Episode 478 - Talking with Woody from the Buffalo Chip

Hello boys and girls and welcome to episode 471 of the Motorcycle Men Podcast. I’m here as always in the corner booth at the V‑Twin Café. Today on the show, we’re sitting down with Cody Ertman of the world‑famous Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota. Cody is one of the people helping shape the experience for hundreds of thousands of riders who roll into the Chip every August, and today we’re talking all about the 2026 Sturgis Rally — the events, the camping, the entertainment, and what first‑timers can expect when they make the pilgrimage.

Scorpion Helmets:
They offers high quality, innovative motorcycle helmets and technical apparel at an incredible value. To learn more, visit scorpionusa.com”

Wild-Ass Seats:
You can improve your comfort and ability to stay in the saddle longer with a cushion from wild-ass seats. So, if you are tired of those painful pressure points and fatigue, go to wild-ass.com and get your cushion today.

Viking Bags:
A World leader in motorcycle luggage and one of the fastest growing companies in Motorcycle Parts. Luggage for whatever you ride and wherever you go.

Tobacco Motorwear:
For the best in casual riding gear for men and women, there is only one place you should be going and that is Tobacco Motorwear. Visit them at TobaccoMotorwear.com and our listeners get 10% off your order when you use the code “MotoMen”. Your safety is worth it. So, get on over to tobacco motorwear and get in Dave’s pants.

Thank you for joining me and Cody Ertman here in the V‑Twin Café, where he gave us a great look at what riders can expect at the Buffalo Chip during the 2026 Sturgis Rally. You can learn more about everything happening at the Chip by heading over to buffalochip.com. Links will be in the show notes and of course on the Motorcycle Men website at www.motomenpc.com.

Don’t forget to go over to the Ride With Ted YouTube channel to check out the many videos I’ve got there — and if you would, please like and subscribe. It’s a tremendous help to the channel and to the podcast.

Get your copy of my book The Road Most Traveled now direct from me on the Motorcycle Men website and save nearly eight bucks. It’s still available on Amazon, but if you get it from me, I’ll even sign it for you. 

For the rest of the Motorcycle Men team, thanks for listening. Remember — we say stupid crap so you don’t have to. Ride safely, kids.”

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Motorcycles.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Hello, boys and girls, and welcome to episode 478 of the Motorcycle Man Podcast. I am here in the corner booth at the V Twin Cafe, and joining me today, all the way from Sturgis, South Dakota, Mr. Rod Woodruff, the guy who takes care of the Buffalo Chip. Woody is one of the many people helping shape the experience for hundreds of thousands of riders who roll into the chip every August. And today, he's going to tell us all about the 2026 rally, the events, the camping, the entertainment, and what first timers can expect when they make the pilgrimage. But before we get into that, a quick shout out to the amazing sponsors who help keep this show rolling. Scorpion Helmets. They offer high quality, innovative motorcycle helmets and a technical barrel at an incredible value. So to learn more, get on over to scorpionusa.com. And wild ass seats. Now you can improve your comfort and ability to stay in a saddle longer with a cushion from Wildass Seats. So if you're tired of those painful pressure points and fatigue, get on over to wild-ass.com and get your cushion today from the real Craig Johnson. And make sure you let him know that we sent you on over. And Viking Bags, a world leader in motorcycle luggage for one of the fastest growing companies in motorcycle parts as well. Luggage for whatever you need, wherever you go, whatever you ride. Viking bags. Great stuff. And as always, tobacco motorware for the best in casual riding gear for men and women. There's only one place you should be going, and that is Dave's pants over at Tobacco Motorware. That's right. Visit them at tobacco motorware.com, and our listeners will get 10% off your order when you use the code Motomen. So your safety is worth it. Get on over to Tobacco Motorware and get in Dave's pants. Alright, let's get into that interview with Woody.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Good afternoon.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Hello, Woody. How you doing? Joining me today, we're back, and joining me today all the way from Sturgis, South Dakota. We got Rob Woodruff. Woody, how you doing, sir?

