• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

'04 MOA Rally

I haven't been to an organized professional ballgame in a couple of years so I'm kind of looking forward to taking in one of the night games between the Indians and the Emeralds. Nice-looking stadium!

It is a nice stadium. Avista Stadium, home to the 2003 Northwest League Champions, the Spokane Indians has been selected as field of the year six times in the past seven years.

We will be offering a BMW night at the ballpark on Thursday night with reserved upper box seats for $7 and reserved bench seats for $4. More will follow in the ON and on the web on how to order your tickets.
 
Last edited:
Slash Five,

You asked, I try to deliver. That is what I try to do as your Secretary. :D

After reading the post yesterday I did a little digging and made a few phone calls.

I now have a batch of photos one of which is posted. They were graciously provided by the local EDC (econ dev chamber) the local chamber of commerce as well as the local utility company. Most utilities have hi resolution images.

I also happed to speak with the person from the fairground first and she mentioned that they are in the process of a website redesign and are planning on updating the photos. I have some photos provided by the facility, I should be able to provide enough for you to get a good feel for the site and surrounding area.

The pictures I have will be posted on a seperate thread and will be on the rally web pages in the near future.

Best,
 
Rob Nye said:
Slash Five,

You asked, I try to deliver. That is what I try to do as your Secretary. :D....

I now have a batch of photos one of which is posted....I have some photos provided by the facility, I should be able to provide enough for you to get a good feel for the site and surrounding area.

The pictures I have will be posted on a seperate thread and will be on the rally web pages in the near future.

Best,

Excellent stuff there, Rob! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos when you start the new thread. Is this technology stuff great or what? When I was a kid....RADIO was the big thing!!

Thanks again - Onward and upward to Spokane.
 
Spokane in summer...

Jackie Hughes said:
It is a nice stadium. Safeco Field, home to the 2003 Northwest League Champions, the Spokane Indians has been selected as field of the year six times in the past seven years.

We will be offering a BMW night at the ballpark on Thursday night with reserved upper box seats for $7 and reserved bench seats for $4.

Hello, Rally Chair Person! Living right there in Spokane as you are, can you give us an idea of what a regular mid-July temperature might be on a clear, sunny day in eastern Washington state, please? Thanks
 
Hello, Rally Chair Person! Living right there in Spokane as you are, can you give us an idea of what a regular mid-July temperature might be on a clear, sunny day in eastern Washington state, please? Thanks

I certainly can. The average temperature in July is a moderate 82 degrees with overnight temps usually in the 60's. Average rainfall for the month of July is about 2/10's of an inch. These figures come directly from the CVB and the Chamber of Commerce.

My personal experience is that our "hot" weather comes in August and our rain usually in June. With any luck at all rally week should be mild and dry.
 
re: Spokane July temperatures...

Jackie Hughes said:
I certainly can. The average temperature in July is a moderate 82 degrees with overnight temps usually in the 60's. Average rainfall for the month of July is about 2/10's of an inch.

My personal experience is that our "hot" weather comes in August and our rain usually in June. With any luck at all rally week should be mild and dry.

eljeffe and Rally Chair Person........THANKS for the information!
 
Re: re: Indians...Beemers...and aerial photos

SlashFiveTourer said:
'Montana' replied earlier that Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) freights and AmTrak passenger trains operate through that train yard. I know where I'll be spending a portion of my 2004 National rally time...right there at trackside - cameras in hand - watching the trains go by.

{REV. WILLIE - please note...another "crack" AmTrak passenger train - 'The Empire Builder'! Couldn't these guys have stopped right there at the Rally site and unloaded a couple of tons of BMW motorcycles from a Rally Train? We're never goin' to be this close to a major rail line again!...aaagghhhhhhh! }
?

