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2013 Rally B*tchfest

beemerron

New member
Keeping in the tradition of the forum, I got a gripe about the recent National. Before I get into that, let me congratulate the host, organizers, volunteers and mother nature.

The weather was extraordinary, Highs in the upper 80's and sleep able at night.

The volunteers (including me) were helpful and friendly. There is a commercial rally up the road this weekend and cost 3x as much. These things can't go off w/o volunteers. It's fun work. Do a shift or 2 at the next, you will enjoy yourself.

The site was utilized very well. Perhaps another open gate would have been nice, but it all worked out.

The facilities were fine. I drove my motorhome (house) there, so I can't comment on showers.

My petty gripe is about water at the beer tent. $1.50 for a 9oz. bottle. Really?

That's all I got.

See y'all in Minne:wave
 
A $1.50 is a bit high for water, but there were many places nearby that sold it for $1.00. A $1.50 for a beer, even a Bud, is a fair deal. I worked a few shifts at the Beer Garden and it was a good time. I suspect the elevated cost of the water was due to the use of a ticket system to sell the beer and to have a seperate process for water would add to the complexity.
 
A $1.50 is a bit high for water, but there were many places nearby that sold it for $1.00. A $1.50 for a beer, even a Bud, is a fair deal. I worked a few shifts at the Beer Garden and it was a good time. I suspect the elevated cost of the water was due to the use of a ticket system to sell the beer and to have a seperate process for water would add to the complexity.

I hear ya. It may have been something to do with competing with vendors, I don't know. A gallon can be bought for $.89 at Fred Meyer. Give me a cold liter for a ticket and I'm happy.
 
Btw

The Imperial Stout did me in on Friday night. I was warned at the counter, but..... That's a good brew.
 
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great rally, otherwise :)
 
My only complaint is that it was a walk from the concert to teh beer tent, so I didn't have as many of those Imperial Stouts as I would have liked to... Those whacked me good!
 
Salem was a great rally! FREE water was available quite near the beer garden, the yellow coolers were there both days I needed H2O to temper my stout consumption. Camping space looked to have been snug in places but everyone seemed to have worked it out. I heard no complaints about the showers and it seemed there was a restroom or porta-john every time you turned around. Several good food vendors onsite, too. And it was really nice to be in a covered arena for closing ceremonies, beats the heck out of a grandstand and hot sun. Had a great time volunteering and taking in the rally activities, 2014 will be just as good in MSP where you can order delicious walleye in the restaurants and get MEAT ON A STICK at the fairgrounds.:dance:dance

Best,

GTRider
 
My $.02

Great rally, thanks to the efforts of many.

My gripe: dogs at the rally. Or, more precisely, *some* dog owners at the rally, who ruin it for all dogs.

Dogs, I love them. Dogs love me. I love having dogs around. But the total inconsideration and/or ignorance of some dog owners make it such that dogs should not be allowed at the rally.

One nice member, after his unleashed dog jumped out of nowhere to chase me and nearly caused an accident (not to mention killing the dog), was so kind to say, when asked to keep his pet leashed, "shut the f*** up, you stupid motherf***er!"

A rally is no place for a dog. :mad

jmo.

Ian
 
Great rally, thanks to the efforts of many.

My gripe: *some* dog owners at the rally, who ruin it for all dogs.

A rally is no place for a dog. :mad

jmo.

Ian

Ian - I'd agree with your first statement. There were a couple of dog-aggressive canines at Salem that snarled and lunged at Barley, who calmly ignored them as he has been trained to do. IMO if you can only control your dog by hanging onto its leash with all your strength, if your dog is not under your absolute control under any circumstances, it should not be brought to a public gathering. I'd strengthen that by adding if you are not certain how your dog might behave, if you have not taken the time to test the animal in various circumstances, you should leave the dog at home or be prepared to leave if it misbehaves.

The second statement I have a problem with. Aside from the fact that Barley is a trained service dog who adds a considerable margin of safety to long distance travel for me, he is a much loved and cherished companion. He had no issues at the rally that I was aware of, but I was prepared to pack up and leave immediately if he had. Yes, he pooped on the grass...then stood there marking the spot till I pulled a poop bag out of our backpack and cleaned up the mess. He also stopped and marked deposits left by other dogs whose owners chose not to pick up after them, and we disposed of those as well. He did manage to sucker tidbits out of a few rally goers at meal times, but again I was attuned to the attitude of those few and if they were not welcoming of his focus he was recalled and placed on a down-stay (though I use commands in a different language so he doesn't obey just anyone.)

