The dust has barely had time to settle since the 68th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally ended Sunday as crews have begun not only to clean up, but to plan for 2009.

"We're starting to put things away and get settled back into a regular schedule," Sturgis motorcycle rally director Pepper Massey said. "We immediately start prepping for next year."

Although not enough time has passed for numbers to be official, Massey disagreed with rumors of a 30 percent to 50 percent decline in numbers.

"We had a great turnout. Those here were enthusiastic and enjoyed the great concerts and great events lined up and shopping opportunities," she said. "Considering the economic challenges, we had an excellent event."

Massey said the vendors were down about 14 percent, which made shopping better for those there.

Sturgis Mayor Maury LaRue was certain that fewer riders had made it to the rally, but he has seen an increase in those traveling to the Black Hills in the months before and after the official dates of the rally, Aug. 4-10.

"We made up for it in the shoulder season," he said.

The mayor and others enjoyed a few extra hours of sleep Monday, but business will continue as usual.

Today, the Fort Pierre-to-Deadwood Trail Ride will stop in Sturgis, and in two weeks, Sturgis will host a regional Mustang car rally. "Business doesn't stop," he said.

In the transformation back to normal, the city will be thorough in cleaning up. Alleyways will be disinfected, streets will get a power wash and a "good scrubbing" and parks will be mowed.

"We're concerned for the health and safety of the locals," LaRue said. Nearby campgrounds are in the same process.

Temporary staff at Glencoe CampResort is staying on to help "get things back into shape," said Francie Ruebel-Alberts, the executive vice president of Glencoe. The campgrounds also hosted events at Kickstart, Thunder Road and Rock'n the Rally, such as concerts by KISS and Kenny Chesney, and bike exhibits.

In the coming weeks, Rueble-Alberts and her staff will sit down and discuss the events and then set goals for next year.

"We'll listen to the staff and all work on it together," she said. "We'll work as a team to make it work right."

LaRue will also be meeting with various city departments and, after assessing, they will be "seeing if we can improve and we're looking towards making next year as good as an event as this year's." He said the final assessment will be presented to the city council and the public about Sept. 1.

"We don't want to fly off the handle. We'll want to handle things carefully. Every rally is done different," LaRue said. Through the years, the city has had to "adapt and change and strengthen things that are good."

The mayor is realistic about the high numbers that come to his community, but he said Sturgis does better than major cities with the number of accidents and deaths.

Massey was happy the fact that there were only three fatalities during the rally.

Statistics from the South Dakota Highway Patrol varied compared to last year. This year, a total of 253 DUI arrests were made, down two from 2007. Seven concealed weapons arrests were made, and five vehicles were seized. A total of 88 accidents occurred, 60 of which resulted in injuries. Three people were killed during the rally, two of which were the results of accidents.

Rally related emergency room visits were down to 613 from 830 in 2007, but the number of rally related hospital inpatients remained steady.

Contact Sarah Beu at 394-8318 or sarah.beu@rapidcityjournal.com