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Rally Picture:Hmmm........What is wrong with that picture?

The reason you thought it would be in Sedalia is because that's where it's at.

Sorry for relaying erroneous information, but the direction of the thread (heat) is still legitimate no matter where the rally is going to be held. I think varying the location of the rally along with the time of year is a good idea.

The biggest and most popular State Fair here in my State is at the begging of October. Even up north, the weather is perfect. I would imagine in the southern half of the country it would be pretty good also. For those who have jobs, I would bet it is easier to get vacation time in October than it is in July-August.
 
Branson is a great location and it will be much fun for all.

Elevation of the area is about 750 feet with rolling hills. It's a good place to gather with a lot of things to do. However, The Weather Channel says today's high in Branson will be 97, tomorrow 100. Bring your evaporative cooling vest, and stop to water-up frequently.

It looks like there is a BMW dealership @ 85 miles away in Bentonville.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branson,_Missouri

:lurk



The Rally is not in Branson. It will be in Sedalia, MO which is 154 miles north of Branson.
 
Odd place to meet

I agree, Merlin.

July may be an ideal month for many but certainly not all. Depending on the rally location, it may not even be the best month. IMO varying the month to suit the location makes sense. Locations like Bloomsburg, Lima Ohio, Sedalia , etc are usually going to be hot and humid in July, sometimes *very* hot. For example the average high temp in Sedalia MO in July is 89 degrees (7 higher than Bloomsburg). I know... those of us in Bloomsburg would *love* to have had 89 this weekend, instead of the record 103. But it could have been much worse, Sedalia's record in July is 116 degrees. Sedalia average high in September is 79, ten degrees cooler than July.


An occaisional month other than July would accommodate those with other July (such as family) commitments. A mid September national rally every 3 years would allow some different members to go. And if at a location under 2,500' (which most in the east are) it's likely to be much more comfortable.

Not a lot of trees in this picture of the fairgrounds. Area looks pretty boring for biking too unless you go south to the lake.
 

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Are the dates locked in yet?

This location looks like a nice ride from Calgary for next year. Anyone have the scoop on the dates yet?
 
When this web site came up there is a picture of people sitting at tables drinking beer and they all have long sleeved shirts and jackets on? Where they at the same rally that I attended? : )

Back to the original question.

Just got my August ON, it's a picture from the BMW Motorrad Days in Germany July 1st-3rd...funny it was cold there in July,eh? But it was in the Alps:thumb
 
In an effort to further derail the original post...and in response to osbornk.....
Wikipedia says:
"One of the locations claimed to be the Geographic Center of the Contiguous (or Conterminous) United States is pinpointed by a historical marker that is located within a small park near the town of Lebanon, Kansas. It is located at the intersection of AA Road and K-191, accessible by a turn-off from U.S. Route 281 approximately a mile north of the town.

This marker and the purported center should not be confused with the geographical center of the United States, which is measured using all fifty states, not just the "lower 48.""

Having been born and raised significantly west of that point and now living a couple hundred feet east of the Pacific (where the high rarely reaches the upper 70's)......the common frame of reference for those in the 'East' has always puzzled me.:scratch Sort of reminds me of the New Yorker Magazine art where everything west of downtown NY is considered 'The West'....

But, since the nation is broken into 4 zones, I expect the National to be back within a reasonable distance in another few years. It is our peak season with a full house nearly all month and the Mendocino Music Fest, so I can't go anyway, but maybe some day we might actually Retire! Then we can ride to wherever it is....Y'All have fun in Sedalia, y'hear?
 
Why have it east again? Hardly seems fair.
I attended the "first timer's meet & greet" & a man (I forget his name, but he's part of the MOA leadership) fielded a question similar to this. He said the MOA divides the country into 4 parts & they rotate the rally between the slices.

39 - Bloomsburg, PA
38 - Redmond, OR
37 - Johnson City, TN
36 - Gillette, WY
35 - West Bend, WI
34 - Essex Junction, VT
33 - Lima, OH
32 - Spokane, WA
31 - Charleston, WV

etc. He said the rally is unlikely to ever take place in Canada again (last one was 2002, Trenton, ON) due to the number of people that cross the border & how many problems that caused. There's a whole list of requirements for the rally location, many of which I imagine are somewhat difficult to fulfill. Basically, it sounded like a pain in the neck to find a good rally location & I doubt they're going to ever find one that's PERFECT. Certainly, no matter where they choose to hold the rally some people will love it & some will hate it. They'll never make everyone happy.

For example the average high temp in Sedalia MO in July is 89 degrees (7 higher than Bloomsburg).
The average July temp for the Washington DC area this year was 84.5 degrees, the hottest July average in history, yet for several days in July, Washington DC was the hottest place in the north of the equator. One day the heat index was over 120 degrees. That is impossible to predict from the "average" monthly temperature.

Going by the "average" temperature isn't really the best way to go, since most of us (motorcycle riders) are rarely awake or riding during the coolest part of the day (call it 0200-0600). Maybe awake & *drinking*, but awake & riding? Not really.