Yes SlashFiveTourer, I know the Empire Builder goes right through the yards in Spokane-that was the train that we used in the original Rally Train back in '01. I remember the Spokane Yards very well--waiting out on the platform before dawn,making sure that all the freight cars with our bikes were getting connected to the train going to Portland (the Empire Builder splits into 2 trains in Spokane: one to Portland and one to Seattle). That is why this impass with Amtrak is so frustrating-we could unload and reload at the Rally site if only Amtrak would give us a chance to give them some business!

I wonder if the Empire Builder will still be running in July? :confused:
 
/5: As Rev Willie points out, Spokane is a major rail distribution point. I donÔÇÖt know the shift schedule of the rail yard, but IÔÇÖm pretty sure it runs all the time. After all, the Empire Builder goes through at something like 1:30 am, so that should tell you something about the operations.

The statistics may give an average July temp of 82F but IÔÇÖve been there on plenty of mid-July days when it was more like 95-103F in the Spokane Valley. Wear your perforated riding gear, pack lots of water.

I wouldnÔÇÖt try swimming at an active gravel operation, but there are water parks nearby ÔÇô one right near the rally site (Splash-Down exit 289, I think) and one near Coeur dÔÇÖAlene (Silver MountainÔÇÖs Boulder Beach), plus CdA Lake and Lake Pend Oreille have public swimming beaches.
 
Rail yard concerns

Okay all, here is the difinitive answer to all those questions regarding the rail lines that are seen in the ariel view of the fairgrounds.

The yard is operated by Union Pacific, not BNSF as previously reported in other posts. I spoke with a director at UP this morning, so this is direct from the horse's mouth as they say.

While UP does have 24 hour operations, they only have two trains that utilize those tracks on a daily basis. Both trains are morning trains, 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM and operate Monday-Friday. IF (and according to UP that is a big IF) there is any other activity that occurs, everything is shut down by 7:00 PM. No trains run on Sundays at all.

All their other rail activity takes place through another switching yard, as does the Amtrak train, which BTW does come through Spokane at 1:30 AM. The station for Amtrak is located in downtown Spokane (the platform Rev. Willie is refering to) and the train comes into Spokane via another yard before hitting the station and then departing for parts west.

For those of you who like trains, you will have to be satisfied with the visiting the train museum on the rally grounds. Hopefully this answers all questions.
 
:D
Thank you Jackie for the definitive information about the trains. I didn't remember the fairgrounds near the platform, but then again,it was dark and late at night. I think the train was running late when we were on it, so that is why I remembered it as a pre-dawn experience. Actually,I think that the westbound trip was pretty much on schedule but the return trip was the p-d experience. Both ways we were worried if our bikes were going to be travelling with us or not!

I am sorry that we couldn't get the Rally Train organized for your Rally. I know that Gray Buckley and Charlie St.Clair really tried to get Amtrak to give us another train, but things seem to be going down the drain with them. I will still be at Spokane, but I wish that I could have gotten there on a train again.:rolleyes
 
JULIE said:
Hey Everyone, I'm new to the web site but not to motorcycles. You are all talking about the 2004 rally being in Spokene Wa. but I'm unclear on the dates. Would someone please fill me in? Also, If any one has info on Shawn Baecker with the 1100GS, who recently moved from KC to Detriot please have him contact me. Julie in Washington

Well, finally...... (and to think, all you had to do was go to shawnspage.net to find me...lol)

I have been trying to figure out where you've been hiding, but not much luck. I can't belive I found this post. (Actually, I googled my name to see what came up, and "poof", there you were looking for me.

I'm in MI now, and the only riding I've been able to really find was through a Ducati group out here. They were reluctant at first when they saw the ol' girl (the GS), but after spanking the guy on the SV, passing the guy on the ninja, and sticking my front wheel up the ass of the guy on the Honda (I was working my way up to the 916) on every corner, they said they GUESS I'm ok to ride with them in the future...lol. Oh man, I can't wait to hear back from you. I hope you are still on here.
email: shawn@shawnspage.net
phone: 810-824-8440
 
Back
Top