 or more different t-shirt stores? There were also a number of bars featuring live music. Everywhere I went folks were well-behaved.

 

 

I also noticed several tattoo parlors. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone getting a real tattoo in my life. Yes, I guess I have lived a sheltered lifestyle. I’m not sure a bevy of tattoos will get you very far in the corporate world.  Sometimes you just have to choose:  stock options or tattoos.  You won’t want to miss the pictures on this one.

 

 

Capitalism abounded.

America, more than any other country, is known for its capitalism. I’ve got to give people credit. When they come up with a creative idea that can turn a profit they are simply practicing capitalism.

 

 

There were two young capitalists standing in front of a storefront. These two young women were not wearing any clothing above the waist! Nevertheless to avoid being hassled by the local police they had creatively painted themselves up to meet the letter of the law.

 

 

They were charging bystanders a simple “donation” to take a photograph of their bodily presentation. Maybe they had a 503(c)? There was no shortage of takers.

 

 

Nut and bolts last week; roast beef sandwiches this week.

A few of the stores have been converted from their normal business presentation into a restaurant and/or bar. I walked into one place that was a hardware store 51 weeks out of the year and a restaurant/ice cream parlor one week of the year. I waited in line amongst boxes of nails and copper piping to buy a Diet Coke!

 

 

People watching at its finest.

Just people watching and bike watching made the evening an exciting one. I’ve always heard that the majority of people who go to Sturgis are really doctors, dentist and lawyers. However I’m not really sure that’s the case. Most of these folks looked a little rough around the edges.  I got to know the guy pictured above….Bobby V. from Chi-town.

 

 

It’s really very difficult to describe in words, photos or videos exactly what being in Sturgis during the rally week was all about. If this kind of adventure interests you I recommend you get on your Harley or in your Toyota Avalon and experience it yourself. I think you would have a good time.

 

 

Things were still going strong…but were going to get a little wilder real quick.

After I had walked around to my heart’s content I decided to head back to where I had parked my car. It was probably a little past 11 p.m. at this point. Things were still going strong in the heart of Sturgis and this was only night number one of the rally.

 

 

There were thousands of bikes parked in the middle of the streets that were closed off to normal traffic. I had taken a picture of the street sign where I had parked my car. I didn’t want to be lost in Sturgis.

 

 

When I did find my vehicle I hopped in and checked out the weather radar for tomorrow’s racing. They’ve been projecting a 60% chance of rain all week for Tuesday afternoon (tomorrow) when they planned to race. It certainly wouldn’t be good to come all this way and then get rained out. If I did get rained out on Tuesday I probably would stay to see the race on Wednesday. However that would screw up my plans for meeting Carol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday evening.

 

 

Bad news was coming from my phone.

The forecast for tomorrow, Tuesday afternoon, was improving. That was the good news. However the bad news was that some heavy-duty yellow and red radar was coming into Sturgis at this very moment.  Red on weather radar is BAD!

 

 

I had no idea it was supposed to rain tonight. I had not been in my car for five minutes when it started to rain and then it started to hail. The hail was so heavy I feared damage to my rental car. If I did get hit with hail damage it was probably going to cost me the deductible on my auto insurance policy, $1000 U.S.

 

 

But what about THEM?

Nevertheless I was safe in the cockpit of the National Car Rental Racing Toyota Avalon. I suspected there were thousands of people still partying in downtown Sturgis. They had no idea it was about ready to rain and hail. On the one hand I was glad I made it back to my car before the storm. However, seeing those thousands of bikes and people in the big storm would’ve been a sight to see.

 

 

I gave Carol my customary evening phone call. It poured down rain during the entire time we talked. She could even hear the rain on the other end of the phone back in San Clemente.

 

 

Why not just stay at the Super 8?

I had check hotel prices in Sturgis before coming out on the trip. A Super 8 Motel was going for $470 for one night. I had never heard of pricing like that any place in my life for such a property.

