Statue of the Superfast Cyclist
Sturgis, South Dakota
The first permanent statue on Main Street in Sturgis, home of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, is of course a statue of someone on a motorcycle. Not just any motorcycle. It's an experimental Harley-Davidson "Streamliner," and the rider is famous motorcycle racer "Smokin' Joe" Petrali.
The life-size bronze, sculpted by Jeff Decker, depicts Petrali on March 13, 1937, riding racehorse-jockey-style on Daytona Beach, at a then-record 136.183 mph. Petrali's land speed record for a motorcycle would not be broken for over 11 years, and no one has ever officially ridden a motorcycle faster on sand. The Sturgis-Petrali connection is not evident in the sculpture, but the town deserves credit for choosing a statue that would look interesting to everyone.
The Petrali bronze was unveiled on June 27, 2018. Sturgis hopes that it is just the first of many motorcycle sculptures to be placed along its Main Street.