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Excellent, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

And as you said earlier, it's always wonderful in Sturgis, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

You know, yeah, the weather here is always perfect. And so things are sweet. Things are sweet. Just looking for another 49 days till uh a bunch of stuff starts happening for a motorcycle rally. And July 1st, we have a little Jeep Freedom rally for a Jeep rally. Oh, geez, really?

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Oh, so you're busy.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yeah, so it uh we're just uh trying to kick butt, and I think it's working.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

Yeah, I think it is working. So, Woody, you uh manage, run, own, operate the buffalo chip. Uh how long you've been doing that?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Uh, this is our 45th consecutive annual event. Um so we've been here since 1981, and uh yeah, things are cooking.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

Uh now it's now the rally's coming up. You said, like you said, 49 days. Uh, when do you guys start planning for the rally?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

When do we start planning for it? Is there's every day. 24-7, 365 operation. You know, there's always something to think about.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

And uh once in a while you pick out uh something that sounds like a pretty good idea and try and focus on that for a while.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Oh, so you're not just like throwing darts at the wall and see what happens, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Uh well, sort of, but uh the bottom line is you always I tell people, you know, what if you throw a party and nobody comes?

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

And so our deal is always what uh what's gonna make a few people more comfortable, a few people happier, and uh, you know, actually like to do that for quite a few people if we can.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

Yeah, of course. Uh what are some of the biggest uh most complicated moving parts of getting the uh the chip ready for the rally?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Well, the truth of the matter is that uh if you don't think of everything, um is that thing you don't think of that's gonna be a killer, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

That's the one that's gonna bite you in the ass.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Right? Yeah. And so um we try to get everything covered, and uh my goal for 45 years has been to have a whole event go through and not have a single legitimate complaint. And uh now that's a real challenge when you got a few hundred people choosing through, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Right. Well, okay. Well well, I mean, what when you're when you're setting things up, uh things like your your vendors, your infrastructure upgrades, whatever you have to do, even the entertainment, how far out are you into locking all that stuff down? Or does that stuff happen right up to the very last day?

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Um actually it uh everything changes by the second, right? Oh, really? You can plan, you can plan for all year, every year, right? And so you got a vendor that you're putting here, and it turns out he got a new rig that's two feet longer or four feet wider, and uh, you know, and so the devil's in the details, and you can't really keep up with all of them all the time. So, you know, we just try to be flexible um about everything. So you try and get the infrastructure set, um, as I've been telling people for centuries, when you're in the people business, you're really in the water and power business, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Pretty much, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:21

You know, so you know, are 400 uh you know porta potties really enough?

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Uh you know?

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Oh man. Um so you uh just try and figure those things out. It's a gamble. Maybe you needed 401.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

And you don't know until the day comes, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

There's that guy that decided he was gonna camp a mile and a half away, and there's not one there, you know.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Right. And the guys that had decided the breakfast breakfast burrito is the thing to have. Okay, so uh at some point uh it gets to be crunch time when you realize, okay, you know, we only have uh a couple weeks left or a month left. When does that time come? And what challenge I mean, have you grown to ex uh expect these kind of challenges?

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Well, you you uh you have to always expect all these challenges, and the ones that uh you don't expect, you're trying to figure out what those are gonna be, right? Because there's always surprises that are gonna come up from some direction that you weren't uh, you know, that's what they that's why they call that's why they have accident accidents, right? Is it's that one little unexpected thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

And so what uh when is crunch time and you say, hey, we really gotta start paying attention. Um I really focused on that about 355 days. So, you know, because you know, when the rally's over, when the rally's over, we know something could have been done better.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

And we it's gonna be one year before we know whether or not we fixed it, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Oh man. Oh uh, so I so I guess at some point it becomes like, okay, we got a week left. What else can we do, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Um, well, there's always there's always that time. There's always almost I can't imagine the time there isn't something that could be done if you know that there's the issue, um, then it's either taking care of it yourself or finding someone who can and will.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

And so um we work on that by our staffing. Uh try to plan the staffing as best we can. And of course, you know what happens there is that sometimes different people have different issues in their lives and it doesn't turn out. Uh so yeah, I have plan B, plan C, and plan D, right? So, you know, you decide what you're gonna do, and then you figure out how to do it, and then you figure out well, if that doesn't work, you know, next best approach is gonna be this.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

