2024 National Rally: REDMOND Oregon

[ebell]

Any chance of getting back on topic, or changing the headline of this thread? Just askin'.

 

[eugene]

Hopefully things work out for me to go.

 

[jammess]

I've thought that the MOA could maybe even consider having the rally one day on the Oregon Coast. For a location Coos Bay/North Bend comes to mind. I know the powers that be will say the community is too small but I question that and I know Coos County pretty well having lived at Coos Bay for 14 years. The south coast of Oregon is imo just fantastic and beats Deschutes County in every way especially in today's Oregon. Oh, and Coos Bay/North Bend is the largest metro area on the OR Coast as well. I regret having ever left the area and Florence is only 50 miles north. Today I'm going to fire up the FJR and roll south to Brandon for a cup of coffee and a goodie. Yummy

 

[r65_steve]

Any chance of getting back on topic, or changing the headline of this thread? Just askin'.

Hear, hear! Amen.

I've thought that the MOA could maybe even consider having the rally one day on the Oregon Coast. For a location Coos Bay/North Bend comes to mind. I know the powers that be will say the community is too small but I question that and I know Coos County pretty well having lived at Coos Bay for 14 years. The south coast of Oregon is imo just fantastic and beats Deschutes County in every way especially in today's Oregon. Oh, and Coos Bay/North Bend is the largest metro area on the OR Coast as well. I regret having ever left the area and Florence is only 50 miles north. Today I'm going to fire up the FJR and roll south to Brandon for a cup of coffee and a goodie. Yummy

Similar to this year. Why Richmond? Blah. I would have much rathered Roanoke within the Commonweath.

 

[gsinnc]

Hear, hear! Amen.



Similar to this year. Why Richmond? Blah. I would have much rathered Roanoke within the Commonweath.

Ironically the Richmond location (for me) turned out much better than expected. Traffic was not an issue, we rode Rt.33 into the area and did not hit any traffic until about 2 miles from our hotel. In addition getting to and from the Rally (about 14 miles) was pretty simple and uneventful as well. Not to mention the nice venue and great food vendors. Early on I had poo poo'd Richmond too but now have to say it was one of the best.

 

[ecaho]

I've thought that the MOA could maybe even consider having the rally one day on the Oregon Coast. For a location Coos Bay/North Bend comes to mind. I know the powers that be will say the community is too small but I question that and I know Coos County pretty well having lived at Coos Bay for 14 years. The south coast of Oregon is imo just fantastic and beats Deschutes County in every way especially in today's Oregon. Oh, and Coos Bay/North Bend is the largest metro area on the OR Coast as well. I regret having ever left the area and Florence is only 50 miles north. Today I'm going to fire up the FJR and roll south to Brandon for a cup of coffee and a goodie. Yummy

Coos Bay? I don't know about that. Unpredictable Oregon coast weather, a couple of crappy hotels, an Indian casino, and a downtown that saw it's best days when timber was king. The porn arcade at the south end of town would please the airhead bunch, so there's that. But I'm the last one to understand the logic of the rally siting selection process. I mean, have they heard of California? There's the California Gold Country, the NorCal Wine Country (choose a valley), Santa Ynez wine country, Paso Robles/Pismo/SLO area, Highway 1, Hwy 49, 36, the Sierra passes, the Redwoods, and one billion miles of forest service roads. There's Yosemite, Death Valley, Avenue of the Giants, Kings Canyon, Lave Beds NM, Lost Coast, Big Sur. Choose a direction and have a blast.

 

[glenfiddich]

I've rarely been excited by the general location picked for a rally as they are (dictated by the inclusion criteria) in or near big cities. I'm just not a big city person so get my thrills on the meandering way there and back. If I leave the rally grounds at all it's to eat or to gas up for an early start to the return trip. That said, the grounds and facilities at this year’s site were awesome! Plenty of shade, plenty of space, facilities clean and in good repair, food choices several notches above the norm, great entertainment, and the fairgrounds employees were unfailingly polite and helpful.

This year was a home run! I hope Redmond can match it.

Pete

 

[flyhi2cfar]

Great description of the 50th VA endeavor!

 

[skibum69]

It's going to be a bit of a ride if I decide to try to get to this one. It would be hard to beat be for farthest away.

 

[PGlaves]

It's going to be a bit of a ride if I decide to try to get to this one. It would be hard to beat be for farthest away.

Go for it!!!

 

[lionlady]

Consdiering the trip to Redmond.

Hubby and I were talking last night, and realize we have never done a big/long moto-trip together. Ever. I rode to Denver from Baltimore back in 2009 with friends. He and I have ridden to various gatherings here on the east coast, but they were nearly always a long day's ride away or less. We did take 2 days each way to make the trip to Springfield,MO last year. It's 2600+ miles from where we live to Redmond. We could certainly do it in 5 days each way.

Not sure if I'm up to camp and ride for the cross-country trip, although we would absolutely camp on site at the rally. Is it weird to think about hotel hopping for cross-country?

Seeing how much cooler it is in OR in June, we'd need to pack "all" temperature levels of clothing for riding and hanging out. Am I overthinking this? LOL

 

[jammess]

Coos Bay? I don't know about that. Unpredictable Oregon coast weather, a couple of crappy hotels, an Indian casino, and a downtown that saw it's best days when timber was king. The porn arcade at the south end of town would please the airhead bunch, so there's that. But I'm the last one to understand the logic of the rally siting selection process. I mean, have they heard of California? There's the California Gold Country, the NorCal Wine Country (choose a valley), Santa Ynez wine country, Paso Robles/Pismo/SLO area, Highway 1, Hwy 49, 36, the Sierra passes, the Redwoods, and one billion miles of forest service roads. There's Yosemite, Death Valley, Avenue of the Giants, Kings Canyon, Lave Beds NM, Lost Coast, Big Sur. Choose a direction and have a blast.

