GILLETTE - Bill DeWitt's first motorcycle was a 1928 Harley Davidson JD, and he bought it in 1934.

"Since then I've had a few motorcycles," said DeWitt, including Indians, Harleys, a Nimbus and many others too numerous to recount.

DeWitt, 91, said he and his wife, Irene DeWitt, 86, rode their 2002 BMW 1150 RT motorcycle from their home in St. Clair Shores, Mich., to the 36th Annual International BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Rally here at Cam-plex in Gillette.

"We've been to 33 of the BMW rallies," Bill said, and the young couple is preparing for No. 34 next year in Tennessee.

This motorcycle rally draws a different crowd than the Sturgis motorcycle rally. The average "Beemer" is between 50 and 60 and doesn't sport tattoos or fishnet stockings. These are motorcycle enthusiasts who love their machines and love to tour, cruise and sometimes go off-road.

Some 6,000 BMW Motorcycle Owners of America members had arrived here by Friday afternoon, according to Cam-plex officials. About 3,500 slept in a colorful sea of tents pitched across the Cam-plex grounds. Bikers began arriving Wednesday, and the rally will conclude Sunday.

The event is mostly closed to the public. Outgoing BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Rally director Karol Patzer said members come to the rallies to see friends from all over North America and Europe. And it's a captive audience for some 90 venders peddling wares to gear junkies with disposable income.

There's also live entertainment, and the "Beemer Saloon" at Cam-plex is the biggest temporary beer garden in the state right now at about 25,000 square feet. Beemers attend dozens of seminars from tour documentaries to insurance tips to recruiting young motorcyclists into the fold.

"These folks care deeply about their motorcycles," said Cam-plex general manager Dan Barks.

One of the first things a BMW rider does when arriving to the rally is to wash the bike. There's also a nice, cool dirt-floor barn where members help each other change oil over squares of cardboard.

Jerry Gruenwald of Edmonton, Alberta, likes to ride for distance.

"I'm a high-miler," Gruenwald said, who often makes trips to Alaska.

It's nothing for a high-miler to travel 1,000 miles in a day. Some claim to travel 26,000 miles in a season.

"Our members are enthusiasts about the motorcycle itself, or they are enthusiasts about touring and camping," said Patzer.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffertrib.com.