So that that's the approach we take.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

So looking out, I'm looking out my window, and uh we have a building that uh there's not one stick of it up there yet, and in 49 days I expect it'll be done.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

Right? You got a new building going up, huh? Yeah. Oh man. So but the other challenge you have is like you have the Jeep rally happening before Sturgis. Yeah. So you gotta work around that and get ready for so how do you do that? How do you get ready for both at the same time? Um, well, you know, it's it uh There's different needs for different groups.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Well then, you know, there's uh actually there are different groups. Uh there's a lot of Jeep people who uh have motorcycles. There's a lot of motorcyclists who probably have Jeeps. Um, but the bottom line is that everybody's coming for a vacation.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

And we're they're coming to have a good time. They know they're coming up here, they're gonna have room, elbow room for whatever. They're gonna meet some people that they didn't know, they're gonna meet some friends that they talked about that are meeting them here. They're gonna go for some rides um on this trail or that trail or this highway or that highway.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

They're gonna sit someplace and you know have a snack somewhere along the line. So um it uh really it's kind of the same thing, different set of wheels.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

And essentially uh the same kind of people. There's people that are nice people, they got toys that uh are uh gener, you know, also transportation. Yeah, you know, they love the little things they they got, they love their lifestyle, they got some, you know, custom things. It uh it's really it's the same thing, just a little different. Awesome. How long how long is the Jeep rally? Um the it's actually the second through the fifth um of July every year, but um they got pretty excited about um the view from up on the hilltop there, just being able to see into Wyoming and into North Dakota kind of stuff and what the sunsets look like. You get out of town and you get to a place where you can actually see for a hundred miles. Yeah, uh it uh it's kind of like, oh my god, look at the sunset, right? Oh, look at the sunrise, right? We don't have this at home, right? There's buildings in the way, and uh so uh yeah, you got a little new experience, and all of them are are pleasant. Even when you see a storm coming, hey, look at that storm, those are some pretty fancy clouds.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

All right, so for the for the first timer that's coming to Sturgis and you're staying at the buffalo chip, what should they expect from the moment they hit the gate?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Well, the moment they hit the gate, they should go to the box office and get their credentials. And then depending on what they're traveling in, um, we're gonna either point them in a different direction or there'll be somebody there to guide them to a space where they can park their RV and hook up to power and water, that sort of thing, yeah, and uh start calling it home for as long as they're gonna stay here, right? Right. Now that's really that's simple, and then as they go, I mean, there we got little signs up there. You are here, and this is uh over here, and that's over there, and so it's kind of like all right, better go see what the uh food availability is, and you know where the bars are, and where's that uh music coming from? And you know, I heard there were gonna be some you know bikinis at the beach, right? So uh where is that? Right, it is right over there. So, you know, and and that's really that's really it. Um it's uh there's really 600 acres that we use um right here, and so you got uh miles of roads, um, you know, trails to cruise around and just look at stuff. You know, there's shower building here, shower building there, a couple of four or five shower buildings over there. Um, you know, just uh look around. Where's the uh off sale uh beer stand, right? Where I can get a bag of ice, um, you know, that sort of thing. And what goes on over here? Um, so what's the schedule, right? So, you know, if it didn't come prepared, but really that stuff's all available someplace on the website, okay, and uh, you know, it'd be nice to print it out in advance and just think, I'm gonna check this out, check that out. So, but when they come, first thing is that they're gonna be greeted by somebody that should have a smile on his face and be welcoming them to the buffalo chip, and uh, you know, they can tell those people what any questions that they have and get an answer right. But um, a good share of them are gonna be escorted to uh where they are headed.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

Okay. Now, as far as the camping, let's talk about the camping. How many camping spots do you have on site for RVs and tents, etc.?

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Well, we've got 600 acres. If you're tent camping, you know, there's 500 in some of those acres, you can just pitch a tent on it. Um pick a place to get a nice view, and as uh close or as far away, as close to or as far away from somebody else as uh you want to be, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

And you know, oh okay, I want to get to sleep early. Um, you know, here's a quiet uh deal, and uh where the all of the broadcasts from the concerts and stuff are blown the other way, and you're not gonna hear it much. And uh on the other hand, maybe you want to be right in the thick of it, and so you want to get as close as you can to where the action is.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

That's available, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah. Yeah, there's uh there's literally something for everybody here.

