2023 Richmond VA: The 50th National MOA Rally

Happy holidays

Happy Holidays to all
Thinking back to the rally in Springfield Mo. those temperatures are looking pretty good now

Where’s the interest….

The apathy I’m seeing, concerning this upcoming National Rally is unusual.
The winter months normally provide a lot of cometary of anticipation.
Last activity was about 65 days ago, a holiday greeting!

This being the first National where a MOA Member,
didn’t get a price break on registration over the general public…
does that cause the lack of involvement?
Yeah, I’m not happy about that either.
Will attendance numbers suffer as a result?
Is it the location this year?
Are MOA Getaways an issue? They at least get social media responses.
Something is different in 2023; I’m going this year…
hope it’s not just me and the incoming/outgoing MOA Board members!

flyhi2cfar said:

The apathy I’m seeing, concerning this upcoming National Rally is unusual.
The winter months normally provide a lot of cometary of anticipation.
Last activity was about 65 days ago, a holiday greeting!

This being the first National where a MOA Member,
didn’t get a price break on registration over the general public…
does that cause the lack of involvement?
Yeah, I’m not happy about that either.
Will attendance numbers suffer as a result?
Is it the location this year?
Are MOA Getaways an issue? They at least get social media responses.
Something is different in 2023; I’m going this year…
hope it’s not just me and the incoming/outgoing MOA Board members!

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Great point. I was wondering the same thing about this radio silence. After reading about the upcoming rally and comments from last year's at Springfield, it seems the Members that most enjoy the rally experience are staying in Motels/Hotels away from the actual rally site. My other takeaway from reading about this and last year's events is the hotel availability for this year - it sounds like most accommodations are several miles away, with the close by hotels possibly witnessing an early morning theme park creche to go with free waffles and Cheerios. Could the motel availability and not wanting to deal with the oppressive heat make some of us hesitate?

I was at Springfield and camped. My experience includes both roses and thorns, but those comments are for another day.

This news is about 2 weeks old now but we've sold over 2800 tickets to the rally and that was half way through February. More than ever by this time. I think it's going to be a fantastic rally.

I have attended about a dozen National Rallies and enjoyed them all. I am not a camper so always hotel / motel it and my experience has always been good. Most hotels/motels within 15 miles of the rally site have a lot of attendees so the "parking lot camaraderie is usually very good. Last year it was extra special at the Best Western where the entire hotel was BMW Attendees. As for heat ... I have always said it the summer be it June or July so expect heat. In the years I have attended the hotels have been from 4 to 15 miles from the rally site but all were good. I was in Salt Lake in 2017 and while it was hot it was still a great time. We had a great hotel and truly enjoyed it. This year we (a group of about 10) are at a hotel about 10 miles from the rally site with restaurants within walking distance. Maybe I am one of the few who is excited about the event as is the case every year.

We have a group of 5 heading up. All first timers (for a National). Never been in that Richmond area and we're looking forward to checking it out. We're in a hotel about 10 miles away. Wife & I have attended Americade several times so we're familiar with the larger rallies. We like staying outside of it all, doing lots of riding/exploring and popping in & out of the rally site/vendors/seminars, etc.

I remember being concerned about the online "silence" before our first Fontana Getaway. Learned pretty quick that it doesn't mean much. I'm guessing this will be a very well attended rally.....We cant wait!

flyhi2cfar said:

This being the first National where a MOA Member,
didn’t get a price break on registration over the general public…
does that cause the lack of involvement?
!

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The registration page shows MOA members get a $20 break.

Advance Registration Jan 1 - April 30, 2023 ($89.00)
Save $30 by registering before May 1. Advance registration fee is $69 for MOA members and $89 for guests.

What a great post, I've the same concerns. I was expecting to see more activity in the forum or facebook page, but it wasn't the case.

I suppose with everything that is happening in the world, members had decided to tap out this year. I'm glad that is not this case.

Regards,
Mario

enriquez said:

What a great post, I've the same concerns. I was expecting to see more activity in the forum or facebook page, but it wasn't the case.

I suppose with everything that is happening in the world, members had decided to tap out this year. I'm glad that is not this case.

Regards,
Mario

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Did you not see Adam's post where registrations are actually ahead of normal?

gsinnc said:

Did you not see Adam's post where registrations are actually ahead of normal?

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Yes, I saw it. Thank you.

I was refering to the post by flyhi2cfar, regarding the apparent lack of interest on this year rally.

I suppose all is good.

enriquez said:

Yes, I saw it. Thank you.

I was refering to the post by flyhi2cfar, regarding the apparent lack of interest on this year rally.

I suppose all is good.

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Maybe a bit quiet on the forums but it seems there is interest based on the registrations.

Also, I thought there we got a $49 registration if we were in Springfield. There was a comment about MOA members not getting a benefit for being a member,

Lee said:

The registration page shows MOA members get a $20 break.

Advance Registration Jan 1 - April 30, 2023 ($89.00)
Save $30 by registering before May 1. Advance registration fee is $69 for MOA members and $89 for guests.

