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what are the most popular rallies ?

While the National is a very nice rally I also visited once a rally in Idaho ( Stanley Stomp ) and had a good time. So many rallies are advertised and I wonder what in your opinion the 10 best rallies are ? Can we make a list of of 10 good rallies ?

1 National ( this year in WV )
2 Daytona ?
3 ?
4?
etc

Can we get 10 good sites together ?

Americade ? is that a good rally ?

Like to hear your comments on what rally I should NOT miss.

Thanks

Hans
 
hansomat said:
While the National is a very nice rally I also visited once a rally in Idaho ( Stanley Stomp ) and had a good time. So many rallies are advertised and I wonder what in your opinion the 10 best rallies are ? Can we make a list of of 10 good rallies ?

1 National ( this year in WV )
2 Daytona ?
3 ?
4?
etc

Can we get 10 good sites together ?

Americade ? is that a good rally ?

Like to hear your comments on what rally I should NOT miss.

Thanks

Hans


OK, you asked for it.

Here's my personal faves, though I'm sure you'll get tons of input from other folks.

Americade - I'd take a pass and spend a day riding Vermont or elsewhere in upstate NY. The area around Lake Placid is especially beautiful.

Top of the Rockies in Paonia, Colorado. Without a doubt, this rally is the best integrated into the community. Go. You'll have a ball and the roads are terrific.

49er Rally, Auburn, CA. - Outstanding roads, great site, good beer. You can walk into town for dinner. Speedway racing on Saturday night, right next door at the track. Not to be missed.

Damn Yankee Rally - Heath, MA. No showers. Tough. Still fun and you haven't lived until you've seen a rolling bonfire.

Pemi River - Those Damn Yankees again, hosting an event in conjunction with Bike Week in New Hampshire.

Those are the ones I've been to that I can highly recommend. I went to the Central Cal club's Beemer Bash when it was in Paso Robles, CA and had an absolute ball. They moved it to Mariposa and I didn't go (not their fault), so I can't comment. If it's anything like the old spot, that might be a terrific take too.

:thumb
 
The best overall for the mosts years is------????
Top "O" the Rockies, in Paonia, Colorado.
This year July 17 - 20
Also Chief Joseph at John Day, OR. June 12-15
John Ferris
 
I agree with Dave's list...although I haven't been to the 49er's...yet! And would like to add:

1. Finger Lakes - NY wine country and central location for visiting with LOTS 'o friends.

2. GA mountain - at least I hope this is one of my top tens. Going this year for the first time and I've heard good things about it. At least I KNOW the roads are fabulous!!

:beer
 
Well, I agree with kbasa & bmwgypsy, those mentioned are on my list. But have a different order of preference.


1. Top of the Rockies in Paonia, Colorado. They have massages!

2. 49er Rally, Auburn, CA. - English trials and massages!

3. Pemi River - Yankee Beemers, with other New England Clubs hosting an event in conjunction with Bike Week in New Hampshire. In a location North of the hoopla, so riding is good. No massage, but pool for hot days.

4. Finger Lakes - NY wine country and central location for visiting with LOTS 'o friends. .

5. Americade - Shopping mecca. Test ride every manufacturer side by side. Lots of accessories. Great food. Beautiful country. Hot tubs at the hotels.
 
Favorite Rallies

A rally not mentioned in the previous posts is Falling Leaf in Missouri in the Fall. It's well organized, well attended, and the Anvil Shoot is a hoot! Plenty of firewood, good food, and great roads.
:cool:
Mike
 
re: Best Rallies?

My $0.02:

1. 49er Rally (CA) Why? Scenery, "Fast Fridays" speedway races, beer garden, Sierra roads & GS trails.
2. Georgia Mountain (GA) Why? Great riding, good parties, good food, good GS ride.
3. Range of Light Gypsy Tour (CA) Why? Killer GS rides, fantastic scenery, cool campsites.
4. Wisconsin Dells (WI) Why? Party rally with good food, good site.
5. ROK-ON (TN) Why? Great riding nearby (Cherohala, BRP, Thunder Road, Deal's Gap), friendly atmosphere.

