The Rally Sucked

Fletch66 · Jul 23, 2009

Need more single women!!!!

We need more single women at the rallies!!!! 35 and up. hahahaha Had a great time. If this is your first rally, and you want to meet people, volunteer to work in the country store. You get a free rally shirt, an ultra cool hand towel, and you'll meet lots of people. I have to agree that the closing ceremony was a tad bit too long. But the airshow was cool. But then again, I think they had to draw 10 names to give away one of the prizes. I'm going to say something here, and I don't want to offend or cause any heartache, the milage awards. Did I hear correctly that someone logged 78000 miles in a year???? Just doing that math, and going on the fact that you rode every single day, 365 days, no rain, snow, or mechanical problems, you would have to ride over 200 miles every single day, including at rallies. Just wondering

Rapid_Roy · Jul 23, 2009

The Rally virgin thing is a complete puzzle to me. When I went to my first, my brother told everyone. I met many people and found it to be a great conversation starter, and I didn't mind in the least. My friend (I found out years later) was embarrassed and angry at me when I did it to him at his first rally. I have no idea why, unless you really care what people you don't know think (I don't).

This being said, perhaps the BMWMOA should consider the feelings of those who feel "picked on" when singled out as Rally virgins. Perhaps the volunteers could ask if they mind. It would also save money for pins that are thrown out immediately.

henzilla · Jul 23, 2009

Fletch66 said:
Did I hear correctly that someone logged 78000 miles in a year???? Just doing that math, and going on the fact that you rode every single day, 365 days, no rain, snow, or mechanical problems, you would have to ride over 200 miles every single day, including at rallies. Just wondering[/QUOTE

Short Hijack answer:

It was closer to 68K in the contest window from April to October and yes...he did ride almost everyday...lives in San Antonio,TX. We only had one "ice" day last year...all others were rideable. He rode in a lot of weather, just avoided snow & lightning! He was doing 300 mile days average in late summer/fall as the contest wound down. He is retired and was traveling the country weekly. I rode with him on several occasions. Did the National Parks Challenge as well to challenge himself on different routes and minimal Interstate use. He has two bikes , so mechanical issues were not an issue..he had no breakdowns on his 99 1100R or his 07 R12R...just a lot of tires I changed for him as he passed thru and a few valve adjusts! If he was counting Jan 1 to Dec 31...he would be closer to 100K...but that was not what the contest included...we like riding !!

rickyracer · Jul 23, 2009

rally just o.k.

Hey to all my fellow Beemer riders. I thought we went to Tennesse the music sucked what happened to bluegrass music if I wanted to listen to blues I would have went to a Harley party. the food choices were great and bathrooms were o.k. just needed more of them. Great roads in Tenn. and various states.

bmwmotowoman · Jul 23, 2009

Bluegrass music

The first band, The Country Gentleman, was great bluegrass music. You must have missed it! The original members were very well known in the Bluegrass community.

subagon · Jul 23, 2009

Bikes 4 Sale area

This was my first time at the BMWMOA rally. I never thought I ever see so many BMWs in one spot. I guess this is what it feels like to be a cruser owner.

Had a great time and will attend in the future if I'm able.

One suggestion; create an area for members to park their "bikes 4 sale". I saw many great bikes/deals, but think how great it would be to have one location to go to see them all in one place.

scottr · Jul 23, 2009

Kudos

Kudos to the MOA staff and volunteers for a good rally. Four of us came down from PA via Rte 220 in W. Va for some great riding. Caught some rain on the way down and the way home but nothing long term. One of the riders in our group suggested that a massage therapist vendor would have done quite well with all of the over 50 aching backs in the crowd!!

Visian · Jul 23, 2009

scottr said:
Kudos to the MOA staff and volunteers for a good rally. Four of us came down from PA via Rte 220 in W. Va for some great riding. Caught some rain on the way down and the way home but nothing long term. One of the riders in our group suggested that a massage therapist vendor would have done quite well with all of the over 50 aching backs in the crowd!!

wrong thread, man.

we're sucking over here. :ha

(although i have to say that there are a lot of very good ideas in this thread....)

acesbeemer · Jul 23, 2009

Rally Sucked

Enjoyed the rally for the most part. A couple of nit picks.