Click to expand...

Hi Lee; great to room nearby you (both) in Springfield.

My comment was actually directed toward the two “early” opportunities for
Registration. The $49 each for 2023 as we departed Missouri, and the
Grab a Buddy two for… ? (I don’t remember the $)

Neither of those required MOA membership to my reading/understanding.
So to actually save a few dollars and register months early…
WE as members, paid the same price as a rider off the street.

It’s now known the “advance” registration numbers are higher that past years.
Well you think!
An east coast opportunity nearest the highest concentration of our clubs
membership. And with it now well known the lowest admission is by December of the year before.

Problem is, that 2800 number of “early’s”…
“may” represent three quarters of the upcoming actual attendance. Uh-oh!

I'm looking forward to the rally!

Thoughts about where to sleep:
I've been to 8 national rallies and Springfield was the first time I did the hotel-thing, which I did for various reasons and it wound-up being a very good decision since Mrs. Veg was along with me and she wound-up feeling ill for the duration we were there. When I made the reservation I had a gut feeling that staying off-site would make me feel less connected to the event but that wasn't the case, prob'ly because the hotel was so close to the rally site.

I'll most likely be solo this year and will be staying in the tent again. Will be hot? Dunno, that's always a crapshoot. I've been to a couple of rallies that were unexpectedly not-hot. West Bend was notable for me because it wasn't hot. It was my second rally. Lima was my first and I sweated my ass off there, so I only brought lightweight sleep-gear to West Bend, where the nights actually got sorta chilly! Froze said ass off the first night, then the next morning made a beeline to an outdoors shop and got a fleece-sack to curl up in for the remainder.

Shady spots for your tent are nice, but I've been in the wide-open too. The sunny spots are survivable, just don't plan to be in your tent during daylight. Not a problem when the exhibit/seminar/vendor buildings are air-conditioned. Having shower-trailers onsite is something I'd rank in the top three things that have improved about our rallies since my first ones. Hot weather is so much more tolerable if you hose-off the sweat and funk and expired sunscreen now and then.

I doubt it will be less than fairly warm at night this year, so I won't bring the nice sleeping bag but will plan for flexible sleeping gear just in case.

In any event I'm expecting a heluva fun time hanging out with a bunch of my fellow MOA members!

The_Veg said:

I doubt it will be less than fairly warm at night this year, so I won't bring the nice sleeping bag but will plan for flexible sleeping gear just in case.

In any event I'm expecting a heluva fun time hanging out with a bunch of my fellow MOA members!

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After a couple of rallies where I almost froze with my warm weather sleeping bag, my sleeping bag is now always my extra warm bag rated down to 32F. In places like Bloomsburg, Salt Lake and Des Moines', I unzip it and sleep on the bottom layer (the top pulled aside), where it has worked even on hot nights. However, if the weather should be cooler than I anticipate, it keeps me sleeping comfortably.

As much as I have missed hanging out with my fellow MOA friends, I am still undecided as to whether or not I will attend this year.

Here's a little more incentive, that you may have forgotten...

Paul_F said:

As much as I have missed hanging out with my fellow MOA friends, I am still undecided as to whether or not I will attend this year.

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... I'm sure that I owe you a BEER !

Plus, YOU literarlly have one of the best rides available to/from your home in June.

West Virginia is sorta on the way!

And, aren't you needed or in charge of something important? You should be!

Did I mention beer?

Time for my annual question on when are the musical acts going to be announced?
Really bummed that I couldn't make Springfield, that line up looked good. I did hear that Rev. Horton Heat might have been too loud for some of the older folks!

pettynerd said:

I did hear that Rev. Horton Heat might have been too loud for some of the older folks!

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Not the oldsters. The younger-midler folks. The oldsters just turn off their hearing aids.

flyhi2cfar said:

... I'm sure that I owe you a BEER !

Plus, YOU literarlly have one of the best rides available to/from your home in June.

West Virginia is sorta on the way!

And, aren't you needed or in charge of something important? You should be!

Did I mention beer?

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John, I’ll take you up on the beer, maybe this year or maybe next year.

The backroads of P.A. are terrific and I think the beautiful ride south through the W.V. is 16 and yes it is a beautiful ride.

Not in charge of anything this year, but did I mention I’ll take you up on either a porter or a stout?

Paul_F said:

John, I’ll take you up on the beer, maybe this year or maybe next year.

The backroads of P.A. are terrific and I think the beautiful ride south through the W.V. is 16 and yes it is a beautiful ride.

Not in charge of anything this year, but did I mention I’ll take you up on either a porter or a stout?

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We’re meeting our 2 Canadian buddies near Buffalo and taking them down through PA, WV and VA! Amazing roads and POIs on the way to Richmond

Paul_F said:

Not in charge of anything this year, but did I mention I’ll take you up on either a porter or a stout?

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...you would be a fine candidate to organize the annual "Canadian Member's Happy Hour" at the Beer Garden !