SPEAKER_02 15:39

So as far as the types of camping, I guess that you of course naturally tent camping and RV camping. Uh how do riders choose what setup best works for them and how do you direct them to where they should be going?

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Well, you know, it's uh again, people have some uh common preferences, and one of the things people like is they like to be close to water. So then we got a little creek, we got three or four ponds out here with some water. Nice, and uh and some trees for shade, extra shade around and stuff, and so you know, you go find a nice little spot, and if they're been if they've been here before, they'll come early maybe next year because they got a favorite spot that somebody beat them to last year. Yeah, you know, so they're doing the same thing. I'm beating the other guys, you know.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

So people can't reserve a spot though.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

Well, that's not quite true, but um um you know, there are some spots that we reserve, and there are some cabins and there are some uh suites that we have overlooking the amphitheater. Um those are all rented, right? Specific to somebody. And uh then there's some VIP area for camping, so backstage, and you know, that comes along with uh, you know, a bunch of free food and beverage and and uh you know some premium viewing space. Um yeah, there there are you know some and it uh just depends. If you got a great big RV and you want to park in a nice little space with some shade, um, you know, we can put you put you there.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

Yeah. What kind of amenities can the campers look forward to?

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Oh, you know, I would say that uh people would really ought to be roughing it, um, is what they ought to be thinking about. When we started, of course, when we started, we chased the cows out and there was nothing left but the grass that the cows hadn't eaten yet, right? And uh so that was where we started. Now we got you know, you got electricity, so you can plug in and park in, got your air conditioner to stay cool. You got you know, free showers, um, got some deluxe showers that uh used to be military showers, and uh and then you got this food place, that food place. So we got a couple of dozen places that you can get a snack with different menu items, and uh same thing with beverages, and uh depends on kind of like the time of day as well. We got um free uh pancake breakfast in the morning every morning. That sounds nice. Well, you know, and actually they're the best dang pancakes I ever had either. So I I I lust after them all year long, thinking my god, I can't wait for them to get here and start making some of that pancake because it's just extra specially good tasting for me. And uh so that's that sort of thing. And then later when things get going, when you're during the rally, you got the bike shows set up different places. You want to go see that the motorcycles desert exist exhibition. Yeah, that that is great.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

I've always enjoyed that.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

Yeah, you know, so we got we'll have I think 36 uh different builders. Well that we'll have uh more than six builders with Bob, probably about 36. Well, let's just say 30. I'm not actually running that, but um the curated, you know, it's you got more than two dozen custom built motorcycles on display um for one week in uh what's a world-class uh museum quality exhibition. And on the walls you look and you find uh you know some artwork by Scott Jacobs, David Yule, some of the Ray Dre, and some really, really cool art out there on display as well. And we got an extra special little treat uh this year, too, for something we picked up uh from a Harley dealership that uh uh was kind of when Harley was downsizing um this particular dealership went out of business, and uh so we got a a little sculpture that we put up. But I think if I'm right, and I'm not, so this is gonna be wrong, but I'll say it's about 26 feet wide, nice, and uh you know, probably about 15 feet tall, and uh we've mounted that on a wall, and really I think it's really about the most appropriate thing that we could have in a motorcycles is art exhibition. Yeah, really it's gonna it's gonna be an eye catcher that uh we're we're pretty pleased to have in there, so um that uh there's that, and uh one of the things when you talk about amenities, it's just how comfortable you can be. And so yeah, we've got we've got this new building I was telling you about that's going up. It's gonna be nice shade in the afternoon, a little goofing off, and a nice place to see some stunts, and we build a new area for having stunts, okay, um specifically. And um, so um there'll be that. So, but again, I don't want to take away from uh the whole Black Hills um thing because it's an experience, it's a geo geological wonder. Oh, yeah, and uh geographically it's uh you know 100 square miles of mountains um that has you know Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, uh one of the seven natural wonders of the world being uh uh Devil's Tower. Yep, and um some of the nicest riding roads anywhere in the world. Absolutely. Just one thing after another.

unknown 21:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Um you can get run over by a herd of buffalo if you halfway try.

