Where should the '05 Rally be held?

Lots of pros and cons to the Rally location. What region would you like to see and why?

Vegas?

Anywhere that isn't east of the rockies. Why? given a choice between riding east of the rockies and riding west of the rockies, which would you choose?

From what I have read they start looking a places 5 years out.
By now 2005 is set. So is 2006 and maybe 2007.
After 2000 Michigan, 2001 Oregon, 2002 Ontario, 2003 West Virginia, 2004 Washington I think they may go for the Mid-West.
Or the South.

John

In for Vegas.

Central location

I voted for the "Heartland" but the Colorado option is a good one too. It seems that they have tendancy to avoid the center of the country, making it a huge trek for someone living on the opposite coast from the site chosen. Somewhere near the center of the lower 48 would be nice for a change, it would also be nice if it happened more than once a decade. If it is held "centrally" then more people would have a chance to attend. There are lots of great places to hold a rally in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arkansas, Missouri, and yes, even Texas has some great scenery. Have you ever been to the Texas hill country? You will find some of the best motorcycle roads ever in the center of Texas. JMHO.

Just had to add another $.02--I also would like to make the point that whatever the general location, it be held near but not in a large city. Staying away from large metro. areas will minimize the accident risks and should make it simpler to keep all the festivities in one spot, unlike this year's rally in Charleston.

I think is was in 1997 that the BMW national was in Fredericksburg, TX
That was a great place.
John

Tennessee was the choice for 2005 until the county board would not approve a liquor permit.

I was hopping for a weekend of debauchery in Las Vegas.
However, there are so much incredible ridding opportunities all over the country as I am sure you all are quite aware. I voted for the center of the county as to make it as accessible to all members to attend. I am sure that whatever city is decided upon we will have a grand time. No matter what city it is held, I will be looking forward to being there

You're right on WIDEBMW! The 2005 and 2006 sites are already selected. And possible sites for 2007 and 2008 are being considered. More news.......all sites being reviewed are single venue locations! All activities in one location.

WANTED - Great sites to hold the BMW MOA International Rally. If you think you may know of a site contact me or any of the Board of Directors. Most of the past rally locations were originally suggested by our members. Looking forward to Spokane!



Riding Like the Wind...

Chuck Manley #12106
Director, BMW MOA
Chairman, Rally Site Search Team
Dinky Dozen BMW Riders, Inc.
(309) 825-8445 (anytime)

So Chuck, this gives us the opportunity to ask you directly, why does the MOA seem to shun the central location idea. Common sense would dictate that a "central" location would tend to boost attendance. This coast to coast routine is getting old.

Future Rally Sites

The BMW MOA BoD, with the guidance of the Rally Site Selection Committee, tries to select International Rally sites at least five years in advance. We pretty much know where we will be through 2008. We need that much advance to book sites that meet our group's needs.

PLEASE help us pick the sites for your future International rallies. We need your suggestions. We have a very talented RSSC working hard for you, but member input is always needed.

Don't just complain that such and such a site sucked, give us your suggestion as to where we should hold the Rally. A specific location, not just "the Midwest" or the "Central part of the country", would be very helpful.

Some basic requirements are: about 100 seccure acres minimum site size; at least 50,000 square feet of vendor space; adequate seminar space; good camping with mature shade trees; availability of enough food vendors or providers to feed a crew of 6,000-7,000; at least 2,000 motel rooms in a 20 mile radius; availability of showers; MOA beer sales permitted; and most importantly...a good motorcycle riding area with lots of things to see and do.

If you think you know a place that meets these very basic requirements, please get in touch with either Chuck Manley, myself or any member of the BMW MOA Board of Directors. We will be more than happy to consider your suggestion.

Michael Friedle
BMW MOA Board of Directors
Rally and Events Chair
RSSC Member

North Dakota, would be one place. Seem no one has been there.
Oklahoma, Iowa or any of the states that have not had a BMWMOA rally yet. Give all the states a shot.

Re: Future Rally Sites

Michael Friedle said:

Don't just complain that such and such a site sucked, give us your suggestion as to where we should hold the Rally. A specific location, not just "the Midwest" or the "Central part of the country", would be very helpful.

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I don't recall ever having used the word "sucked," I did point out that there were some problems with the spread out nature of this year's facilities. And here are some viable possibilities; near but not in: Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Kansas City, St Louis, Branson, Little Rock, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, Omaha, Lincoln, Casper, Salt Lake City, Sante Fe, Albuquerque, Okalhoma City, and Tulsa.

Re: Future Rally Sites

Just listing cities does not help. You should look and see what facilities they have. See below.

Michael Friedle said:

Some basic requirements are: about 100 seccure acres minimum site size; at least 50,000 square feet of vendor space; adequate seminar space; good camping with mature shade trees; availability of enough food vendors or providers to feed a crew of 6,000-7,000; at least 2,000 motel rooms in a 20 mile radius; availability of showers; MOA beer sales permitted; and most importantly...a good motorcycle riding area with lots of things to see and do.

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I have looked at Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Elko, Ely, Austin, Fallon. Hawthorne, Tonopah.

I just can't find the tree in Nevada that everyone will camp under.

Well, I voted for North Central based solely on the fact that would mean a shorter ride for me. Time is of the essence for me at this stage of my life, and having never been to a national rally (yet), I'd like to ride to my first one in a relatively short amount of time.

Second choice would be Big Sky/Colorado/Wyoming.

So you're telling me that Frdericksburg, TX (80 miles from Austin, 70 miles from San antonio) met all of those requirements and the likes of Denver, KC, OKC, Omaha, Salt Lake City and Dallas don't. I don't buy it, if Salt Lake City can host the Olympic games it can certainly host the MOA rally and I would bet that any of the Cities I listed could too.

Having searched for a rally site for an RA rally, I can tell you that site selection is difficult. While all those cities are nice, where specifically do you have in mind? There might be fairgrounds, but they might not be suitable for a rally. There might not be enough hotel rooms. The riding in the area might just be terrible. The local government might not grant a permit to serve beer.

There are a lot of variables to selecting a site beyond just finding a city. I'd love to see one out here in SF, CA. The riding is fantastic, the culture welcomes motorcycles and the weather is terrific in the summer (it ain't gonna rain, trust me). But finding a spot that can handle an MOA rally hasn't presented itself to me. It doesn't take long to check all the county fairgrounds to see if they're suitable. So far, they're not.



I voted for New England, even though it's a long way from here. Given that we pride ourselves on riding long distance capable motorcycles, a trip across the country shouldn't be a big deal. Last summer, I did San Francisco to Knoxville, TN in 3.5 days. You can too!

cruisin said:

So you're telling me that Frdericksburg, TX (80 miles from Austin, 70 miles from San antonio) met all of those requirements and the likes of Denver, KC, OKC, Omaha, Salt Lake City and Dallas don't. I don't buy it, if Salt Lake City can host the Olympic games it can certainly host the MOA rally and I would bet that any of the Cities I listed could too.

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There's a big difference between hosting the Olympics, where everyone will stay in a hotel, and hosting a rally, where you need camping for a few thousand people.

San Francisco host conventions with attendances that number in the tens of thousands. That doesn't mean you could have a BMW rally here.

KBasa said:

I voted for New England, even though it's a long way from here. Given that we pride ourselves on riding long distance capable motorcycles, a trip across the country shouldn't be a big deal. Last summer, I did San Francisco to Knoxville, TN in 3.5 days. You can too!

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And what was your average speed west of the Rockies?