STURGIS, South Dakota — Dozens of motorcycles carrying American flags rolled down Main Street in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Friday signaling the start of the annual motorcycle rally.

The rolling procession was part of the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s opening ceremony and parade. It also included a welcoming message from the mayor of Sturgis for the 500,000 attendees expected to pack the small Black Hills town over the next nine days.

A member of the military sang the national anthem, and a “blessing of the bikes” was held. With the patriotic pomp and prayer over, it was go time for one of America’s most raucous events.

The odd thing was, the event was over just after 4 p.m.

Not 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. or even high noon, a time befitting of Sturgis’ Western heritage.

Why such a late start to the first day?

“They like to go riding in the morning when it’s cool,” speculated Cassey Weinhold, a bartender at One-Eyed Jack’s Saloon.

Maybe, but it’s also awfully convenient for those waking up late after imbibing a little too much on the eve of the rally, typically a big night for Sturgis bars.

The late-day start seems in-character for a city that published an entire webpage of drink recipes — like Jack’s Tennessee Honey Tea, Grape Sunrise and the Bacardi-infused Arctic Soda — on the official website for the city government.

The rally also remains one of the few major public events in the country that allows open containers, albeit in a zone that stretches about eight blocks on both sides of Main Street. Drinkers must use a special events cups, and only wine and malt beverages are permitted inside them.

Get Them An IV — Stat

This year, Sturgis has at least two vendors offering intravenous fluids to help rehydrate rallygoers.

One of those was Hydration Station IV Lounge, tucked away in the Thunderdome, a cavernous, 38,000-square-foot entertainment center located about 13 miles east of Sturgis that holds concerts and other events during the festival.

On Friday, stunt drivers were peeling out and making tight donuts in the Thunderdome parking lot as part of a rally contest; their junk cars pumping smoke, bits of rubber and screeching loud noise into the 93-degree heat.

But inside the arena, two men relaxed in foldable reclining lawn chairs as if they were in an oasis. Needles jutted out of their arms and saline solution bags dripped fluids over their heads back into them.

“When you’re dehydrated, you’re losing essential nutrients and minerals,” explained business owner Stacy Kenitzer.

It was the first year Kenitzer had opened a vendor booth at the rally. Her brick-and-mortar business is located in Rapid City, South Dakota, where she said she serves mostly people with medical conditions who have a hard time staying hydrated.

She also administers IVs for Rapid City Rush hockey players and rodeo participants, some of whom want to hydrate ahead of their events and others who desperately need to replenish fluids after.

Customers can choose a plain saline IV or one loaded with energy and vitality boosts that include vitamins C, B and magnesium, which helps prevent cramping, a symptom of dehydration.

Kenitzer, who is a registered nurse, said she believes her services would be in demand at Sturgis this year, primarily because so many riders are exposing themselves to 90-degree-plus rides this week.

Also Good For Hangovers

Kenitzer also recognizes that some of her clientele will likely be seeking help after rough nights.

Her goal was to serve 100 customers over the 10-day gathering. But by early afternoon Friday, she said she had only hooked IVs to four.

“One was really hungover,” she said. “The others were just dehydrated, overheated.”

A Slow Start

Some wondered why there seemed to be fewer people at the bars on the first day of the rally. Many of Main Street’s establishments that had opened during breakfast hours saw slower-than-normal business, bartenders told Cowboy State Daily.

Was it a case of an aging demographic? Boomers dominated the sidewalks Friday, but the rally has in recent years been getting younger.

The average age of attendees dropped from 53.1 years old in 2015 to 50.8 in 2022, according to a city survey.

At the Oasis Bar and Fireside Lounge, waitress Keri Jones bemoaned the lack of customers by lunchtime. It was her second year working the rally, and to the inexperienced eye, she seemed busy, juggling multiple tables.

But she said she only had four tables to mind. On a good day, she would be waiting on an entire section.

“Oh, looks like he needs a drink,” she said, before running over to a pair sitting at a high top. “I’m telling you, this is not busy. This is dead.”

Jones, like others wasn’t discouraged. It was just Day One. Nine more days to go.

Perhaps much like the rally’s opening ceremony, rallygoers are just getting a late start.

Justin George can be reached at justin@cowboystatedaily.com.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Complaints are brewing over a foul odor coming from the Anchor brewery in San Francisco.