SPEAKER_02 21:59

Absolutely. As far as it goes for uh things that are happening at the at the chip and and the big engine bar, what should people expect there?

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Uh for entertainment? Yeah. Yeah. Well see, I was gonna do a little dancing. Oh no, that's not very much fun.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

You got some big names this year. We're we're pretty excited about that.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

You know, it's uh we do. We got we got something for again, we we try to have something for everybody. So I mean, we just have everything from five decades practically, from going from the 70s to you know the 2030s, I think, because I think when you look at a Youngblood as the future of rock and roll, I think uh Ozzy was right when he picked Youngblood as uh being the savior of rock and roll in the future his future. So there's Youngblood. We start off with uh David Lee Rock doing a show from his Van Halen days, right? I mean he um there's uh millions of albums out there uh from way back when albums were albums, yeah, that uh you know sold with songs everybody knows that uh you know he was the uh the voice of and and the author of some of then uh let's see on uh that's on Friday, our opening Friday, and we got a bunch of stunts and a little parade and stuff for a kickoff party, right? So um that turns out pretty well. Then on Saturday, um we start that off with uh the bare knuckle fighting championship. So we got some professional uh fighters out here with you know in the boxing ring, set up a separate uh area for it so that we could also have a major league concert. And that major league concert is uh Megadeth, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

So I think that's gonna kick some butt. Um, you know, so if case nobody got their butt kicked badly enough with the bare knuckle fighters, um you got megadeth to beat on you. And uh so then I think from there we go, what, Sunday? We got Youngblood, um, which uh you know was uh something a lot of us, I guy a lot of us never heard of.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

But uh he just uh he sold out his whole American tour a year in advance, and I still hadn't even heard of him. But um the every woman in the world, I think, seems to have heard of him. And I tell you, he's uh he's a phenomenon. I went out of my way to go to one of his shows just so I could see what I might be getting into. And it's one of the most amazing concerts I've ever been in. Really? There were 10,000 people that bought seats and nobody ever sat down. Wow, right? Okay, you know, it it he was he had crowd control, crowd appreciation like I've never ever seen, right? That's awesome. So that's Sunday, and I think what do we have on Monday? I should know this kind of stuff, but I think uh Monday we got collective soul and uh um and skillet, I think.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Yeah, yeah, I see that.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

And Tuesday is uh let's see, it's probably collective soul is on Thursday now that I think about it. So I'm almost the wrong guy to ask these questions. On Tuesday is Leonard Skinner as the headliner, and uh on uh Wednesday is uh Laney Wilson.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

That's gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Oh, you know, she's a phenomenon. I mean, we uh we booked her, and right after that she wins uh multiple Grammys, and she's on you know winning all these other awards, she's everywhere. And the music is the reason. I mean, she makes some good friggin' music for a lot of people. So that's gonna be fun. And then it's Thursday, it's collective soul, and somewhere in there is also Buck Cherry, and uh and we got a band there that also that comes in for um a couple of nights there early in the week on I think uh Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, um, hairball just kind of bringing in everything, you know, that you talk about just a plain old really good bunch of performers with music that we all know and love and we can remember, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Yeah. So there's that. And uh I think Friday, what'd we do? We just announced uh oh, actually, we announced uh uh hailstorm for the opener for Laney Wilson. We did that just today. Oh wow, it was yesterday we announced uh hailstorm. So and uh I'm gonna have to get out the schedule myself, kind of wore out my memory bank here for the last Friday. Wow, but uh yeah, and then uh we just uh haven't announced yet uh the Saturday's uh deal, but we're gonna have a nice rally wrap, you know, and wrap up the the the party as well um when we get uh for Saturday. So but again, we haven't announced those yet, so those are coming.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Oh, awesome! So you got some surprises for everybody coming up, huh?

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Well, including me apparently, right?

SPEAKER_02 27:25

Yeah, we're looking forward to that dancing.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

Well, yeah, don't hold your breath.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Uh the attendance at the chip has always been something very interesting. What kind of capacity are you looking like for for these days to coming up?