Picking a place where the average DAYTIME temperature is below 90 degrees would sure be nice.
I'm glad I went to the rally. I had fun hanging out with my friends, making some new ones, etc. I did not have fun at the actual rally/on the fairgrounds. It was miserable all day, every day. You couldn't even go to the seminars for some relief. Sure, you were out of the sun, but it was so friggin' hot & humid that it didn't really matter. You were still miserable, just not getting sunburned :) I don't know how the campers survived or managed to get any sleep at all. As long as they keep holding the rallies in the summer, my first rally will also be my last. I'm glad I did it once, though, and think the town of Bloomsburg really stepped up and were great hosts.

My guess is the tradition for holding the rally in mid-July was set back in the 70s when many of the organizers had school-year-based obligations (I'm just guessing) and now that tradition's been set & ingrained for so long that nobody feels it can be changed. I'm guessing it would be quite a challenge for the MOA leadership to change the date range of the rally - but it sure would be nice to see that happen. Surely they could try a September rally once & see what the attendance was like. Then at least everybody would know if high attendance is season-dependant.
 
It is too bad Canada is off the list. I think it would be a great choice especially for State siders.
 
It is too bad Canada is off the list. I think it would be a great choice especially for State siders.

I agree that there would be many parts of Canada that would be "prime" for another MOA rally.

How about an BMWMOA international lite. Might not be as big (vendors and attendees) but we can sure make up for it in scenery and riding areas.
 
The Eastern states join the Atlantic Ocean or are connected to a state that joins the Atlantic. Anything west of the Mississippi is west.

Now where did you get that information? That makes about as much sense as saying the Continental divide divides East and West! Draw a line down the middle of the U S North to South and you will have East and West. That would be a line that runs from approximately from North Dakota through Western Texas. Do the same for North and South or take a class in Geography.:jester

Jack
 
Originally Posted by osbornk View Post
The Eastern states join the Atlantic Ocean or are connected to a state that joins the Atlantic. Anything west of the Mississippi is west.
in an effort to help keep this thread as far off the original topic as possible...

If you go by the club forums, MO is in the midwest.

Being both a Civil War buff, and a Naval History buff ( I probably need to get out more...) mention made in several books I have with regard to Union forces securing "the great ship building centers of the west" are referring to St. Louis...

From where I sit, virtually everything in the United States is east... except Hawaii.
 
Growing up in SE Houston,TX, anything north of IH-10 was The North:stick

:laugh:laugh:laugh

Our geography lessons from the 'ol days said the Mississippi River was the east/west dividing line. Most folks do not factor in state 49 & 50 when using that theory. Watched an interesting show the other night on how we got the time zones lined up the way we did...all in all for the railroads scheduling.
And if you get picky, Texas is more South than a lot of states claiming that status...I understand the Old South from Civil War era history as well:wave

Back to the off track thread...
 
I wore long sleeve micro-fiber shirts at the Bloomsburg Rally. Splashing water around your neck and down the sleeves gives you a welcome cooling effect that is suprising.
 
I wore long sleeve micro-fiber shirts at the Bloomsburg Rally. Splashing water around your neck and down the sleeves gives you a welcome cooling effect that is suprising.

A good way to stay cool and keep the sun off. :thumb

:lurk
 
Stayed away from wearing cotton shirts

My wife and I bought a 'body rag' from the frogg togg venter. Kept it wet and around our necks for 3 days. The evaporating effect was very pleasant, but we also needed to supplement our fluid intake with electrolyte replacing fluids (not BEER - until the sun went down). We heard there was a river near by, but didn't get to go for a swim. Anyone out there get to enjoy the river?:dunno

Mike and Martine
76 R90/6
93 R100R Legend
 
The river was wonderful! We camped in the field down there and just walked over each day and floated around for an hour or so in the afternoon.
 
Growing up in SE Houston,TX, anything north of IH-10 was The North:stick

:laugh:laugh:laugh

Our geography lessons from the 'ol days said the Mississippi River was the east/west dividing line. Most folks do not factor in state 49 & 50 when using that theory. Watched an interesting show the other night on how we got the time zones lined up the way we did...all in all for the railroads scheduling.
And if you get picky, Texas is more South than a lot of states claiming that status...I understand the Old South from Civil War era history as well:wave

Back to the off track thread...

How true! :rofl

My best childhood friend moved to Houston from Dallas. Some of the kids in the neighborhood called him "Yankee" for years.

:lurk
 
My guess is the tradition for holding the rally in mid-July was set back in the 70s when many of the organizers had school-year-based obligations (I'm just guessing) and now that tradition's been set & ingrained for so long that nobody feels it can be changed. I'm guessing it would be quite a challenge for the MOA leadership to change the date range of the rally - but it sure would be nice to see that happen. Surely they could try a September rally once & see what the attendance was like. Then at least everybody would know if high attendance is season-dependant.

Not every BMW rider is a 65 year old guy in a Aerostich. Some of us are young and have young kids. If you truly want the MOA to die out from old age do everything you can to discourage new blood like changing the National to when the kids are in school in The fall.
 
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