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I would like this to be my first rally

* SHAG * said:
Dave, When were you in Bradford?

I was there in 93 or 94? We were on our way to Oshkosh and stayed at the KOA there.

I was there again in 97 on our way home from someplace out west. We stayed at the KOA (drank at that restaraunt/bar in the quonset hut) and then headed home. My buddy Mark's K75 ate an input spline, so he got a ride back to the Honda dealer and bought a VFR750 and rode it home. They went back later for the Kbike.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaraunt with a buffet in town that day.

Yeah, Bradford's cool.
 
Emoto said:
That's fine and all, but I intend to remain a man. Can't speak for the rest of these guys... :dunno

I've got enough friends that I don't think I need the surgery. Tina can troll for new friends. She seems to be good at rounding them up.

:buds
 
That's my way, too....

Hey Jayson,


You come right through Meadville on good ol' Rt 6....We're heading over but not sure when....

Hey Shag, were you coming to Meadville this summer and helping with the rider ed classes? I would see a couple guys on Gs' come into town (and since there aren't many here they stand out!). Friend of mine said there were a couple guys from Bradford riding them that were learning the instructo ropes......

JC
 
Hey Shag, were you coming to Meadville this summer and helping with the rider ed classes? I would see a couple guys on Gs' come into town (and since there aren't many here they stand out!). Friend of mine said there were a couple guys from Bradford riding them that were learning the instructo ropes......

JC[/QUOTE]

JC
I didn't know anything about the classes in Meadville! There are 2 Adventure's in town (Scott, Doug) ! I never took any rider-ed classes. I went to the hospital with broken bones, several times years ago, for my education :wave

PM me the dates & location, I'll try to make it!
 
Add my vote to the suggestion to volunteer, say gate duty one shift per day, or helping with registration. You'll see the same people over and over again, and they will soon recognize you--especially if you wear some outlandish costume bit such as a sombrero or 24" name tag.

You may be wondering how to avoid becoming bored at a rally that goes on for several days, but you'll be amazed at how much there is to see and do (in addition to swilling booze and acting stupid at the beer garden)

When the program comes out on this site, scrutinize the events, and make a few notes about which ones sound interesting to you. During the rally, it's very easy to lose track of the day or time and miss a seminar.

In between the scheduled events, you can rub elbows with thousands of your fellow BMW riders wandering and gawking (and sometimes buying) at the vendor area.

If you're up early looking for action, feel free to stop by "coffee with Dave" at 7a on Friday and Saturday. I suspect that I'll be able to talk Fred Rau (former Senior Editor of Motorcycle Consumer News) into joining me, as he did at Spokane in '04. Typically, we sit around for an hour or so with an open mic discussing whatever comes to mind, then the coffee session is followed by somewhat more organized seminar on riding skills. With any sort of luck, I'll find someone with deep pockets (at Spokane it was Whitehorse Press) to finance some free edible goodies to go along with coffee.

pmdave :wave
 
pmdave said:
If you're up early looking for action, feel free to stop by "coffee with Dave" at 7a on Friday and Saturday.

Yea, Dave I have been meaning to ask if you could move that to later in the day. I have an important meeting with my pillow scheduled for that time. Ever rally I have been to I have put that on my list of things to do, and every rally I have ended up sleeping through it. :thumb
 
Brad, it's interesting you should mention the time of day for "coffee with Dave". The original concept (shamelessly stolen from Fred Rau and his "coffee with Fred" at the Americade) is that there are people up early before the general opening times, so why not have a get-together where they could share a cuppa and start the day?

However, I know there are a few late sleepers who would like to join in--if only they could open their eyes that early. So, I've thought about having one coffee session at say 9a on Friday just for the LSs. What do you say?

pmdave :type
 
pmdave said:
However, I know there are a few late sleepers who would like to join in--if only they could open their eyes that early. So, I've thought about having one coffee session at say 9a on Friday just for the LSs. What do you say?

Dave-

If you set it up, I will be there! :thumb :twirl :brad
 
Brad,

Well, we've probably hijacked the topic, but since this is about the rally, let's continue the tangent.

In past years I've tried to get various interesting people to show for coffee, including favorites such as Mauricio Fernandez, the Brazilian who rode twice in the Paris-Dakar race as a privateer. Mouths were dropping open in Spokane as he described getting airlifted out at night after a serious crash, with the dirt strip illuminated by truck headlights. I've always wanted to get Sandy Cohen (ON Editor) to show up, but she is apparently unawake at 7a. And there are others. You might want to meet Dan and Judy Kennedy of Whitehorse Press, for instance, or maybe Ron Ayres of Ayres Adventures. Name your favorites, and I'll invite them to stand up front and be interviewed.

So, this year I'll request a 9a coffee, followed by a 10:30 skills seminar, on Friday. I'll press Cohen to attend, so we can ply her with questions. Saturday I'll request the "traditional" 7a "Coffee with Dave" followed by a 8:30 skills seminar, to allow folks to participate and then get off to see the rest of the shebang. And no, you don't have to stick around for the seminar just because you accepted the free coffee and pastries (complements of businesses who don't yet know they are going to be involved).

While I will make the requests, the rally seminar organizers have the final say in the schedule. We'll see how it works out.

pmdave :type
 
Heck Dave, I was just looking forward to meeting you. Although the idea of meeting Ron Ayers who started my IB rides would be cool. Andy Goldfine would be cool also.

I'll trust your judgement. :thumb
 
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