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2009 Tennessee National Rally

Looking Good

I took the long Virginia ride I outlined in the May MOA-ON yesterday to see if there were any changes of note. Three of us had a wonderful ride and a good lunch at Breaks Interstate Park. It a little over a 300 mile ride from the rally but about a 200 mile ride from my house. We did it counterclockwise for the first time. Riding it in the opposite direction makes it a completely different ride and a little more challenging.

Anyway, they have repaved some of the roads and they are generally in very good condition. The gravel was not nearly as bad as we expected as we have had some serious rainstorms this spring. We saw only 3 police cars on the entire trip and they were in the small towns we passed through. There were a few 22 wheel coal trucks that held us up a little (18 wheelers with an extra axle to handle the weight of the coal).

The only problem we found in the entire ride was a couple of places where half a lane of road had fallen off the side of the mountain due to the heavy rains. The DOT was in the process of doing repairs and they will probably be completed before the rally. The ride is http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally09/great_rides_from_the_2009_bmw_moa_rally
 
History and Maps of the Great Smokey Mountains

For those that want a little more information on the area of the Rally.

The Great Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934, and with over 9 million visits per year, it is the most-visited national park in the United States.

Great Smokies 75th.org!
On this site you will find a rich and evolving variety of information on the ParkÔÇÖs history, current issues, and future visions.
http://greatsmokies75th.org

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Explore the official site from the NPS for the mountain range straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/

Maps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This collection documents the history, cultural aspects and geological formations of areas that eventually became National Parks.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/nphtml/gsmhome.html

Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project
Provides support and information for researchers at all levels who study the Smokies and the surrounding communities.
http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/smokies/index2.html

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Landforms
Contains information on various landforms (waterfalls, peaks, balds, rock formations) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina. Information on each landform includes maps, GPS waypoint (latitude/longitude), and the occasional picture.
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/gsmnp/

Enjoy :type
 
Sunday Night Camping?

Posted a seperate thread on this but got no replies so trying here, what if any are the arrangements for camping at the rally site on the Sunday night? I'm more than willing to hang around and help clean up, but will need to figure out where I'll be sleeping.
Cheers,
Ian :drink
 
Hi Ian,
We actually have the fair ground under contract through Sunday. If you want to stay on Sunday night after the rally I do not think that will be a problem. Although that will be up to the fair ground, I can't imagine one night will be a problem. If you are interested in post rally clean up please contact that committee chair and let him know. We certainly want to make sure we leave the place in good shape!

See you there!
 
leaving Friday AM from ATL to rally

If if anyone is leaving the Atlanta area Friday am(tba) let me know, we can convoy!:dance
 
Registration

Haven't preregistered. Any problems doing that when we arrive tomorrow evening? Looking forward to our first rally. J Carlson Atlanta
 
Gate registration is just fine.

We are expecting a large number of gate-registration people at this rally, so come on down!!
 
jdmetzger said:
Interesting. I guess VT is still in the lead for most attendees. Push the rally into a good section of PA and we might just clear that magic number. :)
Click to expand...

i know a killer site in western MA, wanna co-chair a rally Josh?:laugh
 
jdmetzger said:
Interesting. I guess VT is still in the lead for most attendees. Push the rally into a good section of PA and we might just clear that magic number. :)
Click to expand...

I sent a suggestion in about the State College, PA area a couple of years ago. There might even be a part of the Penn State campus that could be used.

State College has plenty of hotels and luxuries. There is great riding nearby.

PA would be an awesome destination.
 
Bloomsburg Pa and I would Chair it..........with help of course.

retro said:
I sent a suggestion in about the State College, PA area a couple of years ago. There might even be a part of the Penn State campus that could be used.

State College has plenty of hotels and luxuries. There is great riding nearby.

PA would be an awesome destination.
Click to expand...
+1

Great location and they have a farm complex plus a convention center yet it could be pricey with the State Funding cutbacks verses they need our money.

But how about Bloomsburg ?

I am going to meet with the people that run the Bloomsburg Fair complex. My friends son is the Superintendent of the Bloomsburg school system that knows them well to reassure them we are good people.

Positives

Bloomsburg is great location that is close to Rt 80 and 81 within the golden MOA circle which contains 50 % of our membership in a 500 mile radius.

The complex was designed and built during a booming time by the McGee carpet company which made carpet for American cars, and the iron industry which made rails and cars for rail roads. The buildings are large, brick and they are air conditioned. You could even run a flower show in one building and a dog show in another the same day.

There is a huge grandstand that can hold class acts and a small band shell which can accommodate local bands for off hour entertainment such as during the day. Or it could be used for show and tell.

The fairgrounds have a Monster truck event which puts dirt on the infield making GS field events proper the weekend before our historical rally dates. I hope the clean up will be their nickel and our gain.

July is hot and humid so the grass could be thick like Wisconsin or dry as a bone like Wyoming. BTW Wyoming is a Delaware Indian name meaning mountains and valleys and the state of Wyoming was named after the valley north of the fairgrounds.

