Just got this pic of downtown Sturgis which was taken at about 8:40 pm, CST, today.

As you can tell, there are already quite a few bikes there.

Looks like the party has already started, although I guess it doesn’t ‘officially’ begin until tomorrow.

This pic was taken by Lisa who is attending her first Sturgis Rally. She made the trip with her dad. They met just north of Odessa, TX at 6;00 am yesterday and started their journey by traveling about 600 miles or so to Burlington, CO where they spent the night. Then they were up and at it again early this morning before finally getting to Sturgis, or rather near there, where they set up camp around 6:00 pm today. Then they headed into town.

If you are headed that way, travel safe!

This year’s Blackgold Rally will feature that usual assortment of biker games as well as a bikini bike wash, a wet t-shirt contest and a wet boxer contest and entertainment from some quality, local bands as well as headliners D.B. Bryant Band (appearing later this year at Sturgis as well at the HD 105th Anniversary Party) and Back in Black (AC/DC Tribute band).

Benefiting the Bynum School of Midland, a local school school helping to educate youngsters with special needs, the rally is becoming a fixture in West Texas and a “don’t miss event” for bikers.

For more information, check out the rally site here or click on the thumbnail below for a view of the rally poster.

Blackgold Rally

Have just been informed that Beatnik Biker has been selected for inclusion within the motorcycle section of Alltop. You can get to the motorcycle section by followiing this link.

Here is how Alltop describes their site:

We help you explore your passions by collecting stories from “all the top” sites on the web. We’ve grouped these collections — “aggregations” — into individual Alltop sites based on topics such as environment, photography, science, Muslim, celebrity gossip, military, fashion, gaming, sports, politics, automobiles, and Macintosh. At each Alltop site, we display the headlines of the latest stories from dozens of sites and blogs.

Beatnik Biker should show up there within the next few days, so be on the lookout for us!

Alltop

Motorcycle Section at Alltop

Bikes of all shapes and sizes, traveling two abreast, were funneled down South Congress for well over an hour. Engines revving. Horns honking. Thunderous applause and shouts from the crowd at times. It was quite the show!

A good portion of South Congress and most of the famed Sixth Street between the interstate and South Congress were blocked off to traffic. That is, unless you were on two wheels. In which case you were free to continue to try to navigate the throngs on Sixth Street. Have heard one, unsubstantiated report that there was somewhere around 250,000 people at this ‘party’ last night!

Part of the fun was an outdoor concert with the stage set up at the intersection of South Congress and Sixth Street. The rest of the fun was in the many bars and clubs on Sixth Street and the surrounding area.

We actually made it to the legendary Maggie May’s to see a performance by Andy Macintyre and the Primal Groove. We have had the good fortune to have done some work with Andy in the past and thoroughly enjoyed his live performance. Very Stevie Ray Vaughn like.

We head back out to the rally site today to make our way through the fun and festivities there today and and to possibly see some of the great live entertainment that they have line up. Especially looking forward to seeing Joe Ely as I think he puts on a very good live performance.

Be safe in your travels and riding!

You can read about the criteria and make your nominations via the following link:

http://www.mbiweb.org/2008/
You have until February 1st to get your nominations in.

Enjoy!

Looking for something special for that special biker in your life? Is so, surf on over to Bikerdata.com and take a look at all the offerings currently available this Christmas.

You can find all things biker there as well as links to special offers and such.

While you are there, be sure to check out the Bikerdata Prize Tree, where a different biker gift will be given away daily until Christmas. There is not cost to enter.

And while you are there, don’t forget to sign up for the bike giveaway!

BikerData.com

In all, there are over 5,000 Sturgis pics spread out amongst 10 albums for your viewing pleasure. And there are even more photos coming!

And while you are at the BikerData.com site, don’t forget to click on the Bike Giveaway tab and enter to win an American IronHorse BANDERA.

If you happen to be the lucky winner of this bike, you will be flown into Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona 2008 Bike Week to be presented with the bike. What a fun little vacation that would be next year!

BikerData.com

Technorati Tags: motorcycle

The skinny on the service is this. You call in from your text enabled cell phone by dialing 347-328-4667 (DIR-ECT-IONS) and give voice commands for your start and destination. Then shortly, you will receive a text message with detailed, turn-by-turn directions from your starting point to the ending point.

Pretty slick!

Although currently only available for nine metro city locations, more locations are on the way.

This could be a good substitute for those of us who don’t yet have a GPS unit or want to access Google Maps or the like.

Enjoy!

Dial DIR-ECT-IONS

Get Directions with a Phone Call to Dial Dir-ect-ions [via Lifehacker]

Technorati Tags: motorcycle

Here is what the d30 website has to say about the material:

(dee-three-oh) is a specially engineered material made with intelligent molecules. They flow with you as you move but on shock lock together to absorb the impact energy.

This new technology has already been incorporated into motorcycle gloves (see Racer Gloves at www.racergloves.com) and a downhill slalom suit (see Spyder at www.spyder.com) to name a few.

One product, due out in this winter, that may be of particular interest to bikers is from a company called Sessions. They will be incorporating the d30 technology into their layering apparel. Details from the d30 website include the following:

Sessions have become the first to incorporate d3o into their range of first layers. This groundbreaking move has resulted in Sessions’ Thermatics d3o Crew and Pant being awarded the SnowPress Innovation Award 2007.

The men’s range of Thermatics first layer garments have d3o placed in the direct contact areas such as the elbows and knees to provide lightweight, flexible protection.

Thermatics d3o Crew: Wicking thermal knit; d3o protective elbow inserts; Thumbholes; Articulated body; Drop tail hem

Thermatics d3o Pant: Wicking thermal knit; d3o protective knee inserts; No side seams for reduced chaffing; Articulated body; Gusset fly with peek hole; Logo elastic waistband

Keep your eyes open for new developments with regards to the d30 technology and watch for more specific motorcycling applications to come.

And take a look at Charlie6′s post on this over at Redleg’s Rides, which you can find here.

Enjoy!

d30

Racer Gloves

Spyder

I want this when it comes out this Winter! [via Redleg's Rides]

Technorati Tags: motorcycle

Although not specifically designed for motorcycles, you should still be able to strap one of these on your bike and get your precious cargo home.

The carriers, by WineCruzer, were actually designed with the ‘jet-set’ crowd in mind, as is evidenced by this blurb from the WineCruzer website, which you can find here.

The ingenious WineCruzer wine carrier will allow you to transport your bottles securely in an indestructible hard shell case with closed cell foam, safely maintaining placement temperature for six to eight hours, and at 30,000 feet!

Ranging in models that will hold two bottles up to a massive 24 bottle carrier with rollers, these cases will set you back $135 for the 2 carrier and $495 for the 24 carrier.

Think of it as a little insurance policy for your purchase.

Enjoy!

WineCruzer

Dilemma: Carrying Good Wine On Your Motorcycle [via Bikes in the Fast Lane]

Technorati Tags: motorcycle