Honorable Mentions:
- Rocket City (AL) good food and "Microwave Dave's" blues music
- Turkey Tom's GS International (NC) quaint, out-of-the-way place, and good feed

Man, I'm sittin' here wishin' I was going somewhere this weekend! :D

mully
 
I've attended two great rallies: the MOA National in Midland, Michigan and a Rider Magazine rally in Martinsburg, West Virginia called "Ride Through America's History". It was a great idea to have a theme of sorts to the rally and there were numerous historical Civil War sites within riding distance of the National Guard air base that served as rally HQ.
I had the opportunity to meet Rider contributor Bill Stermer there - he was test riding an R1100RS at the time - and also rode my first BMW there, as the full complement of BMWs were under their demo tent. I was riding a GL1500 Honda at the time but after my first ride aboard an R1100GS, I began to get the Beemer Bug, a condition from which I've never recovered. :D
I've been to many other great events (my personal favorite is the annual AMA Vintage Days at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) but the two aforementioned rallies stand out in my mind.
 
rally preference

I guess it all comes down to what you like. I don't like huge rallies. I also expect a big, family style, Saturday evening meal included in the price. That said I love the Green Mountain Rally in Vermont and the Georgia Mountain Rally. The riding nearby is great. I love riding in Ontario so anything up there is good for me even if it breaks my my two commandments - not big & big meal. I haven't been to alot of places so there are plenty others I don't know about that are good or better. I'll let you know about the BMWBMW SquareRoute after May!

MarkF

P.S. The Sportbike Rally, the first weekend in July at Parry Sound, Ontario, is one of my all time favorites. There are a lot of yougsters and asian bikes but it is very cool. Besides there is a BMW sponsor and a GS ride. Where else, but Canada, do you get a radar run on an active airport runway?
 
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Rallys

I go to Americade every year, great place to ride , in the Adirondacs lots of activities.

I am very disappointed with the rally site selections over the last two years. Trenton was two hours away ( yes I am a Canadain) but it was only a mediocre site. There are many much better sites in Canada. Even within a few hundred miles of Trenton.

Now Charleston, is right in the middle of a city. Three camping locations that are a city ride away from most of the activities. Now I have an excuse to drink and drive. Oh sure there are shuttle buses. Not my idea of a rally experience.

Don't get wrong, I will go but I am not looking forward to it very much. If it wasn't for the great people I wouldn't go at all.

Can we have a nice site next year preferably not in a City, where we can all camp together and where everything is in one place. It would be kind of nice if it were in the southwest, or even the northwest.
 
Re: Rallys

Beemer1 said:
Can we have a nice site next year preferably not in a City, where we can all camp together and where everything is in one place. It would be kind of nice if it were in the southwest, or even the northwest.

Gotta agree with you there. I like it out in the wilderness. But, I don't think MOA will get the same attendence away from the motels, B&Bs and restaurants. There's gotta be a compromise. Somewhere away from the center of a city but with plenty of alternate lodging. I would think a Ski resort area in the summer should fit the bill.

MarkF:brow
 
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Re: Re: Rallys

oilhed said:
Gotta agree with you there. I like it out in the wilderness. But, I don't think MOA will get the same attendence away from the motels, B&Bs and restaurants. There's gotta be a compromise. Somewhere away from the center of a city but with plenty of alternate lodging. I would think a Ski resort area in the summer should fit the bill. Wait, isn't that what RA tried last year?

MarkF:brow

I think you'll see people come visit this rally that have never been to a national before. While the core constituency of the MOA has been comprised of campers, we're seeing a wider variety of riders on BMWs now, not all of whom camp. The riders are changing and we need to change to keep up and keep the greatest number of people involved. The very existence of this board is evidence that the MOA wants to reach out and enrichen the BMW MOA experience for the greatest number of members.

I've been about 50/50 on the camp/hotel ratio at nationals. I have to say that a hotel is fine with me. I'll go hang around the rally site for 12 hours a day and get my absolute fill. It's always nice to go back to a quiet room, with my own toilet and shower and spend a little time with MrsK. But then again, hanging in a big campground with a bunch of other folks has it's plusses too.

Charleston a big city? I dont' think so. With a population of 53,000, it's a smallish town. The suburban town I lived in in Massachusetts was 40,000 and the one I live in here in Marin is about the same.

The wilderness is close by and available for your riding pleasure from what I can tell on the maps.

YMMV, of course, but I'm totally stoked to be there.

:)
 
Michael Friedle

Dave Swider is right on the money with his response above!

Stop thinking of Charleston as a "city" and start thinking of it as a small friendly town with fantastic venues for our gathering.

