Attendance?

akbeemer said:

What you call "pain and misery" many of us call riding.

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There is beauty everywhere on earth and prairie landscapes with massive skies and solitude can assuage the soul on a long ride. Heck if we worried about Mosquitos we might never ride to Canada or Alaska! I will be heading to St. Paul next year for sure and look forward to some more eastern rallies in future years.

osbornk said:

I think many people are like me that limit themselves to 500-600 miles from home due to family circumstances (medical and otherwise). We feel the need to be within one long day's ride of home. If you choose a location where the most members live within 600 miles of the rally location, it will be in the mid-Atlantic area. Fairness requires that we rotate the location to different parts of the country but the expectation of the number in attendance has to be adjusted.

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+1 !

jammess said:

Morning Kevin,
Actually, having spent much time riding the back roads of the big sky country I should change that OR/ID reference to include Montana. First time I went over the Bear Tooth I thought I had truly died and gone to heaven. Got nailed for day time speeding on the Bozeman pass one time and all it cost me was 5 bucks. But jeez louise who in their right mind could enjoy droning across the middle of this continent with nothing but heat, humidity, and corn fields. Call a spade a spade I say.... All that said I understand the need to vary the rally locations so that all folks have a chance to attend a national. Wonder what the attendance numbers would be if the national was held in the southeast or California?

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Barley and I just got home from the rally. Left Salem at 6am on Saturday and arrived home in Vermont the following Friday. Could have done it faster but can't push the dog so hard we can't both enjoy the experience. And a funny thing happened while crossing the middle of the continent (both ways). I went into this calling it The Great Flatness and figuring it was a necessary evil to reach the Pacific Northwest. But in the process I found there was a lot to like about the middle! In the high desert I marveled that people used to do this on horseback. The Sandhills were not the mind-numbing sameness I expected, but a land of sculpted sand dunes frozen in place and covered with green.

Coming off the Big Horn into the vast desert beyond we were stopped by - and found ourselves in the middle of - a herd of cattle being moved from one pasture to another, right down the middle of Highway 14Alt in Wyoming. And the image that will stay with me forever was the tiny little cowpoke, all of five years old with brand new chaps and a great big hat, riding up to me after the last cow darted suspiciously around us, tipping his hat in a very grown up gesture, and informing me it was now safe to ride on!

Yes, we crossed 264 miles of corn between Iowa and rural Illinois, but every single town we passed thru had a well-maintained park in which we could rest, eat meals, take a nap, and always find ourselves heartily welcomed by the locals. Not just people drawn to the novelty of a dog in a sidecar, but genuinely interested in our comfort and safety. The experience left me with a completely different notion of what I used to call Fly By States.

Maybe I'm not in my right mind, but after a military career in which I saw a heck of a lot of the world, I now cherish opportunities like this that let me see more of my own nation. It is truly the best of the lot. If not for the MOA rally I most likely would not have made this 8800 mile trip.

Regards,
Pete (and Barley, who is sound asleep and recovering from all the new friends he met)

glenfiddich said:

Barley and I just got home from the rally. Left Salem at 6am on Saturday and arrived home in Vermont the following Friday. Could have done it faster but can't push the dog so hard we can't both enjoy the experience. And a funny thing happened while crossing the middle of the continent (both ways). I went into this calling it The Great Flatness and figuring it was a necessary evil to reach the Pacific Northwest. But in the process I found there was a lot to like about the middle! In the high desert I marveled that people used to do this on horseback. The Sandhills were not the mind-numbing sameness I expected, but a land of sculpted sand dunes frozen in place and covered with green.

Coming off the Big Horn into the vast desert beyond we were stopped by - and found ourselves in the middle of - a herd of cattle being moved from one pasture to another, right down the middle of Highway 14Alt in Wyoming. And the image that will stay with me forever was the tiny little cowpoke, all of five years old with brand new chaps and a great big hat, riding up to me after the last cow darted suspiciously around us, tipping his hat in a very grown up gesture, and informing me it was now safe to ride on!

Yes, we crossed 264 miles of corn between Iowa and rural Illinois, but every single town we passed thru had a well-maintained park in which we could rest, eat meals, take a nap, and always find ourselves heartily welcomed by the locals. Not just people drawn to the novelty of a dog in a sidecar, but genuinely interested in our comfort and safety. The experience left me with a completely different notion of what I used to call Fly By States.