SPEAKER_00 27:42

Um, you know, we have more people, we have more space than what we're gonna use, right? We got 600 acres that uh active use that includes a couple of racetracks. Um, so we're right in the middle of the uh rally on Wednesday, for example, we got the folks from the King of the Hammers, uh, the Ultra Four coming out with their you know trucks gonna do some racing. Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 28:06

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Um, and then early on also there was Yellowstone off-road racing for motorcycle uh racing. Um, so yeah, that uh yeah, for I forget what else I'm supposed to be saying about it, whatever, but um, I need another question, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Okay. Let's talk about your vendors. How many vendors do you guys have set up and booked for for this year?

SPEAKER_00 28:32

A little over a hundred.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

And so there'll be something, again, for everybody to like, I believe.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

And uh the vendors are gonna be excited because we've uh made some some changes to accommodate more parking. And the uh vendors, we've actually gotten to the point where we're doing a vendor village, and I probably mentioned poured a bunch of concrete and got a new uh uh stunt area and a nice little shade uh building out here so that people can be in the vendor village back and forth um and have some shade and watch some stunts all at once from pretty much the same place.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

Now is Camp Zero all part of this managing this whole thing?

SPEAKER_00 29:24

Certainly. Yeah. Um, but uh yeah, it's uh little place with uh the intention kind of where it's kind of started off thinking the Camp Zero thing is just a bunch of uh you know, live live uh live fast and don't die kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 29:42

So you had a little attitude saying, hey, let's go take some risks that they yeah, it's kind of a different environment down there between the chip and camp zero. It's like a whole different world going on down there.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Yeah, it's uh it's a different group of people, that's for sure. But it's really we kind of wanted one place that still reminded us of when we very first started, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

And so there's there's that, and you know, that just takes a certain youthfulness that not everybody has, but we all like to see, right?

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Yeah, of course. Of course. Uh I want to ask you a couple questions uh about the site itself. Now you have the field of flags. How many flags do you have on that field?

SPEAKER_00 30:26

Um actually we call it the Freedom Field rather than a field of flags, right? Because it's uh it's uh 804 American flags in formation with uh commemorative uh uh memorial grounds in the middle of it. And uh yeah, we have uh we'll put those flags up, and I'll invite everybody that listens to your podcast here to come on August 1st at 5 o'clock. That's a Wednesday. Um, and uh we'll put them all up, put them up in about a half hour. Um, we'll have guest uh speaker keep it short, but uh we'll have the whole thing you know up, and there's just nothing more beautiful than having those flags flying free out there in formation. It's just heartwarming to see.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

It's definitely it's awe-inspiring, really. I have I have seen it, so I can I can attest to that. It's really wonderful. Uh as far as goes. What's that? I said just thank you. Yeah. Uh as far as it goes for the campers, the guys who are people who are in RVs, is there a dump station for them for them to take care of their business?

SPEAKER_00 31:42

Yep, absolutely. There's uh three possibilities there. So there are two dump stations, one at each end of the can of uh the the principal campground where all the RVs are.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

And uh there's also a uh sanitation service here with a truck truck that'll come around and uh pump them out.

SPEAKER_02 32:00

Okay. And how many, how many times a day? Because you have how many porta potties do you have there? Over 400. Over 400. How many times a day do they get cleaned out?

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Uh well, some of them are attended uh all day every day. Really? Oh my gosh. That depends. So some people have some people make arrangements to have porta potty for their own campground.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Certainly. Yes. Yeah, we have quite a few people that uh have them for uh their own campsite, so it's limited. So your uh sweetheart um doesn't have to worry about somebody else messing up.

SPEAKER_02 32:41

Right. Uh now what's the uh bikini beach? What goes on down there?

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Boy, I wish I knew everything that was on down there. But you know, that's that's a you know, it's a beautiful little pond uh with a beach around it, with a dock around it. We're putting up today a new uh jumbotron up there to kind of help people be able to see what else is going on around. Um there's a bar down there, a nice little cabana, and uh a stage, and there'll be music and there'll be contests, you know, um homemade bikini contest, uh pickle licking contest, uh you know. You know, yeah, we are the founders of the world's um uh championship pickle licking contest, right?

