BORN IN THE USA, RIDDEN IN THE USA TO THE STURGIS RALLY!

How a group of a few Indian motorcycle riders started meeting, and how it turned into the world's largest motorcycle rally and gathering! This is my journey to the big daddy of all rallies, on an Indian Roadmaster!

- SUNDEEP GAJJAR/MOTOGRAPHER

There are bucket lists and then there are big buckets that need just one thing to fill them up.

When you talk about motorcycling, it is usually solo or done with a group of people who are hopefully like-minded and who won't kill each other by the end of the ride. At some point in our riding lives, we have been part of a group ride, a festival or a rally. The Sturgis rally is the mother of them all.

Without a doubt, it is the world's biggest motorcycle rally! And while I am on a mission to visit as many countries on motorcycles (currently the stat stands at 79 countries), Sturgis was the big ticket item for a long time.

This is the “Veteran Memorial” at the Buffalo Chip grounds near Sturgis. It is a large field of American flags planted annually to honor fallen soldiers, combat veterans, and the sacrifices made for freedom. The field is established at the beginning of the rally and involves thousands of volunteers placing flags to commemorate those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice. This moment couldn't get more American than this! What could be better for such a ride than to have a flagship motorcycle from Indian Motorcycle, the Indian Roadmaster! The Sturgis rally was founded by a group of friends and Indian motorcycle owners in 1938!

I picked up the bike from Minneapolis, Minnesota and decided to ride down to Sturgis and back for a total of 2,500 km. Out of Minneapolis, it is Highway 169, which is pretty straightforward and goes to one of America's largest' things, in this case, Minnesota's largest candy store. Wide open fields, railway tracks as far as the eye can see into the horizon, classic cruiser country.