 

 

I also did some additional Google searching and found a website that lists the Wal-Marts that do NOT allow RV camping (or even Toyota Avalon camping) in their parking lot. One of those places was the location in Spearfish, South Dakota. That was where I was planning to go. I needed a new plan.

 

 

Why not?

I got to thinking. It was nearing midnight. I had a very nice parking spot just on the edge of Woodland Park. Why not just stay here? The price was right.

 

 

I leaned back the driver’s seat, brought out my travel neck pillow and foam rubber knee cushion to soften the hard edges and slept until 6 a.m. the next morning. I woke up not too much worse for the wear and began to figure out my plan for today, Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

TUESDAY

 

 

These folks like to sleep in.

When I went to bed last night where I was parked was packed.  I was lucky to get a parking spot at all.  However, when I woke up this morning in the Hotel Toyota Avalon the place was deserted….except for me.  That wasn’t a problem.  The “zero” added to my trackchasing hotel budget looked real good.

 

 

I had nine hours until my 3 p.m. race. What could I do?   I decided that an early morning visit to the local laundromat might be a good idea. I had just one day of clean clothes left. I figured that doing it now would be better than doing it when I got into Minnesota in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

 

 

Yelp! found me a nice laundromat in Rapid City. I would go over there, spend about an hour doing my laundry and dictate my Trackchaser Reports. Then I head over to Mount Rushmore to see that famous site again.

 

 

Coming clean.

By the way I must tell you this. I don’t fold my clean laundry. Who needs to fold their socks, underwear and t-shirts? I just throw everything in my dirty/clean clothes Dollar Tree acquired bag. I must tell you this as well. Carol does not agree with this timesaving strategy. She doesn’t agree with many of my timesaving strategies.

 

 

Dying laughing….inside.

It was somewhat comical, to me anyway, with what I observed in the laundromat. There were a couple of big bearded rough looking motorcycle guys doing their wash this morning. When they pulled their clothes out of the dryer they daintily folded each piece of their clean clothes. It was hilarious. I didn’t tell THEM it was hilarious. However, as Larry the Cable Guy would tell you, “That’s just funny”.

 

 

I don’t have all that many bucket list items anymore.

Visiting Mount Rushmore would definitely be on a lot of people’s bucket list. It was on mine as well at one point. However, I had checked this one off with Carol a few years ago. It’s such a special place that it warranted a return visit especially since I was in nearby Sturgis, South Dakota.

 

 

After I arrived I took the time to watch the short video regarding the construction of Mount Rushmore. The work began all the way back in the 1930s. Former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, a native of South Dakota, narrated the film. I was surprised to learn that 90% of the “sculpting” was done using dynamite!

 

 

As you might expect during the week of the Sturgis motorcycle rally the place was packed with bikers. It was a beautiful Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning. I’m sure lots of folks were seeing Mount Rushmore for the first time.

 

 

Why is stuff stereotypical?

There are certainly a large number of stereotypes to fit just about every situation. I read somewhere that stuff is “stereotypical” because more often than not it’s true. That makes sense doesn’t it.

 

 

In my experience I find that people feel more strongly about stereotypes in situations where they have little or no experience. I suspect that most folks don’t have much experience riding a motorcycle or hanging out with the people who do.

 

 

It’s easy to stereotype situations when the person advocating the stereotype has no experience with the situation. Quite often the person they are sharing their “wisdom” with doesn’t either.

 

 

Yep. One can learn a lot doing this.

The bottom line was this.  I had a great time visiting Mount Rushmore….again.  Now it was time to go watch people.  It was estimated there were 400-500,000 people in Sturgis this week. I try to be a keen observer of people. There were a lot of people to observe! You can learn a lot by simply watching and listening to folks.

 

 

Despite the hordes of people I encountered, either visually or in conversation, I never saw a mean-spirited act one time. I doubt I could say that if I rode the New York subway for five minutes.

 

 

Most noteworthy.

What I found most noteworthy was how friendly and respectful everyone I encountered was. In California if you were walking on the sidewalk and passed a person coming the other way there would usually be no acknowledgment conversation or a friendly nod. That’s just the way Californians do it.

