Higher risk gravel road awaits Sturgis Rally drivers

SILVER CITY, SD (SDNW) – During a recent ride through this beautiful area of ​​the Black Hills, Ron Waterland saw firsthand the potential risks motorcyclists face when navigating the gravel sections of US 385 during the upcoming 2024 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Waterland has a cabin near Silver City, in the heart of the ongoing US 385 construction project. He says the gravel will make the narrow, winding two-lane road even more unsafe than usual during the Aug. 2-11 event.

On July 14, Waterland was driving from his home in Sturgis to his cabin when a light rain shower broke out. On U.S. 385, he saw two motorcyclists who had been swept away on a stretch of gravel road that will be back in place before, during and after the rally.

The two riders stood by, angry but unharmed, as their large touring bikes full of gear lay on their sides. “They were really unhappy,” Waterland said.

Waterland is a veteran biker and former Sturgis City Council member who led the annual Mayor’s Ride along U.S. 385 at numerous previous rallies. He is one of many rally veterans who worry that portions of U.S. 385 — the only major north-south highway through the central Black Hills — will become gravel patches during the event, potentially drawing half a million bikers to the Sturgis area.

“Guys, it’s a mess and it’s not a good place to ride right now,” Waterland told News Watch. “It (the gravel) creates stability issues for people traveling through that area and they’re going to take more risks than they normally would.”

Widening the road, smoothing curves on Highway 385

The South Dakota Department of Transportation has begun a $72 million project to rebuild 15 miles of U.S. 385, a popular and scenic route that has a rate of accidents and fatalities that is twice the state average.

The highway is the main link between popular destinations like Sturgis, Lead and Deadwood to the north and Hill City, Custer and Mount Rushmore National Memorial to the south. The two-lane highway winds around scenic Pactola and Sheridan lakes and past massive rock formations and dramatic mountain ridges. It often carries a mix of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, motorcyclists and tourist RVs and campers. And it helps fuel a regional tourism industry that brought $2 billion in revenue to South Dakota in 2021.

In the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, 187 crashes were reported along the route, with four fatalities and 57 injuries. A third of those crashes and most of the deaths occurred when drivers ran off the road, which in some places has almost no shoulder clearance, as they ran close to rock faces or over large drop-offs.

During the three-year project, DOT will widen the shoulders, smooth out sharp curves and add turn lanes to make the road safer.

The DOT’s goal is to reduce the number of accidents on this stretch of highway by 50%. This is primarily done by eliminating tight curves, increasing visibility for motorists, or widening the shoulders from 2 to 8 feet. This has been shown to be successful in reducing accidents caused by water runoff.

South Dakota DOT says surfaces will be safe

The DOT issued a press release on July 12 stating that U.S. 385 will be open to traffic in both directions for the remainder of 2024, including the Sturgis rally period. Construction on the project will be halted from July 31 to August 12 to accommodate the event.

However, the DOT project website also notes that the speed limit will be reduced and that the road will consist of portions of a “loose gravel surface” through the end of 2025. Additionally, the lane restrictions will cause delays of approximately 15 minutes in the area from Pactola Dam to Silver City Road.

Two DOT engineers — Todd Seaman in Rapid City and Bruce Schroeder in Custer — told News Watch in an email that they believe the gravel sections of U.S. 385 will be safe for rally drivers if they obey traffic laws, drive within posted speed limits and stay within their experience level.

The engineers said the highway will have a “blotter surface” from state Highway 44 south to Pactola, which they said closely resembles asphalt. A roughly 2-mile stretch of U.S. 385 north of Highway 44 will be a gravel surface treated with magnesium chloride, which helps suppress dust and can harden the road surface, they said.

During the rally, US 385 will also have a short, winding stretch of gravel road just south of the Pennington/Lawrence County border, where a culvert is being built.

The engineers noted that U.S. 16 west of Custer had a gravel surface during the Sturgis rally a few years ago and did not pose any safety concerns. They urged people with questions about the U.S. 385 construction project to visit the state project website or sign up for text updates by texting “us385” to 605-566-4041.