Got to agree with you when it comes to Coos Bay. I moved there in '81 and left 14 years later and it was a good place when I was there but it has fallen on hard times that's for sure which is a shame. I worked for the BLM when I was there and for sure the bottom dropped out of the timber industry in OR. This was destined to happen since big timber was pretty much out for the bucks and not much else. They just paid lip service to concepts like sustained yield management of their private lands and still do. You know what they do to old growth timber? They run it through the chipper since there are no old growth mills left.

California?? Man, I've had happier thoughts. Haven't been below the boarder in years and don't plan to ever, in what's left of this lifetime, go.

 

[gsinnc]

I’ve ridden cross country three or four times and I’ve ridden another dozen trips of about 10 to 20 days and all were in motels or hotels. For me it’s not weird at all. You have basically two choices. One is to plan your trip and make reservations for each night or take each day as it comes, and when I do that, I usually, try to book early in the morning or the day before. While I’m fine with camping but when I’m on the motorcycle I always choose to hotel it. For me it’s just easier and a lot less gear to have to pack and deal with. Hotels and people in general on the road are most always very friendly and helpful.

Over thinking it? I don’t think you can over think and motorcycle trip at least when it comes to the planning and trying to be prepared. Whenever I’m on a long trip, I usually plan for most any weather and even in the summer trips I carry a heated vest and always have rain gear. And just remember the planning of a long motorcycle trip is half the fun.

 

[ecaho]

Got to agree with you when it comes to Coos Bay. I moved there in '81 and left 14 years later and it was a good place when I was there but it has fallen on hard times that's for sure which is a shame. I worked for the BLM when I was there and for sure the bottom dropped out of the timber industry in OR. This was destined to happen since big timber was pretty much out for the bucks and not much else. They just paid lip service to concepts like sustained yield management of their private lands and still do. You know what they do to old growth timber? They run it through the chipper since there are no old growth mills left.

California?? Man, I've had happier thoughts. Haven't been below the boarder in years and don't plan to ever, in what's left of this lifetime, go.

It's too bad about "the other Bay Area" and its struggle to re-invent itself. The port has a lot of potential. Since you're in Florence, take a ride down 101 to the Redwoods. Very beautiful and other than Eureka, which is a 15 minute transit, you're not hitting any urban areas. As for the urban areas...I live just north of SF and I won't even go into The City unless I have to run to SFO. Freeway congestion can be a real pain. We do have lane-splitting which is a godsend. I understand Oregon now has that(?).

Re Redmond, I'm going. My sister lived in John Day and the roads in central and eastern Oregon can be fantastic. From the map it looks like only one hotel is within walking distance to the venue. So it appears a person either camps or motates to the rally from a hotel, which is what I'm doing since I just made my hotel reservations.

 

[lee]

Not sure if I'm up to camp and ride for the cross-country trip, although we would absolutely camp on site at the rally. Is it weird to think about hotel hopping for cross-country?

We used to camp on our cross country trips. It didn't take long getting used to motel hoping when we gave up camping
I would not like carrying the camping gear for a couple weeks and only using it for the rally.
Shipping is not cheap anymore but I would check into shipping your gear to the rally site if that's still a option.

 

[jammess]

We used to camp on our cross country trips. It didn't take long getting used to motel hoping when we gave up camping
I would not like carrying the camping gear for a couple weeks and only using it for the rally.
Shipping is not cheap anymore but I would check into shipping your gear to the rally site if that's still a option.

What a great idea! I was going to ride the FJR to the Redmond rally because it has luggage and a GIVI V46 trunk where the BMW has no luggage because when I used to own an R1150RT I could just swap the luggage. Then I sold the 1150 when I found my FJR. As a side note I am glad I made the swap because the FJR is fantastic. Shipping compared to the cost of a motel for me since I'm not far from Redmond would work absolutely. Finding a motel in these parts is not easy and what you get for the money is the pits. Here on the coast you not only can't find a motel that isn't booked the campgrounds are full up always. Glad we have a house to live in. lol..lol.. I would like to ride the BMW to the rally and camp.

 

[lee]

Shipping is not cheap anymore but I would check into shipping your gear to the rally site if that's still a option.

There was info for shipping in this year's Rally FAQ.

"You may ship items to the rally. All items should be addressed as follows:"

"Receiving will be available from Monday through Saturday of Rally week. Hours are 9 AM to 5 PM M-F; 9 AM to 3 PM Saturday. A central location will be designated in the exhibitor building, known as the Farm Bureau Building."

"Yes, an on-site shipping service will be available once the Rally opens through Sunday morning."

 

[jammess]

Took my camping gear to Shipping' Shack this AM and had it weighed with a cost estimate which came to $45 Fed Ex next day delivery. This beats a motel by a long shot especially in today's rat race. I wouldn't be surprised if a motel for two would set you back at least $150/night in the Bend/Redmond area if you could even find one with a room. This is camping gear for wife and I both. We would then be able to ride the pristine absolutely 100% like new '93 R1100RSL over. I mean you got to ride your BMW to the national for god sake or what good are you? Don't answer that. Anyway, I would really like to attend Redmond since it would be my last national and probably my last rally. Then can work on getting the BMW into the living room for the duration. Wife doesn't know my plan but she will be surprised as I won't do it with her around.

 

[jfmoore430]

Train from Washington DC to Portland

I hope they can organize the train for the national rally 2024!

 

[visian]

I hope they can organize the train for the national rally 2024!

Here is to Reverend Willie, may he RIP.