When I tell non-motorcycling friends and family that I ride bikes, they all ask me “have you been to Sturgis?” Always.
Well no, in fact, I haven’t. Not yet. I plan to but haven’t made the excursion yet. It always comes in the middle of the summer when it is blistering hot, and since I like to camp, that doesn’t always work together.
But Sturgis is not really my “thing”. I have a lot of biker friends, I enjoy handing out with them and admiring their bikes, but I don’t really live the biker lifestyle myself.
A BMW rally is the antithesis of a Harley Davidson rally. A different type of person attends a BMW rally. Not that they are any better or worse than the people who attend a Harley Davidson rally like Sturgis, just different.
For example, chrome is a four letter word at a BMW rally. As in “bad to have”. Instead, BMW riders are all about functionality. Many ride their bikes across the world and they are way more concerned with how a bike functions than how it looks. Reliability is extremely important to a BMW rider. Hence you see spare tires and tubes and tools hung off their bike instead of leather fringe. Camping in the evening it much more – shall we say – mellow? BMW riders are known to put back a few brewskies, but in a much more laid back, relaxed manner than you might see at a true biker rally. You also won’t see women flip their tops up to show their wares in exchange for some cheap plastic beads. It just doesn’t happen at a BMW rally. Not sure that is good or bad mind you, but you probably won’t see that site at a Beemer function.
What you will see is classes, training, camping, demonstrations of useful riding gear and equipment, and an emphasis on long distance two wheel travel. You will be amazed by the ingenuity of many of these riders. Sure, there are a few “posers” in the crowd, but more often than not you will see true hard core long distance motorcycle travelers in the crowd.
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