The RA did go to a fantastic riding area and gather at a small ski area about 12 miles from the middle of nowhere in the wilderness. About 1500 people showed up by an optimistic count. Had the usual 6,000-7,000 people who usually show up for an MOA International gathering showed up in Red River the event would have been a disaster due to a lack of facilities to handle the attendees. It is not easy to find a location that has the facilities to handle a crowd of our size on motorcycles and still offer our attendees an interesting riding experience. I think you will find that Charleston meets both of these goals in spades. See you there.
 
Re: Re: Re: Rallys

Charleston a big city? I dont' think so. With a population of 53,000, it's a smallish town. The suburban town I lived in in Massachusetts was 40,000 and the one I live in here in Marin is about the same.

The wilderness is close by and available for your riding pleasure from what I can tell on the maps.



:)

We scouted Charleston out in January. You can be on a two lane road enjoying the great WV. scenery in a matter of minutes. Those that don't come because the rally is in the CITY are gonna miss out on a great time.
But those of us that do go won't be over crowded!
gsjay
 
Favorite Rallies

1. I always go to the original Mini Rally in "little Sturgis". Great band, great people, nice to ride in the Amish country. I go do different things every year, and this year will be no different.
2. Trying the 1st Laurels Highlands Campout this year. BMW and Kawasaki will be nice, and it looks like there is a lot of scenery to go to.
3. The National. I've got enough posts up to explain it.
4. Sherando Lake Rally. I have heard from several of my customers in the area that it's a great rally, OK, I'm willing to try.
5. Wisconsin Dells Rally. Again, I've heard it's a great rally, and I fear I won't see Sue (I don't need no stinkin' microphone) if I don't go there.
6. BMW RA national in Birmingham. Well, it's October and likely the last big ride of the year. And now that I have the R1200C, I'm not nearly as afraid of long trips and breakdowns.
 
One of the(if not the) best rallies of the RA was at Fontana, NC, even with the police protection :>). There were over 2,400 attendees, one of the RA's largest.
Fantastic location in the middle on nowhere. 30 minutes to an hour to anywhere, but in the middle of beautiful country and near smokey mtn nat. park and other attractions.
 
So Many Rallies. So Little Time

As a reformed Honda rider, I can aver that ANY BMW rally beats any other marque's gathering (except for our friends over at Harley, whose rallies are like a two wheeled version of the Persian Gulf War.)

For my money, I liked:

1. Redmond Oregon. Great riding, great people, great town, perfect venue. Only thing missing was a few more food vendors. Guess the locals didn't realize how much we could eat.
2. Top O' Them There Rockies. Nobody does it like the Colo.Beemerfolk, and what a great town and area. Possibly the most food vendors, per capita. Old hippie chick hit on me in downtown bar. But six bucks for a quart of oil at the rally site??
3. The Dells. It rained the entire time I was there, in a soggy tent next to Villa Magilla. We ate soggy brats. Waterproofing in my jacket went south. Mud galore. Never had so much fun.
4. Finger Lakes. It's in WATKINS GLEN. Need I say more?

Terry
r1100rt
Pittsburgh
 
Best Rallies

Top O' the Rockies has to be the best, The late, great Rolling Broccoli was a fine affair too. For the Airheads, don't miss The Gathering of the Clans.
 
Favorite Rallies

Top 'o the Rockies in Paonia is a MUST!!!

http://www.coloradobeemers.com/tor.htm

----

The Curve Cowboy Reunion is a rally unlike any other. It offers a completely different spin on rallies, and is definitely reflective of the growing desire for a first class Luxury Touring rally that no other organization provides.

http://www.curvecowboyreunion.com

----

Bavarian Mountain Weekend in Sipapu is also a great time and offers some great riding

http://www.nmbmwmc.org/sipapu.htm

----

K1200RS Texas Hill Rally is the best way to experience the Texas Threes (337, 335, 336) in the Hill Country of Texas.

http://nine-eleven.com/rally/

----
 
rally

Agree with most of you.

Top O' Rockies is a great rally with a perfect park.

Sipapu (BMW- Bavarian Mountain Weekend)- great roads to get there, sits at the bottom of the small ski mountain and usually has a fantastic bonfire.

National Rallies are always fun but don't like to be around big crowds.

Someone suggested a ski resort to host the national rally. Its a great idea but one problem is finding enough flat land to house all of the campers. Its tough to find it in the mountains of Colorado.

Would love to attend some rallies up in Idaho and Canada!
:clap
andy:bliss
 
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