SPEAKER_02 33:30

Uh who thought that up? Was that you?

SPEAKER_00 33:34

It came about with Scotch, actually. Of course. Yep, so it's just I I guess we should call it a Scottish contest. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:47

Uh that's pretty funny. Uh well now, when everything's all said now, you have the you're having the uh the wrap-up party. That's on that's on the final Saturday, right? Uh when does that so does the cleanup start the very next day?

SPEAKER_00 34:03

Um that's exactly correct. Um by noon uh Sunday, um the place will be pretty well cleaned up. There'll be just very few people that uh are still camping.

SPEAKER_01 34:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Um Saturday night, they get up Sunday morning and head for home, is just the way people are.

SPEAKER_01 34:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

And um, so you know, we clean it up. Actually, the people that are here are pretty clean all the time anyway, so they don't make a mess. I mean, when when we first started, didn't have any staff and didn't know what the hell we were doing, right? Um it was a mess. Everybody left, right? I can imagine. But um, yeah, but uh, you know, we have the dumpsters out there, we have uh uh garbage crew that goes around um every day and cleans up the whole grounds, and the people respect all that, and so they'll dump their garbage in the trash cans um instead of on the ground, and uh so yeah, by noon on Sunday, this place looks pretty clean, and there's not much left to to pick up and and haul off. The dumpsters are all full, they're all site, the place just looks pretty again.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

Wow. Uh, do you look forward to going through the lost and found stuff?

SPEAKER_00 35:23

Everybody looks forward to strange stuff once in a while you find in there, right? Yeah. So yeah, that's uh that's just turned out to be one of those pleasant surprises. It's uh so and so I think we you know we make some good returns to people as well when they see it in the lost and found. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:47

Um so what's the strangest thing you've ever seen in the lost and found?

SPEAKER_00 35:53

Well, I don't know how strange anything is, you know, but some of the rubber dolls that are blowing around here uh make me think about what the heck's going on here, right? Then we had uh the prosthetic leg that was uh really yeah, um somebody left part of their leg on dear someplace, but uh you know, other than that, we find a lot of keys and we find a lot of glasses and uh a few wallets, and uh so you know the kind of stuff you just expect uh people to kind of misplace or whatever. So, but yeah, the wallets are interesting. There's you know, the we've have people come in and turn wallets in with hundreds of dollars still in the wallet. Oh, that's nice. So, you know, that again, it's just out uh in the middle of nowhere, and uh for people to turn that kind of stuff in, that's uh impressive. That's what speaks well to everybody.

SPEAKER_02 36:58

It does. It does. I I just wonder how people can actually leave and realize they don't have their keys. How do they do that?

SPEAKER_00 37:06

Well, I think uh a Harley Davidson key sometimes as unique to your vehicle as we'd sometimes like to think. Right? Answer your question. I don't know, people have to have spares. I mean, I guess we don't end up with with um abandoned motorcycles. This is we find keys, but we don't find any abandoned motorcycles.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

Uh someday, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:38

Well, probably wouldn't have a key to that one anyway.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

Yeah, I can imagine. Uh as far as it goes for um your major manufacturers and stuff like that, who do you have as far as it goes for uh motorcycle companies gonna be at uh the Buffalo chip this year displaying their bikes?

SPEAKER_00 37:56

You know, I think all of them will have somebody here, but not in an official capacity. I mean, they come out and uh to network with people just like everybody else.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

So it's a great networking opportunity, different places, and uh so but I can't tell you and and won't say that uh you know we have this dealer out here and displaying stuff. Um they have dealerships here for that.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

Okay. I was saying, like when I was there in 24, uh you had Suzuki and um uh you had a couple other motorcycle companies that were there. Is that going to be the same situation as well?

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Oh, you know, quite probably. I'm not the person that makes those arrangements with with that, but on uh I think we have another event that happens uh Adventure Fest. Oh, yeah. Yeah, 16th, 17th. I think we have five OEMs that are here with uh showing off new models and letting people do test rides um then, right?

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

But I don't I don't know which of those are gonna be here for the rally itself.

SPEAKER_02 39:09

Now, as far as it goes for the Adventure Fest, do you have anything to do with that one as far as goes for the planning? Is that part of the Sturgis rally planning?