1 Seminars too far from main rally and difficult to access.

2 Closing ceremonies WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too long. If you are going to schedule a band for 7:30 the ceremonies should be over by then! How do you think the band felt playing for a field of empty chairs????

When drawing for door prizes announce winning number FIRST ( we all were supposed to have a stub) then announce a name! :dunno

Why not get a committee of past chairpersons together to get some kind of a guide book together so certain things would be done the same way every year?

F800 · Jul 23, 2009

This was my first rally of any kind...I was a complete virgin. Maybe it's because I have no point of reference for bike rallies, so I was very favorably impressed with almost everything. Since this is the 'Rally Sucked' thread, I'll contribute some suggestions for improvement, but I really enjoyed myself and hope I can do it again next year.

1. The First Time Rally pin was a pointless expense for BMWMOA. The lady at pre-registration told me it may get me discounts or special consideration at the rally, no one outside of registration even knew what it meant. I met a lot of very kewl people anyway, but NONE of the vendors I talked to even knew what it meant and very, very few of the attendees had any idea, either.

2. A list of vendors and their locations would have been nice to add to the booklet.

3. A table of seminars with titles and times would be helpful so that you could see the conflicts and plan your time/location to get the most out of them. Add this to the booklet, too, so that you can make better decision on where to go when you have a conflict and only one of the two is offered at a second time/date. This is pretty standard fare for most professional meetings that I've attended.

4. Keep the vendors open later so that you can ride during the day and still shop.

I've got a long list of things I enjoyed and liked, but I suppose that goes in a different thread.

wezul · Jul 23, 2009

romanr said:
3. A table of seminars with titles and times would be helpful so that you could see the conflicts and plan your time/location to get the most out of them. Add this to the booklet, too, so that you can make better decision on where to go when you have a conflict and only one of the two is offered at a second time/date. This is pretty standard fare for most professional meetings that I've attended.

Roman,
I've got the booklet in my hand, pages 46 - 53 contain the entire rally schedule, seminars included.

niebuhr · Jul 23, 2009

Johnson City Rally

This too was my 1st rally, I enjoyed myself. I thought the seminars were both educational and entertaining. Wish I could spend more time at the rally but work beckon me on Monday.

I would of like to have seen sign post for direction to the seminars. Some of us got a little lost trying to find some of the buildings.

2nd, being from Louisiana and there is one thing we know how to do; ÔÇ£cookÔÇØ. Would like to have seen more local food vendors, this part of the country is suppose to have some good bar b-q.

Start the rally a little earlier in the week to allow for more riding time.

Overall I had a great time.

Slablog · Jul 23, 2009

This was my third BMW national rally. The first two I attended were once to Spokane in 2004 and again last year in Wyoming. I rode my R1150R the first time clear across the country from Atlanta. Last year I rode my F650GS Thumper there and back. I love to ride my bike to the rally... HOWEVER!

This year I had a problem with my bike and chose to drive my little truck and haul a friend's K1200 to try and sell it at the rally. I also carried some items like a small grill and charcoal, etc. so our local club could maybe do something extra one night.

I went with the expectation that I would probably not be able to park the truck on site with the bikes, but I still needed to unload stuff and then find a place to park it.

Here are my complaints:
1.) At first I was not allowed onto the campground to unload things. I sat parked illegally with the truck still loaded down, for approximately an hour until a friend found me and escorted me and the truck to an opening where a sympathetic attendant allowed me in. After unloading, an overzealous security person sporting a long beard and an ear ring, riding in a golf cart came along and ran me out, telling me it was not safe to allow bikes and 4 wheeled vehicles to cohabitate. He also told me there was assigned spots for 4-wheeled vehicles to park and the other attendants would direct me there. I jumped in the truck and took off. Every attendant I passed I asked where the parking was. Enroute to this mysterious parking area I was heckled and cursed by motorcyclists who were "held up" as we slowly were routed right through the vendor area. No-one knew anything about a parking area! One guy just said I would have to exit and park down at that Church graveyard off site. This I did. Later I had to carry some more things to my group's location and pick up some items, so I again drove into the camping area. This time I decided to stay and wait until someone else ran me out. Too inconvenient to be going back and forth.