 

 

However on at least four occasions during my brief time in Sturgis I had one of those situations where I would be passing another person walking or opening a door or whatever. On each of those occasions I wasn’t planning on offering a greeting or saying a thing at all. I was actually embarrassed when the other person would say hello, how’s it going or thank you for opening the door. It was sort of like when someone gives you a gift and you didn’t get them anything. It really was amazing since I encountered so many people in so many locales. It was certainly worth noting.

 

 

Free but not free.

There is no admission charge to see Mount Rushmore. However there is a parking fee of $11 per vehicle. The county park officer cheerfully noted that my parking pass was good for the rest of the year!

 

 

I had a plan, since I didn’t think I would be coming back to Mount Rushmore this year, to handoff my parking pass to someone who might be able to use it later today. I know. I’m too nice for my own good. That’s when I noticed my rental car’s license plate was imprinted boldly on the receipt. I guess that act of generosity was not going to work.

 

 

Gifts for everyone.

Next up on my agenda was to head back into downtown Sturgis. Since there was a souvenir T-shirt shop about every 25 feet I figured I certainly needed to get a souvenir t-shirt. And if I needed one of those then everybody in the family probably needed one as well. We could have our Christmas photo with everyone wearing a Sturgis motorcycle rally shirt!

 

 

It didn’t take long to find that special little “something” for every adult in our immediate family. With that activity behind me I spent several more minutes just people watching.

 

 

Last night when I first arrived I spent most of my people watching time after dark. It was a whole new genre of people to watch in the bright sunlight of today’s afternoon.

 

 

I am easily amazed.

I continue to be amazed at how tall most of the women were. The average height of these ladies had to be 5’8” to 5’10”. I wondered why that might be?

 

 

As mentioned above everyone was having a great time and being most well behaved. That’s somewhat unusual for such a large group of people. I would have to say I’ve never seen such a large group interacting as well as this one.

 

 

I was losing a little of my inhibition of not being “from around here”. I was still wearing blue suede deck shoes but it switched to a comfortable pair of cargo shorts. My light blue “Cabo” shirt was the only one of its kind in today’s large crowd. Most people wore t-shirts with either the name “Sturgis” or “Harley Davidson” or both proudly displayed.

 

 

I had found a place to park about three blocks away from the center of downtown. The motorcycle traffic was picking up by now. It was time to return to my rental car. I needed to make the short drive out to the Buffalo Chip off-road racing event that had brought me to Sturgis in the first place.

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Buffalo Chip – Sturgis, South Dakota

 

 

Would the rain hold off?

The actual racing was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. I was early by about 25 minutes. I paid my $20 general admission fee and in I went.

 

 

I have driven by the track this morning just to make sure I knew where it was. A large rain cell was expected to hit at 4 p.m. On my Wunderground weather app the rain looked much closer.

 

 

I didn’t know if the TORC sanctioned event would race in the rain. The weather radar showed lots of yellow and red. That made me believe it would rain hard for a while.

 

 

If today’s racing WAS rained out they were also planning to race tomorrow. Would I stay over an extra day to see that race? The answer is I probably would but I wouldn’t want to.

 

 

It was going to be a good 8-9 hour drive to the nearest major airport that I could use in Minneapolis. Since I had driven so far to the western edge of South Dakota I wouldn’t want to come all this way and then not see a race. If it rained and I didn’t stay I would have to make that long drive all over again at some future point in time.

 

 

Additionally, tomorrow, I was planning to meet Carol at the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. It would be most problematic if today’s event were rained out. I hope it wouldn’t rain.

 

 

Why would they hold an off-road truck race in the middle of a motorcycle rally?

There was a “fair” sized crowd on hand. The reason the race is held in Sturgis at this time of the year is because there are 500,000 motorcycle enthusiasts in town. That makes some good sense doesn’t it?