Maybe I'm not in my right mind, but after a military career in which I saw a heck of a lot of the world, I now cherish opportunities like this that let me see more of my own nation. It is truly the best of the lot. If not for the MOA rally I most likely would not have made this 8800 mile trip.
Regards,
Pete (and Barley, who is sound asleep and recovering from all the new friends he met)

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You're in your right mind. I always felt the same way, then again we could both be out of our minds. I'll leave that for others to judge.

Adding to my previous attendance figures:

2013 - Salem, OR - 5100
2012 - Sedalia, MO - 5295
2011 - Bloomsburg, PA - 7330
2010 - Redmond, OR - 6109
2009 - Johnson City, TN - 8972
2008 - Gillette, WY - 5103
2007 - West Bend, WI - 7684
2006 - Essex Junction, VT - 9200+

Looks like a definite trend...eastern to midwest rallies tend to have higher attendance. But I guess we figured that out!

Pete, you expressed this very well! Glad you and Barley had a good trip!
The prairies of this great land do indeed hold much beauty if you allow your eyes to see.
"Amber waves of Grain" are some very noble words, yet they humble in comparison to actually seeing them.
Two of my favorite places to camp are in the prairies and the high desert.
I'm amazed each time at how many stars there are in the sky!

As you mentioned, small town America will give you new hope for our Country.
Women and children will actually look you in the eye, smile at you and engage in conversation!

The friendliness, thoughtfulness and compassion are mind numbing if you are not used to it.
It's a completly different world than most are used to living in the large cities....

Ken

jammess said:

Morning Kevin,
Actually, having spent much time riding the back roads of the big sky country I should change that OR/ID reference to include Montana. First time I went over the Bear Tooth I thought I had truly died and gone to heaven. Got nailed for day time speeding on the Bozeman pass one time and all it cost me was 5 bucks. But jeez louise who in their right mind could enjoy droning across the middle of this continent with nothing but heat, humidity, and corn fields. Call a spade a spade I say.... All that said I understand the need to vary the rally locations so that all folks have a chance to attend a national. Wonder what the attendance numbers would be if the national was held in the southeast or California?

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Hi Jammess, To each their own, makes the world go round. Fairly new to Montana, but we are learning that this is a motorcycle Nirvana. Got pulled for doing 90 in a 55 zone in Wyoming. The Sheriff (who looked 90) did not give us a ticket, just kept us there for nearly 2 hours asking questions about our motor-sickles, telling stories about his nephew who races motor-sickles and admonishing us to be safe. If you sped in his county you paid with your time. But then this was nearly 30 years ago.

20774 said:

Adding to my previous attendance figures:

2013 - Salem, OR - 5100
2012 - Sedalia, MO - 5295
2011 - Bloomsburg, PA - 7330
2010 - Redmond, OR - 6109
2009 - Johnson City, TN - 8972
2008 - Gillette, WY - 5103
2007 - West Bend, WI - 7684
2006 - Essex Junction, VT - 9200+

Looks like a definite trend...eastern to midwest rallies tend to have higher attendance. But I guess we figured that out!

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Low attendance is an embarrassment.

tommcgee said:

Low attendance is an embarrassment.

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What is considered low? I can see what are lower numbers but with the exception of VT, I don't see a huge difference in the numbers, at least nothing that would draw one to a conclude a particular attendance as an embarrassment. Having said that, I've been to 4 of the listed Rally's and the one in Salem did feel smaller but I just figured it was the layout. Btw, my question isn't loaded. I am genuinely interested in what constitutes a reasonable attendance figure for the organization and what would be considered a failure (embarrassment).


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There should really only be two criteria to determine if any rally was a success:

#1. Did the attendees have a good time?

#2. Did the rally not generate excessive red ink?


This rally was a success on both counts.



Numbers of attendees are irrelevant if fun was not had!

fastdogs2 said:

I am campaigning for Lewisburg, WV as the next eastern rally site. This is the WV state fairground site and there are plenty of motels available in the area. The high rollers can even opt to stay at the plush Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs. The altitude of Lewisburg is such that the temperature is usually in the 80-90 degree range. West Virginia has plenty of excellent two lane roads, with twisty curves, elevation changes and interesting small towns. The state needs the revenue a rally would bring, since coal is not now in favor and most of the state's economy is based on coal mining.

For those of you who have not ridden in WV, check out the roads (US19, 16, 28, 39, 92, 55, 3, 10, 219, 60, 250, 33) that are within reasonable distance from Lewisburg.

