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2011 Rally-Bloomsburg,Pa.

aa3jy

New member
I guess one of the advantages of listening in on the live MOA Board meeting this afternoon..it was announced that next years MOA Rally will be in Bloomsburg,Pa.:dance
 
I guess one of the advantages of listening in on the live MOA Board meeting this afternoon..it was announced that next years MOA Rally will be in Bloomsburg,Pa.:dance

Ya think??? they may have been planting a seed to throw you off.:dunno
 

They do have a fairgrounds, but the closest hotels might be in the Poconos! In any event, just ride north and northwest for great day rides. South and east is the Hard Coal Region which powered the industrial revolution. The only real downside is the copious quantities of PA Dutch food, which even a German avoid.

Where do we sign up as volunteers..
 
They do have a fairgrounds, but the closest hotels might be in the Poconos! ...........

Isn't it a college town? Maybe they will open up the dorms.



Lots of good riding in the area for sure, but some of the roads are getting rough, maybe they will spend some of the stimulus $$$ on PA roads this summer.
 
Unofficial Scout...............snitch

Lots of good riding in the area for sure, but some of the roads are getting rough, maybe they will spend some of the stimulus $$$ on PA roads this summer.

The roads north to northwest and east are very good. However there are fifty bridges that need replacement in the northeast part of the state by 2012. Even RT81 is going to be one lane from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre sometime soon. RT 80 is getting repaired this year and much of RT 11 is done. I have ways around the cluster.......

Another issue is the natural gas exploration progress in the best riding areas north to northwest of Bloomsburg, such as Benton, Rickets Glenn, Sullivan County, North of RT 118 near Dallas. The wells require 40,000 gallons of water being imported for drilling then removed to a treatment center. Heavy road use by water trucks is expected 24/7 times two weeks per well. And expect the wild cat drill operators taking the Mom & Pop motels. I will keep people posted, AND lets not forget NASCAR weekends. :laugh

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania is a community of about 13,000 people along the Susquehanna river. It is 40 miles south of Wilkes-Barre, and 2-3 hours west of NYC, northwest of Philadelphia, and Baltimore and maybe 4 hours from DC depending on the beltway. It is a prosperous area mainly due to the Magee Reiter Carpet Company who outfitted GM. Bloomsburg University overlooks the restored historical town, it is a NCAA Division II school known for their football and field hockey programs, respected academically despite their national ranking being the best drinking school at the D 2 level and well known for Frat parties. However the local law enforcement has made the place quieter since current ordinances stop large block parties........... The town is safe and sound ! There is another college in Lewisburg called Bucknell that might be an option if "Bloom" can't help us with dorms.

The town is prosperous, the downtown is restored and the small businesses support the college aged crowd with a few nice small restaurants, coffee shops, Mom & Pops and your typical strip mall flair on RT 11. I am concerned about the availability of offsite breakfast places and restaurants with a huge turn out but I know the towns 10 miles in each direction can support us.

There is a huge Masonic ( Caldwell ) Consistory on the town square, this organization could help us if they can run a breakfast. That building hosts huge organizational dinners so just maybe they can provide relief because the population base will make this a huge rally. They have nice meeting rooms, and they support a children's education charity which could be a 50/50 opportunity. Most of Law enforcement and business leaders belong to the organization if it means anything. Up the road are two other Masonic Lodges that could offer food and there are a few Churches that support the Fair operations that might help if notified in advanced. Everyone looks for fundraising opportunities during the summer..............I have no contacts but could ask one of my friends what he knows without a handshake. :p

Hotels ? The grand one was once the Magee which I believe is B & B. The major ones are on RT 80 at the town exits and RT 11 has some Mom & Pops that saw better days when RT 11 was king before RT 81 was put in. I have to check these small places out since most are used by contractors, and natural gas drilling operations etc etc. There are some nice clean ones that will rival past rally locals. There ought to be some nice B & Bs in the area, also look in the Danville area which is south and Lewisburg to the west. Most are nice historical places in grand homes made on lumber, railroads and the coal industry. Williamsport once had the most millionaires due to the lumber industry. Its new millionaires live in the hood and import their wares from Philly thanks to the law enforcement cutbacks.

The fairground host the largest fair (?) in Pennsylvania, the buildings are not giant CAM or visitor centers like West Bend, Redmond, Vermont but nicer buildings than Lima to be bold ( they are brick ). Some of the halls are connected, vast and are air-conditioned. There is a nice grandstand, a small band shell and various places for Paul and Matt to discuss Tech. And barns for those farm building campers.

Onsite riding ? I recall a giant concret pad for rider training, there are other lots for the demo truck...........think somewhere between Wisconsin and Lima in space.