 

 

I’m sure the logic went, “If we can just get a small fraction of the entire Sturgis crowd” we will be doing OK. I believe this is the second year that TORC was having their off-road truck racing at Sturgis. This year they had a special “bike’s only” area where the bikers could park their bikes up close to the racing action. That was a good idea. 

 

 

How do they do it?

I don’t really understand exactly how TORC and Red Bull rally cross and several other similar race sanctioning groups can operate profitably. The crowds at each of these races are so small relative to their “national prominence”. There are huge race car haulers and expensive racing machines.  I’m suspecting they secured some kind of TV deal that can generate enough money to attract sponsors to foot most of the bills.  However, the TV ratings for these kinds of races cannot be very high. These organizations never do advertise their racing purse.

 

 

I must tell you that after being part of the “Sturgis scene” and visiting Mount Rushmore today’s racing almost seemed like an afterthought. Maybe it was the fact that I had driven a lot of miles to get here and wasn’t looking forward to the drive back to Minneapolis.

 

 

I am frequently motivated by the National Geographic Diversity standings.

However coming to South Dakota was important to me. I can help myself a bit in the National Geographic Diversity standings by getting this SD track and another I have plans for later in the summer.

 

 

Today I was seeing my 18th lifetime South Dakota track. I have two South Dakota based friends who have seen 20 and 19 South Dakota tracks respectively. I’m talking about Butch Knouse and Rob Palmer. I have trackchased with each of them in and around South Dakota.

 

 

I know Butch appreciates my generosity. Right?

As a matter fact I encouraged, then invited and then drove Butch Knouse a few hundred miles so that he could see a track in Rapid City a few years ago. That was his 20th South Dakota track. Now even if I do see one more South Dakota track this summer I’ll still be one track behind Butch! I hope he appreciates my generosity.

 

 

So what were they racing.

The first class of truck racing today had 11 competitors. The second group had just seven. The dirt road course was about a mile in length, I’m guessing. There were major heavy duty elevation changes.

 

 

Essentially the track looked like it had been carved into the side of a small mountain. The announcers did a good job over a stout PA system of entertaining and informing the crowd. There was also a video Jumbotron that broadcast some of the racing action even though I could see pretty much 100% of the track from my viewing position.

 

 

I could see the heavy duty rain clouds marching in from the west. I was really surprised that after these two feature events were completed it still had not rained. Even though I find this type of racing enjoyable it was time to head for the hills. Don’t miss the photos and video.

 

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

If you don’t like to drive get off the trackchasing superhighway.

I will be covering nearly 600 miles on the drive back from Sturgis area to Minneapolis. To top it off I would also lose an hour moving from the mountain to the central time zone.

 

 

This would put me into the small town of Owatonna, boyhood home of fellow golfer Dick Danielson, at about 2:30 a.m. I could sleep until 9 a.m. tomorrow before my day would begin with a drive up to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. My flight would take me to our nation’s capital then finally to a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

 

The first and only time?

This was the first time, and probably the only time, I would ever create a texting group of about 25 people to share in my Sturgis adventure. I guess it was somewhat like the “Twitter” idea.

 

 

I told you I am an observer of people. Maybe that comes from my sales background. In order to be successful in sales I needed to closely observe the people I was selling too. That way I could pick up cues about what they might like and what they might not like. To the degree that I could do that I would have a more successful business encounter and I hoped they would too.

 

 

Nevertheless what I have found is that just about everybody I have ever met is different in one or many ways. Some people I shared photos and details of the trip with were most encouraging as I could probably have predicted. On some other occasions people were more in a “questioning” mode. I probably could have predicted that as well.

 

 

Why share these travel experiences?

Nevertheless I really share my travel experiences for two main reasons. One is somewhat selfish. It allows me to document and record my extensive travel history. Someday when I’m in the “home” I can visit my website or have someone visit my website for me. Then I’ll likely be experiencing all of these trips and adventures for the FIRST time!