SPEAKER_00 39:19

Um it's part of Buffalo Chips planning because we have that event here.

SPEAKER_01 39:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

And so we plan it, we set it up and uh make all those arrangements. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

All right, all right. So I tell you what, now I'm gonna move into uh some rapid fire questions for you. These are just gonna be short questions. You give me a one or two word answer, and that's it. You ready?

SPEAKER_00 39:44

I'm going.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

Okay, number one, best time of day to roll into the chip.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Um 4 30.

SPEAKER_02 39:52

4 30? All right. Number two, your favorite concert moment ever at the chip. Okay. Number three, one food vendor everyone should try.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

Every food vendor should be tried once. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:15

All right, number four, the most underrated spot on the property.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Um, I don't die. There isn't an underrated spot. There's some really nice spots, and then I think the you know, again, I told you, by the creek, under the trees, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Everybody wants to be there and me too, right? Really nice.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

Uh, number five, tent, RV, cabin, or glamping. Your pick.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Um, well, that glamping.

unknown 40:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

If you wanted one word, I'll just say glamping.

SPEAKER_02 40:53

All right. Uh number six, the loudest crowd you've ever seen at the chip.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

Did rock.

SPEAKER_02 41:00

Oh, really? Okay. Number seven, one thing first timers always forget to bring. Something first timers always forget to bring.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

You know, that's that reminds me of a question that Bob asked one time on a deal that said, What's your best seller at the convenience store? And the answer was condoms. They they love that. And uh really, so out of the stuff that gets sold, and maybe that's the only way I'd know what people didn't bring. That's probably still the uh situation.

unknown 41:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 41:34

Uh number eight, best place to watch the sunset on the property.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

Um, we just uh working up on the hilltop, uh, you know, above Camp Zero.

SPEAKER_02 41:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

Um, yeah, that's where you want to watch the sunset from. All right.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

Uh number nine, your favorite rally tradition.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Being here is to see the people arrive and say hello.

SPEAKER_02 41:58

Oh, that's cool. I like that. And finally, one word that describes the Buffalo chip experience. Unforgettable. That I will agree with. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Well, you didn't agree with all my other no, no.

SPEAKER_02 42:16

I agree with everything, but certainly that one, that's for damn sure. Um, because both times that I had visited the chip, I had a really great time. I had a good time at the chip. Um, but uh any closing words about coming to the Buffalo chip for the rally this year?

SPEAKER_00 42:33

Hey, we're looking forward to as many of you as uh can make it here, right? It's gonna be a great year. The entertainment is phenomenal, the grass is green, um, life is good, so come and enjoy it with us. All right, Woody.

SPEAKER_02 42:47

Thank you very much for being joining me here on the podcast. I greatly appreciate your time. Don't go anywhere. I want to talk to you when we're done, but thanks for being on the show.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

Well, thank you for having the show and letting me be on. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 43:05

Thank you for joining me and Woody here in the V Twin Cafe, where he gave us all a great look at what riders can expect at the Buffalo Chip during the 2026 Sturgis Rally. You can learn more about everything happening at the chip by heading on over to BuffaloChip.com. The links will be in the show notes and of course on the Motorcyclemen website at motomenpc.com. Hey, don't forget to get on over to the Ride with Ted YouTube channel and check out the many videos I have here. And if you could, please like and subscribe. It's a tremendous help to the channel and to the podcast. Hey, get your copy of my book, The Road Most Traveled, now direct from me on the Motorcycle Men website, and save nearly eight bucks. Still available on Amazon, but if you get it from me, I'll sign it for you. And that's it, boys and girls. Hey, listen, the uh motorcycle podcasters challenge is in full swing now. Uh sign-ups are still happening up until June 20th. We've got five full teams at this time, and we've got 13 solo riders. We could always use more. So get on over to MotopodChallenge.com and sign up and become part of a really wonderful annual event. A lot of fun. No charge to get in on it, and you're gonna have a good day. That's it, boys, and you're also for the rest of the motorcycle men team. Thank you for listening. And remember, kids, we say stupid crap, so you don't need to ride safety.