There are some food halls on the property that during the fair time volunteer organizations to church groups provide family dinners. Plus the usual array of fair food is available such as Philly cheese steaks and french fries. And the chains and local eateries.

There is a well equipped first aid station with its very own building. There is a major hospital just blocks away and a level one trauma center 10 miles south with air transportation.

There is a local college that could accommodate us as the one did in Vermont.

The downtown is restored with great business support. There is a huge ornate Masonic Consistory that would allow public access for board meetings etc.

Riding ? For the fast ones there is a long stretch of straight road west of there near the town of Turberville which is loving known as Turboville. Recently the Amish have moved into the area putting a new meaning to a slider. It looks like Penn Dutch Country did 25 years ago. :laugh To the north is mountains similar to central Vermont or France according to my GS foreign friends. Nice country roads, state forests, parks, lakes and streams. To the east one has the coal region which has a few gems such as Rt 487, 125, 54 and some of my secret treasures in the Poconos which is woods, camps and golf to gambling resorts.

GSsing could be on fire roads of various degrees to the north an a few go away or die places on mine property to the east with mine permission. I have a great route picked and if I can swing the private property right-away even a better one with a 2 foot deep water crossing ford. Also to the east the Adv Riders have their Smoking Hole Rally so check their pics.

Pocono Raceway could give us a ride but being July there maybe an event during our time.

OK OK I forgot about the beer and I know when you mention Bloomsburg it ought to be on the top of the list. Bloomsburg U is a division 2 school which is one of the best drinking schools in the US, well known for itÔÇÖs parties, and itÔÇÖs why many kids come here. And just down the road is Yuengling which is America's oldest brewery that would support us with tours and :scratch beer.

What else is nearby ? Well you could take a tour of a coal mine or visit Streamtown and ride on trains, or see the Yankee baseball junior team making future millionaires that is near Scranton and near Williamsport you have the home of Little League baseball, and the home of the old GRIT newspaper that went out of business selling good news. To the south you have Gettysburg, York, Amish Country, a few nice little towns, fly fishing streams, knoebels amusement park, and the Preistly home where oxygen was discovered to Danville the town that designed the rails used on America's rail roads.

Dealers: Hermy's and Two Jacks BMW are close, and we are in BMW Motorrad USA's backyard. Plus the NJ dealer, Cliffs, Max, and Bob would have short distances to get involved.

Camping pre-rally is available at state parks in all directions and I might be able to swing a primitive site for Camp Beers.

There is a nice veteran display with an Army tank on the grounds which could be used by the BMW Vet Club and the local VA would send their outreach bus if requested for assistance. :usa

There is a farm machinery museum on the grounds which could hold some vintage rubber cows.

There are plenty of control gates, fences, and entry way options. Whose call is it the local police or us ?

There is a nice separate area for Camp Gears.

The tech people could have their own building. :whistle

Negatives The location is 8 feet above river level so a heavy persistent rain over a few days could collect water on the grounds. Very rare but possible.

There are chain hotels within the 35 mile radius but Rt 11 has some old Mom & Pops that need to be investigated.

We would need 2-3 shower trucks to play it safe.

There is RV parking but I never paid attention to it to know the details.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I plan to chair it with another member................Dylan said yes since he is from Pa., Josh & Bubba are welcomed.............how about a quad chair ?

My family MD is friends with the band Moe and I hope we can draw some east coast entertainment out of NYC verses Irish bands or Pennsylvania Polkas.

Do you think I could get U2, Eric Clapton, Rush or the Stones ?

Anyway I am checking it out and will submit a proposal within a year.
 

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They have been reviewed...

The State College and Bloomsburg sites were reviewed 4-5 years ago and could not meet our needs at that time. Things change however and we will look into them again. Thanks for the suggestion.


Chuck Manley
BMWMOA
Rally Site Search Team Liaison
 
chasman said:
The State College and Bloomsburg sites were reviewed 4-5 years ago and could not meet our needs at that time. Things change however and we will look into them again. Thanks for the suggestion.


Chuck Manley
BMWMOA
Rally Site Search Team Liaison
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review. :thumb
 
chasman said:
The State College and Bloomsburg sites were reviewed 4-5 years ago and could not meet our needs at that time. Things change however and we will look into them again. Thanks for the suggestion.


Chuck Manley
BMWMOA
Rally Site Search Team Liaison
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, would you be willing to briefly expand on "could not meet our needs"? I'd be willing to split this off into another thread. I'm not looking for an argument or long discussion on what should and shouldn't be a requirement, just pure curiosity.
 
Hi Josh,

One site didn't have enough motel rooms and one wouldn't allow the beer garden. Don't recall which was which. Like I said above, things sometimes change...new motels being built or change in property policies. We will review both of these venues as both are nice sites.

Chuck Manley
BMWMOA
Rally Site Search Team Liaison
 
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