 

 

The second equally important reason for sharing is to create sort of a “Travel Channel”. Lots of folks like to travel and value the benefits of a broadly diversified geographical experience.  Still others like the idea of travel but don’t have the time or money or energy or inquisitiveness to make it really happen. Those folks can’t live vicariously through my travels without spending a dime. Right Wes?

 

 

I had a smile on my face….I usually do.

When I pulled into my Microtel hotel in Owatonna, Minnesota at 2:30 a.m. I had a smile on my face. Tomorrow I will be seeing Carol. That made me smile. I had just revisited a major bucket list item, Mount Rushmore, and enjoyed it as much as I did during my first visit. That made me smile.

 

 

I had checked off another major bucket list item. I don’t have many more to go. The Sturgis motorcycle rally was a most fun experience. I was smiling.

 

 

This rental car had been used up.

It didn’t take me long to hit the sack. Tomorrow I will be returning my rental car with 11,400 more miles on the odometer than when I picked it up about 27 days ago. I am a big fan of the Toyota Avalon.

 

 

Some people count sheep to go to sleep. Tonight I simply repeated my mantra which consists of just 15 words.

 

 

“The only true wealth is to be able to spend your time as you wish.”

 

 

Good night.

 

 

 

P.S. Did you REALLY count the words in my mantra?  Really?

 

 

 

 

South Dakota

 

 

The Mount Rushmore state

This afternoon I saw my 18th lifetime track in the Mount Rushmore state, yes the Mount Rushmore state. I’m just two SD tracks out of the state trackchasing lead. I have seen 18 or more tracks in 30 different states.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

World’s #1 Trackchaser

Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member

South Dakota sayings:   Traffic: When bison decide to cross the road you will be stuck for a while.

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Chicago, IL (ORD) – 1,745 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

O’Hare International Airport – trip begins

London, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 766 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #2

Indianapolis International Airport – trip begins

Bedford, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 603 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #3

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Aitken, MN

Morten, Manitoba, Canada

LaGrange, IN

Manchester, IA

Oskaloosa, IA

Bowling Green, IN

Buncombe, IL

Ionia, MI

Osgood, IN

Hemlock, NY

Taylorville, IL

Cambridge, MN

Mora, MN

Urbana, IL

Bedford, KY

Owenton, KY

Le Mars, IA

Belleville, KS

Grayslake, IL

Brazil, IN

La Grange, KY

Grayslake, IL

Sturgis, SD

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Laurel County Fairgrounds – $10 (not a trackchasing expense)

Trimble County Recreational Facility – $10

Aitken County Fairgrounds (oval) – complimentary admission

Aitken County Fairgrounds (RC) – $8

ALH Motor Speedway – complimentary admission

LaGrange County Fairgrounds – $10

Delaware County Fairgrounds – $10

Mahaska County Fairgrounds – $5

Sandstone – $15 (include pits)

HBR Raceway – $10 (included pits)

Ionia Free Fair – $13

Ripley County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Hemlock County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Christian County Fairgrounds – $8

Isanti County Fairgrounds – $12

Kanabec County Fairgrounds – $10

Champaign County Fairgrounds – $6

Dirty Turtle Off-Road Park – complimentary admission

Owenton County Fairgrounds – $10

Plymouth County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Belleville High Banks – $20

Lake County Fairgrounds – $8

Staunton MX – $15

Oldham County Fairgrounds – $10

Lake County Fairgrounds – $10

Buffalo Chip – $20

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS 

The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are:

 

Total lifetime tracks seen

Total “trackchasing countries” seen

Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

 

 

Total Lifetime Tracks

There are no trackchasers currently within 500 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,142

 

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.88

 

 

 

That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” production from the Sturgis motorcycle rally.

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below to see the one-minute “Video Lite” production from my visit to the 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Important.

If you feel provocative photos might easily offend you do NOT view this photo album. Now for the 99.44% of you who are now even more intrigued click on that link!

 

 

That’s right. Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day.  Double click on a photo to begin the slide show or watch the photos at your own pace.  Hover over a photo to read the caption.

 

 

The trip to Sturgis. Do NOT miss this photo album!