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I would like this to be my first rally

87738

New member
Just wondering if there is anybody in Albrightsville,Pennsylvania area that is going to the rally next year? I would like to camp there for the weekend,and need some company for my first rally.

Jayson
 
Jayson-

I wouldn't worry about company there will probably be 6,000 friends there that you just haven't met yet. :thumb

I would recommend volunteering as it is a great way to meet people, I did it at my first rally and had a blast.
 
Jayson,
I second the idea of volunteering. It is a great way to meet folks. The beer garden and registration are two opportunities that provide a good avenue to meet others. There are many other volunteer opportunities. Camping at the rally is also a good way to meet other riders. I think you will find people at the rally to be a very friendly group. I am chairing the gates committee, so let me know if you would like to help out with staffing a gate for a shift...excuse the shameless plug.

Mark
 
dmaust01 said:
Jayson,
I second the idea of volunteering. It is a great way to meet folks. The beer garden and registration are two opportunities that provide a good avenue to meet others. There are many other volunteer opportunities. Camping at the rally is also a good way to meet other riders. I think you will find people at the rally to be a very friendly group. I am chairing the gates committee, so let me know if you would like to help out with staffing a gate for a shift...excuse the shameless plug.

Mark

Speaking of shameless plug... the charging commitee is always looking for people :brow
 
Jayson, don't wait until Lima to attend your first rally. Attend some of the great Chartered Club rallies come spring. You'll have a great time and meet new friends that will be going to Lima. And most importantly, you won't be a "Rally Virgin" when you get to Lima! Ride safe and often.


Riding Like the Wind (come spring)...

CHASMAN
Black '02 K12RS
 
How to make friends at a BMW national rally.

By KBasa

One may ask, "how do I make friends at a national rally"? It's easy, really, and once you've made a couple friends, you'll find that you'll make a whole bunch of new friends shortly thereafter. After a bit, you'll have so many friends, that you'll be introducing other folks to your new friends and those folks will have new friends too.

How friendly.

Method #1. Get a collapsible cooler of some type (plastic shopping bag with ice works) and fill it with ice and beer. Wander around the campground until you find a bike kind of like yours. Stop and admire it for a bit and wait for someone else to wander along and do the same thing as you.

Now - utter the magic words: "This is kinda nice, eh?" You've now begun a conversation. You'll find that you're both standing there, gawking at this bike while you have a beer. Be neighborly and offer your new acquaintance a beer. Congratulations, you've just made a new friend.

Method #2. Work at any of the volunteer positions. I like security as you get to hang out and watch bikes go in and out of the campground/rally site all day long. You'll get a spot with a couple folks you've never met before. By the end of the day, you'll be friends. Be sure to find them in the beer tent and buy them a beer. (Beer is usually a buck, so you can make lots of friends that way).

Method #3. Show up at the Forum Frenzy in the beer garden. All the usual Forum knuckleheads will be there and some of them *ahem* may bring some kind of malt beverage that's made in Kentucky in a county named Bourbon. You'll make some new friends fer sure. And later, if you have a digital camera, you'll be able to post pictures of them with tequila bottles on their head, strange expressions as they drink things they normally wouldn't do and other income generating things.

So, while you may show up not knowing anyone, that's not gonna last long.

Finally, if all else fails, do what Tina and I did at the 49er Rally a few years ago. We set up a martini stand. We parked the bikes in front of the tent and when folks wandered by to look at them, we offered them a martini. They'd usually hang around for an hour or so while we shot the breeze and discussed the finer points of BMW motorcycling.

Hope to see you there, daddy-o. Get the Sign Man in the vendor area to make you a name tag with your handle on it and we'll be able to recognize you when you're wandering around making new friends and buying us all beer. :wave

:buds
 
KBasa said:
How to make friends at a BMW national rally.
Method #3. Show up at the Forum Frenzy in the beer garden. All the usual Forum knuckleheads will be there and some of them *ahem* may bring some kind of malt beverage that's made in Kentucky in a county named Bourbon. You'll make some new friends fer sure. And later, if you have a digital camera, you'll be able to post pictures of them with tequila bottles on their head, strange expressions as they drink things they normally wouldn't do and other income generating things.

I highly endorse this plan, especially when somone else provided the Bourbon I was drinking :stick

I am not the one who had the tequala bottle on my head. However I am sure that there are embarassing photos to be had.

Even if you don't drink there is lots of fun to be had. The big thing is don't be afraid to just go up to someone and say "Howdy" most people are pretty nice.

Also when you camp, make sure to introduce yourself to your neighbors.

Also the volunteer thing is a pretty cool way to meet people, cause well they are probably just as nervous about meeting you. :thumb
 
Can't wait for the rally,I plan on taking that whole week off of work,and riding RT 6 through Pennsylvania taking my sweetass time! stopping when I feel like it,going when I feel like.See you at the beer garden!

Jayson Vilett
 
LickMyBrick said:
Can't wait for the rally,I plan on taking that whole week off of work,and riding RT 6 through Pennsylvania taking my sweetass time! stopping when I feel like it,going when I feel like.See you at the beer garden!

Jayson Vilett

I've ridden a big chunk of that road. Army of the Grand Republic Highway or something, I believe. Anyway, from about Bradford east, it's pretty nice. It goes through all the Amish towns before it finally dumps you out in Ohio.

Have a terrific ride and don't forget your name tag so we can find ya!
 
LickMyBrick said:
Can't wait for the rally,I plan on taking that whole week off of work,and riding RT 6 through Pennsylvania taking my sweetass time! stopping when I feel like it,going when I feel like.See you at the beer garden!

Jayson Vilett

Hey Jayson,

I'm Going! :wave Rt 6 is about 12 miles from my house! Blow the horn on your way through! When it gets closer, I'll know what my schedule will be for that weekend. Maybe we can meet up on the way :dunno
 
bradford

KBasa said:
I've ridden a big chunk of that road. Army of the Grand Republic Highway or something, I believe. Anyway, from about Bradford east, it's pretty nice. It goes through all the Amish towns before it finally dumps you out in Ohio.

Have a terrific ride and don't forget your name tag so we can find ya!

Dave, When were you in Bradford?
 
Jayson,

If you are on this forum you are already ahead of the game. Plenty of us will be in Lima - you kinda sorta know us, right? At least enough to have a beer with us at the Forum Frenzy I hope.

I also second what chasman says about going to a local rally. When you get there, get a rally mug, fill it with your preferred beverage and walk up to the largest group of folks that you can find. Ask them if you can join them, then tell them where you rode in from and that it's your first rally. I guarantee that you'll have a great time.
 
caution, run on sentence ahead.

And these folks even welcome hotel dwellers in the beer tent, and will allow you to chug bottles of water because you have to ride back to the hotel, that is accoss from Krispy Kreme, where you are hanging with your hotel dwelling friends...then you get up at the crack of dawn and buy them all donuts.
 
But if you really want to become a rally rat, you'll camp out with the rest of us. Then you can sit in the Beer Tent as long as you want, and crawl back to your tent, or you can just sit around somebody else's camp and talk. The choice is yours. Also make sure to introduce yourself to Helen TwoWheels at the national, tell her you're new at this, and ask for her help. We all like to help, but she does it better. See ya there, wherever there is.
 
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