People living near the brewery located on Mariposa Street in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, say they first noticed the stench earlier this week.

“We’ve just been referring to it as the bad breath smell,” said Sara Alfageeh, a San Francisco resident who often plays pickleball at a park across from the Anchor Brewing Company.

“It comes in whiffs and waves and it’s just a very strong, pungent odor, you know – it’s not pleasant,” added Shaharyar Anjum.

Sapporo sold the beloved brewery in May and it’s now gearing up to reopen.

MORE: San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing to be purchased by billionaire behind Chobani yogurt

“We definitely noticed a really awful pungent smell about two weeks ago,” explained Alfageeh.

From pickleball players to people coming out of a preschool down the block, there were plenty of complaints on the streets.

“The whole two or three-block radius smells like poop all the time,” said Ben Mann, who was picking up his daughter from preschool. “As soon as I get out of the car, it’s just over whelming, you can’t miss it – in fact I just saw someone get out their car over there and they said ‘ew it smells like poop.”‘

The smell is apparently coming from old wastewater treatment tanks used in Anchor’s brewing process.

A spokesperson for the brewery’s new owner told the San Francisco Chronicle that the tanks weren’t decommissioned properly, so they’ve now brought in crews to demolish the tanks.

Everyone from residents to runners, to dog walkers are starting to lose patience.

“It kind of smells like manure, it definitely smells like picking up horse poop which I’ve done before,” said Chris Castro, adding that sometimes he tries to avoid the area. “Unfortunately, I don’t always have that option, but yeah I’ll try to avoid the park here.”

Meanwhile, efforts to get the place cleaned up continue. There is no word on when the smell is expected to fade away.

Brenton Doyle stole the show.

The Rockies’ Gold Glove center fielder upstaged lefty Austin Gomber’s seven-inning gem and Brendan Rodgers and Kris Bryant’s big nights at the plate in a 5-2 win over the Padres on Friday night at Petco Park.

Doyle went “Air Jordan” to rob former Rockie Jurickson Profar of a home run in the eighth inning. Running at full speed, he leaped, reached over the wall and calmly snagged the ball. Reliever Tyler Kinley uttered, “Wow!” after Doyle’s magic act.

“I feel like I’ve made a lot of cool plays out there and that one felt really cool to me,” Doyle told Rockies.TV. “It seems like I take one away from my former teammate, Profar, every time we come here. But that one was super cool.”

Was that the best catch of his career?

“It’s up there,” he said. “It’s pretty cool because Adam Jones was a player I really looked up to growing up. And in the World Baseball Classic, he robbed a home run kind of in the exact, same spot.”

The victory was Colorado’s fifth straight over the Padres,  who came into the game riding a 9-1 hot streak. The Rockies swept three games from the Padres at Petco from May 13-15.

Gomber handcuffed the Padres, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out six and walking only one. He pounded the strike zone and got 10 outs via groundballs. Of his 27 first pitches, 23 were strikes, an 85.2  first-pitch strike percentage that ranks as the fourth-highest in franchise history (minimum 25 batters faced).

“Austin threw great, he was outstanding,” manager Bud Black told reporters in San Diego. “They have been on a nice streak and ‘Gomby’ held them down.”

San Diego’s two runs came on solo homers. Manny Machado led off the second with a homer to left-center, and Donovan Solano led off the fourth with a homer to almost the same spot.

Rodgers hit 3 for 4, leading off the second with his eighth homer of the season and adding a double in the fourth. Bryant powered Colorado’s three-run sixth inning, lining a bases-loaded double to center.

“That was big for KB,” Black said. “We’ve got to get him going. KB wants to be a big part of this and a night like tonight can give him a little bit of jump start as we go through these next two months.

“It’s been frustrating for KB, no doubt about it. But anytime you get a couple of hits, and knock in a couple of runs, you feel good about it. He wants to contribute and he wants to contribute in a big way.”

Marquez update. Right-hander German Marquez’s return from Tommy John surgery hit a snap after he made one start and then went on the injured list with elbow soreness on July 22 (retroactive to July 19).

On Thursday, Marquez threw his second bullpen session (34 pitches). He’s scheduled to throw another bullpen session this weekend. After that, he could go on a short rehab assignment or return to the rotation.

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.

Originally Published: August 2, 2024 at 10:51 p.m.