Mark Spearman

East Coast Sturgis is a motorcycle rally in Little Orleans, Maryland that’s held at about the same time as the real Sturgis in South Dakota. I wasn’t thrilled about going to something named after Sturgis, I wanted to actually go to Sturgis! Some friends asked that I visit them at the East Coast Sturgis and it was something that I actually had the resources to do, so I enthusiastically decided to go.

If you wanted to attract a huge number of bikers to your unique, but relatively unknown venue, and you wanted to do it at the same time as Sturgis, why not call it “East Coast Sturgis“? Sure, your riding on the coat tails of the most popular motorcycle rally, but why not? How many people on the East Coast want to go to Sturgis, but simply don’t have the time or money to make it happen? A huge amount. Why not use your venue to cater to them and use the Sturgis name to draw their attention to what you want to do? As tempting as it is to say, “This isn’t really Sturgis.”, why not enjoy something that you do have? As it turned out, East Coast Sturgis was great motorcycle event, so I’m glad I ignored the premise that an alternative just wasn’t good enough.

I started my trip to East Coast Sturgis from Central Ohio. I wanted to get there fast, so I took I-70 east, to I-79 south, to I-68 east. Boring, but fast, travel to Little Orleans. I arrived in about 8 hours on my Honda Shadow I had packed with:

• Tent
• Sleeping Mat
• Tool Kit
• Cell Phone
• Clothes

This is about all that you need for a motorcycle rally and some would argue less.

When I arrived at about 9:30 P.M., it was dark. When I left Interstate 68, I headed down a twisting and rough mountain road. The road’s surface kept getting worse and worse and the turns started getting tighter. One of the last that I came to was a  tight downhill sweep that nearly caught me off guard. At the end of it, loose gravel and dirt! I was caught a little off guard on this one. Then, I seen the signs for the rally and shortly after, arrived at the mass confusion and noise at the main gate. I asked where I could set up camp and I was just told to keep going and I’d figure it out.

Through the maze of roads in the woods, I kept asking people if they new of a spot to camp and they just shrugged. I ended up going down paths that a dirt bike would have problem navigating. Finally, I found a spot – right next to the Port-A-Potties. I was tired enough that I took it for the night.

The next day, my friends arrived and we found a spot on the main drag. It was perfect for watching all of the action that was just starting. Quickly, a camping hooch was set up, tents were in place, and motorcycle Camp Sombrero was named. My friends brought it all in a pickup truck that followed them in. Beer, food, chairs, and about anything else that would be required for this 3-day stay. Camp Sombrero served at the base of operations for the concerts and socializing with other bikers that passed.

I didn’t bring anything that would pain me to lose, for the exception of my Honda Shadow 750, but common sense would make you want to secure some things. There was just to much going on though. I wasn’t going to worry about it. To my surprise, nothing was ever touched. When I mentioned this after the rally to someone, they said that it’s just a code of bikers to help each other and that it’s rare for anyone to steal someone’s gear. If it did happen, chances are folks would come up with a replacement to get you by.

There were a bunch of concerts with many types of music. County, blues, rock, and more. Most of the bands were good. The main event was the Led Zepplin cover band, Kashmir. If you didn’t like any of the music, it wasn’t long until someone else was on stage.

The vendors had good food and the price was reasonable. I rarely used them as everyone camping was offering, if not demanding that you try some of their food. Beer was $2/can if you bought from the only vendor, a volunteer fire department.

As the days went on, things got crazier. I watched people do some crazy things. To crazy to mention here, but nothing that would hurt anybody else. I even seen Santa on a chopper. I seen people topple over in the gravel with some really expensive bikes, drunk people wandering about, and people just generally having fun. Seeing this many people just having fun was a rare and welcomed sight for me. I had some great discussions about the bikes.

The only part I found bad about the entire event was the shower situation. Thousands of people and limited water and showers. The website advertised great showers, but they were nothing more than a few shower heads in a clogged up converted mobile home. They weren’t so bad that I did not use them, so I wouldn’t say that this should be enough to stop anyone.

My friends were leaving a day before me and the rain just kept coming while they were there, so I saved my last day for riding. The area has some excellent motorcycle roads. They are a bit more traveled than Ohio’s best motorcycle roads, so I had to take extra precautions. I took a ride up to Shanksville, Pa. to see the sobering sight of the Flight 93 Memorial. It’s not much more than a literal hole in the ground with a barn full of information about what happened on September 11th. There working on an elaborate memorial, but the reality of what happened that day comes to you when you stop to pay respects here.

I spent the night talking with some new friends and resting for the ride home the next day. For the ride home, I had plenty of time and decided to take as much of the National Road as possible. The National Road, or Old Route 40 is a much better ride than the Interstates. There is history all along America’s first major road to connect the East and West. I highly recommend it.

You can watch the East Coast Sturgis website for information about next year’s event and more about the surrounding area. Until there, here are some East Coast Sturgis photos.