2.)That was it until I read this thread. Now I have a 2nd complaint. This guy.

It probably wouldn't hurt you to put the side stand down and walk the 500 feet to the showers.

I didn't actually take out my measuring tools and check it, but I seriously doubt there was anything within 500 feet of most of the camping areas. A nice walk to the showers was an excellent way to burn a few calories, but to flame some dude because he didn't want to put on gear to get to the showers via a one-way route gauntlet past the local sheriff, is to me "wise-assed" at best. But going through life with a name like Vern, I guess I understand.

As I stated at the beginning of this little diatribe this was my third big rally. It might just be my last. :banghead

henzilla · Jul 23, 2009

Boxer said:
After unloading, an overzealous security person sporting a long beard and an ear ring, riding in a golf cart came along and ran me out, telling me it was not safe to allow bikes and 4 wheeled vehicles to cohabitate. .

He yelled at a lot of folks...including me as I was following a line of bikes out towards the exit from the vendor area ...no signs indicating a one way even though he pointed at an imiginary one I never saw..I looked twice to where he was pointing :scratch

. A calmer tone would have made me pay attention...Yelling never works for me especially coming from a fellow MOA member who is volunteering and close to my age...Chill brother!...I had a longer beard and ponytail once too :whistle

BODENNY · Jul 24, 2009

Rally Sucked

My 34th National Rally and my wife's 32. The worst rally was great and I wish I could do 34 more.

deaconjones · Jul 24, 2009

Bodenny said:
My 34th National Rally and my wife's 32. The worst rally was great and I wish I could do 34 more.

rlitavecz · Jul 25, 2009

Golf Carts

OK...just a minor thing. I know that we are all getting older, but why are there so many golf carts pushing their way through the pedestrian areas? Bikes aren't allowed, but these 4 wheeled, lazy people, rides cruise around constantly. They think nothing of pulling out in front of a fully loaded bike with 2 people on board because.......they somehow have the right of way???? Again just a minor problem, but maybe the number of carts could be limited. No joy riding. Try to keep them away from pedestrians.

BTW this is the 11th rally I have attended in a row. I LOVE the rallys!! I DO volunteer. I appreciate the work that goes on. See you in Redmond......again!

CTellman · Jul 25, 2009

Lazy Volunteers . . .

As one of those lazy volunteers I don't know what I would have done without my golfcart/trucklet. My co-chair and I set signs all over the fairgrounds. Some times we had to improvise so we carried twine, wire ties, hammer and nails in order to affix our signs. As a call came from a vendor or a rally official we would have to drive from one corner to the next. Many miles were driven to do our job.
I can assure you that we were respectful of motorcycles and we were very careful of pedestrians.
Campbell Tellman II
co-chair signs

rlitavecz · Jul 25, 2009

CTellman said:
As one of those lazy volunteers I don't know what I would have done without my golfcart/trucklet. My co-chair and I set signs all over the fairgrounds. Some times we had to improvise so we carried twine, wire ties, hammer and nails in order to affix our signs. As a call came from a vendor or a rally official we would hae to drive from one corner to the next. Many miles were driven to do our job.
I can assure you that we were respectful of motorcycles and we were very careful of pedestrians.
Campbell Tellman II
co-chair signs

I wish that were true of all cart riders!

dancogan · Jul 25, 2009

rlitavecz said:
I wish that were true of all cart riders!

IF I was to complain, it would be about the number of carts constantly buzzing around creating their own little traffic hazard and obstruction.

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