On foot patrol in Sturgis

STURGIS, S.D. (KELO) — There are thousands of bikers cruising the Black Hills this week, most of them are in Sturgis for the 84th annual motorcycle rally.

But there are some people who aren’t on two wheels or three or even four. They are on foot.

Two wheels is the name of the game for most people in Sturgis, but we caught up with one man who is on two feet.

“The hardest part is preventing blisters,” police officer Aaron Kahre of St. Cloud, Minnesota said.

Police Officer Aaron Kahre spends his days walking the streets of Sturgis meeting and greeting rallygoers.

Kahre is from St. Cloud, Minnesota and uses his vacation time to come here to assist.

“As law enforcement officers, we are kind of been engrained to help out when there’s a need and obviously with the people who come into the city of Sturgis this week the police department can’t handle it by themselves,” Kahre said.

He’s been coming to Sturgis for 17 years and jokes about what keeps bringing him back year after year.

“I come for the peace and quiet, (laughs),” Kahre said.

But in all seriousness over those 17 years, he says he’s built a lot of relationships and made a lot of friends.

“Some of the people who live here I see every year when I come back, I kind of feel like I’ve known them my whole life,” Kahre said.

During the day he says he’s more like a tour guide.

“Where’s this at or where’s that,” Kahre said.

But at night, when the sun goes down, the level of intoxication with some can go up.

“At night things get a little bit crazy; sometimes people overdue it a little bit, you’ll have some fights or people just don’t want to follow the rules, because they think it’s Sturgis and there are no rules,” Kahre said.

But there are and that’s why he is here to make sure everyone has fun but stays safe.

“It’s a great conversation starter, when you see somebody on the street and they say ‘oh I bet you can’t wait til this is over,’ and I say well I’m on vacation, so I’m good with it,” Kahre said.

Officer Kahre says for the first time, he brought his daughter along this year to Sturgis, who is also helping out with security.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.