Rally numbers started out sluggishly this year but have been picking up since Sunday afternoon, according to area business owners.

"It started slower," said Guy Edwards, owner of the Best Western Phil-Town Inn in Sturgis. "Friday, they didn't come like the normal roar and they never came in until hot and heavy on Sunday and really on Monday. Historically, the biggest days are Tuesday and Wednesday, although the big concerts seemed to draw a huge amount of people."

Some hotels, such as Cadillac Jack's in Deadwood, are full to capacity almost all week, but overall, hotel reservations are down.

"I heard a rumor that hotel reservations were down 30 percent in the Hills," said Meg Warder, general manager of the 1880 Train.

According to Amber Dries, director of hotel operations at Cadillac Jack's, the hotel business in Deadwood is doing well.

"We're full pretty much for the week," Dries said. "But I called around to other hotels, and a lot of people have rooms available on Friday. People aren't pre-booking as early, but they are still coming. But there aren't a ton of people looking for rooms."

Diers said that there are not as many trailers in their parking lot this year.

"I think a lot of people are riding their bike instead of trailing their bike to save on gas," Diers said.

Bikers are still touring around the Hills, but the distance they are traveling may not be as far as previous years.

"They are definitely thinking about where they are going to go for the day," Dries said. "That's the good thing about bikes though; they can get a few more miles out of a tank of gas."

The decrease in the amount of vendors in Sturgis helps some businesses.

"We have a small restaurant that is very popular, and our head count in the restaurant is running about the same to slightly up," Phil-Towns' Edwards said. "It always helps us to have less vendors."

However, the decrease in vendors may have affected the rally's overall attendance, drawing smaller crowds and therefore less business.

"Usually, the Firehouse is standing room only during the rally, and we just haven't seen that many people come through the door yet," John Lee, a manager at the Firehouse Brewing Co. in Rapid City, said. "I heard there would be fewer vendors, so we expected the numbers to be down."

Area businesses also attribute the decrease in numbers to higher-than-average gas prices.

"It could be the economy, but I also think that because the 70th anniversary of the Sturgis rally is two years away, a lot of people may be gearing up for that," Warder of the 1880 Train said.

2008 rally statistics

The state Department of Public Safety reported the following statistics for the Sturgis area motorcycle rally as of Monday, Aug. 4. The activity in the Black Hills-Badlands state Highway Patrol district is compared to the same period a year ago:

2008 2007

DUI arrests 101 107

Felony drug arrests 16 24

Non-injury accidents 7 4

Injury accidents 26 22

Fatal accidents 1 0

Number of fatalities 2 0