Bill

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I think Lewisburg is a great idea. I'm not aware of the facilities but the location would be top notch. It would be easy for many people to attend with I-81, I-64 and I-77 nearby. The roads are great (thanks to Robert Byrd and his influence in congress) and we need to give our members a more accurate impression of WV than the one they received at the Charleston Rally. A split rally with horrible weather in a difficult part of the state was not a good idea (in hindsight).

The Johnson City rally had a great turnout and it is about 70 miles from me. The Lewisburg rally is 141 miles on the other side of me so it is in the same general area except it is closer to population centers. I think the turnout would be great. I hope the committee is looking at Lewisburg and the facilities are adequate.

+1

98lee said:

There should really only be two criteria to determine if any rally was a success:

#1. Did the attendees have a good time?

#2. Did the rally not generate excessive red ink?


This rally was a success on both counts.



Numbers of attendees are irrelevant if fun was not had!

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+1 !

fastdogs2 said:

I am campaigning for Lewisburg, WV as the next eastern rally site.

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There is at least one other member that I know of who has identified this site. Please let me know if you need any help.

Ian

20774 said:

Adding to my previous attendance figures:

2013 - Salem, OR - 5100
2012 - Sedalia, MO - 5295
2011 - Bloomsburg, PA - 7330
2010 - Redmond, OR - 6109
2009 - Johnson City, TN - 8972
2008 - Gillette, WY - 5103
2007 - West Bend, WI - 7684
2006 - Essex Junction, VT - 9200+

Looks like a definite trend...eastern to midwest rallies tend to have higher attendance. But I guess we figured that out!

Click to expand...

That's funny.... We attended Essex Junction, West Bend, Johnson City. All the ones above 7,000. Bloomsburg coincided with AMA Vintage Days. Priority.
How many were in Lima, Ohio?

All together, now!
2013 - Salem, OR - 5100
2012 - Sedalia, MO - 5295
2011 - Bloomsburg, PA - 7330
2010 - Redmond, OR - 6109
2009 - Johnson City, TN - 8972
2008 - Gillette, WY - 5103
2007 - West Bend, WI - 7684
2006 - Essex Junction, VT - 9200+
2005 - Lima, OH - 8300
2004 - Spokane, WA - 6187
2003 - Charleston, WV - 7198
2002 - Trenton, Ontario, Canada - 5682
2001 - Redmond, OR - 6677
2000 - Midland, MI - 6188
1999 - Rhinebeck, NY - 6440
1998 - Missoula, MT - 6050
1997 - Fredericksburg, TX - 3826
1996 - Morganton, NC - 5904
1995 - Durango, CO - 6137
1994 - Moodus, CT - 5627

Yep! We were in Lima and in Charleston. I guess we go only to rallies that have 7,000+ attendees....

EMSimon said:

Yep! We were in Lima and in Charleston. I guess we go only to rallies that have 7,000+ attendees....

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I was in Lima, Charleston, Johnson City and Bloomsburg where they all had over 7,000. The thing they had in common was that they were all within 500 miles of my Virginia home.

Greetings,

A few random thoughts.

Here in New England we call going across Kansas the "Tour de Corn." I'll never forget after my first time across the plains (2000 Butt Lite) I mentioned to my friends that it wasn't a big deal and the said "you must have done it at night." which was true.

I've done it in the day and yes if you're going to run I70 it stinks.

Having said this there are some excellent east / west roads such as 36 that are plenty fast between towns. The towns are cool and riding through one can get a feel for how things work in the heartland. It might add a half day to a Boston to Denver ride.

For those who have a limited travel distance I understand and feel very fortunate I don't have the same issues. It is a shame because if you live east of the Rockies and you've never ridden a bike in the Rockies, Sierras or the high plains you are really missing out. When our rally is west it is a golden opportunity to sample some of the best riding, scenery and food in the United States.

Rally or not if you've never ridden the west, ship your bike, rent a bike or figure out way way to take the time, you'll be glad you did. Until then put it on your bucket list.

I think the Vermont rally was the perfect storm for big attendance. The economy was humming, MOA membership was at its peak, a huge number of BMW riders within 600 miles *and* it was VERMONT! I doubt we'll ever crack 9k again but it would be cool if it did.

Perhaps we need to return to Vermont.

Rob Nye said:

Perhaps we need to return to Vermont.

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THAT'S what I've been saying!
Makes perfect sense since I believe the MOA has to be sensitive to the July temperatures since prior to this one the past couple of rallies were uncomfortable. I'd think twice before considering anything south of the Mason-Dixon line.