The Monster Truck Rally should leave dirt on the infield for GS training. The big thing here is open midget car racing and Bloomsburg was part of Andretti's career in the early 1960's. The oval track is dirt.

There is a very nice onsite Veterans Memorial complete with a WW2 Tank that would make a great site for the MOA Vet Club. I feel the local VA would bring their mobile clinic bus for information distribution to health screening if invited. The military is well supported here if we need them for ceremony and A10s are just a flight over the mountains.

Security ? Can be well controlled because the place is fenced in, it has numerous gates for logistics and crowd control.

Plenty of camping on grass unless we have a hot dry summer then it will be Lima to Vermont. Better to have a dry one since the fairgrounds are 8 feet above the river level. :whistle

Health Care ? Geisinger Health Care System in Danville is just 10 miles down river, a well respected level one trauma center complete with Life Flight transport. Bloomsburg has a very nice community hospital within a mile from the grounds for lesser road rash.

Riding ? What do you want ?

Between Bloomsburg and Williamsport its flat to rolling farmland similar to Lancaster before tourist. I say this because the Amish are moving here complete with their farm machines, culture, and buggies. There is a small town called Turbotville lovingly known as Turboville for triple digit riding. There is a nice loooooooooong straight near the steam generation plant for top end experiments...................I don't remember how I know this.

You have the Pocono's if you want to ride with people who commute to NYC. Sadly a bit congested on weekends but the Delaware Gap and Jim Thorpe is nice............I have ways to get there.

The southeast is great all the way down to the Dutch Borders. Miles of mountains and twisties but not as extreme as Tennessee, North Carolina but more like south central Vermont. I think its nice, RT 125 is close and one of the best in the state.

The northwest, north roads are less congested and 6 ways to get to a destination on roads to yourself, however be careful because State Police lurk on weekends.

GSsing ? From forest roads to single track to extreme illegal roads marked in the east coal lands warning of death and not to enter. Adv Rider Smoking Hole Rally has more information on some of this.

What does this part of Pennsylvania look like ? Farmland, small quaint towns, forest, central Vermont, Finger Lakes New York without the lakes, northern Germany, and central France.

Lots of State Parks for camping.

Neat train routes, covered bridges, woods, deer, forest, deer, lakes and streams, and Amish horse manure on blind hills.

Local drivers ? The same cell phone types everywhere.

Worse local habit ? The driver in front of you will do a small weave, slow down, brake light on then left blinker as they turn. Or they look at you coming towards them on the country road then pull in front of you, then travel about a quarter mile up the road then do a left hand turn from a complete stop.

In the farm country usually there is a farm implement sharing your lane but the planting season is done and the hay should be in the barn and its too early for corn harvesting.

BMW dealers ? Hermys, Two Jacks, Bergen County, equal distant for Max and Bob's. :dunno

We don't have a helmet laws ! ;)
 
We don't have a helmet laws ! ;)

Yeah, that's something to boast about in our legal code. Right up there with 14 as the minimum age for legal marriage, if pregnant.

Let's not get too alarmist about the hotel situation. Danville is nearby with a plethora of chain hotels to support the medical center and the northern tier is primarily dependent on tourist income these days, so there's an excess of hotel space. Please keep in mind that this stretch of I80 routinely handles a large chunk of the 110,000-fans that attend PSU football games, so hotel space isn't that challenging.

I81 down to one lane this summer between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton? Why am I much less than surprised.
 
Thanks Dawg for that excellent summation of the area surrounding the 2011 Rally. Nothing beats local info. I'm looking forward to seeing another part of the country that I have not visited. Looks like 820 miles from my house and so it will be easy to get there. Should be a huge draw for attendance since it is so close to major east coast metro areas.
 
Bloomburg 2011

Statdawg,
Great write up, but I can't believe you did not mention Knoebels. http://www.knoebels.com/

A family owned pay by the ride and free parking amusement park only 12 miles away. It has an interesting history on the website.
 

Stoudt's is one of the few US microbrewers that can make good lagers and wheat beers. Victory is fun and similar to the old Seattle/Portland micros that viewed over-hopped ales as the end-all of beers. Bullfrog in Williamsport, Otto's in State College and Appalachian in Harrisburg are all nice microbreweries and have good food at reasonable prices. If you make the trip to Williamsport, you might try Franco's Italian restaurant and should visit Bob Logue's Honda Museum. Nearby, in Lock Haven, PA there is the Piper Aircraft Museum, which might be of interest.
 
The roads north to northwest and east are very good.
...snip

another great infoblurt from the dawg. :bow

we have discussed this location before... i am glad it has seen the light of day.

the site also got looked at ~10 years ago, but didn't have some of the required facilities.

party at dawg's farm! :drink

ian

bloomsburg_fairgrounds.jpg
 
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