City of Sturgis changes route of mayor’s ride for rally

The construction of the highway and gravel roads prompted the city of Sturgis to reroute the annual Mayor’s Ride. Normally, the ride takes a large group of motorcyclists from rally headquarters south on U.S. 385 to Mount Rushmore National Memorial and then on to Custer State Park for lunch.

“Bikers hate gravel,” said Sturgis city spokeswoman Deb Holland. “That’s one of their biggest fears, that they’ll lose it because the gravel isn’t firm enough.”

Holland said the 2024 Mayor’s Ride will instead go to Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming and end with a lunch at a restaurant in Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

“We spent a year talking about how to adapt,” Holland said. “The city saw it early and wanted to plan something that wouldn’t throw us right into the belly of the beast.”

Holland said the city estimates that attendance for the 84th annual event will be quite low this year, around 450,000 to 500,000. Previous reporting by News Watch showed attendance in 2023 was around 458,000, down more than 8% from 2022.

Holland said the first flat track cycling races through downtown Sturgis on Sunday, Aug. 11, should boost interest and attendance on the final day of the 2024 event.

Holland said Sturgis rally bikers know there are a few spots where gravel is likely, and they should be more careful in those areas. She said a few campground entrances can pick up loose gravel, and noted that the Fort Meade Way backroad to the Sturgis Buffalo Chip has been gravel for years, although it has been treated with magnesium chloride and has become firmer over time.

Holland urged motorcyclists to use caution during construction of U.S. 385, which is expected to last until 2027, but she said she doesn’t think the project will reduce rally attendance or drastically change how riders behave or where they ride during the event.

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s just going to be a blip or a thorn in our side,” she said. “For two years, we can deal with it, and in the long run, I think everyone will appreciate what the state is doing to improve safety.”

Riding on marbles or ball bearings

A 2016 article in “Rider Magazine” discussed the uncomfortable feeling many motorcyclists experience when riding over gravel.

“Why do we get so tense when things come loose under our feet (or under our tires, as it were)?” the article reads. “Because things feel a little strange and unfamiliar on unpaved roads. The bike moves more beneath us on unpaved surfaces, the front wheel seems to wander, and the handlebars come to life in our sweaty palms.”

Jon Doyen, a test rider for Harley-Davidson Black Hills, seen here July 17, 2024, near Rapid City, SD, said riding on gravel is more dangerous than riding on asphalt, especially for less experienced riders. (Photo: Bart Pfankuch/South Dakota News Watch)

Jon Doyen, 49, has been riding motorcycles since he was a boy and continues to do so both as a recreational rider and as a test rider for Black Hills Harley-Davidson in Rapid City.

Doyen said gravel surfaces reduce traction for a bike and limit a rider’s control while riding. He said gravel can be managed by riding slower and being more cautious, but the uneven surface undoubtedly poses more hazards for cyclists.

“When you’re riding on soft gravel, it can really grab your front tire,” Doyen said.

Gravel also poses challenges when turning, because even a few pebbles accumulating where the gravel meets the road surface can pose a hazard when turning or even stopping, he said.

“One little pebble can be like a ball bearing or a marble,” Doyen said. “You put your foot down and your foot just slides out from under you.”

Doyen looked down and shook his head, remembering the time a biker friend tried to stop on a gravel road and splayed his foot outward, causing the bike to fall and tear open his groin area, resulting in a painful surgery and recovery.

“That’s a tough place to get injured,” he said. “It was dirty because he had to change the bandages four or five times a day.”

According to Waterland, the current gravel path on US 385 is difficult to ride for experienced cyclists, but can be extremely dangerous for inexperienced cyclists, especially at night or in the rain.

“If you’re an experienced rider, you can usually handle it. I’ve even ridden on muddy roads in the rain without any problems,” he said.

Waterland added that while many rally drivers have logged many miles behind the wheel, there are always a fair number of visitors to Sturgis who are new to traveling on two wheels.

“I think there are more inexperienced drivers than you would think on the rally,” he said. “Gravel is not a nice surface and it is quite easy for them to go down.”