I am aware of Barley's limitations and alert to his personality. On our ride to the rally he took one look at the prairie dog community in the Badlands and threatened death and dismemberment to the lot of them. An hour later he hurled canine epithets at the largest bull bison on the planet, including some comments about its mother that had the animal scratching the ground and coming our way. We had planned to ride the Wildlife Loop in the Black Hills, but given his behavior I opted out. He has more courage than brains when it comes to wildlife, and might have created a disturbance that wouldn't have been fair to the fauna or other park visitors.

I was surprised at the number of dogs at the rally, and IME the vast majority of them were very well behaved. Rather than an outright ban, it might make sense to put some teeth (pun intended) into the dog policy. The government regs on the behavior of service dogs would be a good place to start; they have a list of behaviors for which a service animal can be evicted from any business. If anyone at the MOA would like me to draft something, please let me know.

Regards,
Pete
 
I was surprised at the number of dogs at the rally, and IME the vast majority of them were very well behaved. Rather than an outright ban, it might make sense to put some teeth (pun intended) into the dog policy. The government regs on the behavior of service dogs would be a good place to start; they have a list of behaviors for which a service animal can be evicted from any business. If anyone at the MOA would like me to draft something, please let me know.

Regards,
Pete

I was hoping you'd answer, Pete, because you're the poster child of a responsible dog owner.

When I was having "the issue" I happened to have a radio, as part of my role as GS Events Chair. Dang it... the battery was dead, otherwise I would have radioed Security and ask to have the irresponsible owner escorted from the rally. Hey, I would have gladly given that guy $40 myself if he were to leave. :ha

But therein lies the rub. It is really hard to enforce a policy like this, and fwiw, I think we already have enough rally nazis who love enforcing whatever rule they feel is being broken. :rolleyes

You really should write up a simple statement about how dogs and are expected to behave at the rally. Make it simple... like two sentences. I have no idea if the welcome sign for dogs changes by each Rally Chair, and mho is that a motorcycle rally is not a place to bring a dog (outside of service dogs), but it would be worth it if we could set a basic expectation that everyone is comfortable with.

Ian
 
Ian - Thanks for the compliment. Those who have truly bonded with their dog know it's a matter of mutual trust and respect. Those who have dogs as fashion accessories often don't get it. Sorry you had to experience that owner's venom, as I was that we encountered dog scat in common areas. That sort of thing ruins it for all of us. (At least I hope it was dog scat; the thought of an MOA member staggering out of the beer tent and, well...let's not go there!)

I was thinking more in terms of a simple "list of expectations," rather than yet another set of rules. Give me a few days to get settled and I'll toy with a couple of options.

Pete
 
...I was thinking more in terms of a simple "list of expectations," rather than yet another set of rules..."

The rally FAQ already has it pretty simple, above situation lacks the enforcement. When someone experiencing the situation doesn't take the action to inform the rally, why complain afterwards?
dogs.jpg
 
Only issue we had was dealing with a man using the women's showers in the pavilion. He refused to leave and told my wife that women have no place in the motorcycling community. Jokes on this Neaderthal , a woman is why I was at the rally and provided much of the fun and Entertainment,
 
Pete and all,

I'm in total agreement with your statememt about "fashion accessory dogs". (great term!)
As an owner of show dogs, at a dog show if an animal is aggressive toward another dog/person, the owner and dog are immediately asked to leave.
No exceptions, or leeway.
As Pete stated, if you are unsure of how your dog will react in different situations, your training of your dog is incomplete. I spend a lot of time
"socializing" any dog that I own which includes taking them to public events and places where the dog will be touched and handled by strangers.
Also I make effort to place the dog in situations where they will be in contact with many other dogs. It is a matter of training the dog on proper
maners when in public places. Granted a "service" dog such as Barley is held to higher expectations than a "show" dog, the principals we are discussing
here are the same.

I'm in total agreement with enforcing the rules as written! Just because a dog is on a leash does not mean it's under "control".

Ken F
 
Only issue we had was dealing with a man using the women's showers in the pavilion. He refused to leave and told my wife that women have no place in the motorcycling community. Jokes on this Neaderthal , a woman is why I was at the rally and provided much of the fun and Entertainment,

I didn't find my way to the women's showers in the Pavilion, but the men's were unmarked. I halfway expected women to walk in...
 
The beer garden

Mad Dog here, beer garden chair.

Yes, the H2O issue of pricing was a bit high for 9oz., but the water was a bit of a snafu. The volume was much higher in Sedalia, but this year was a bit of a cut and paste issue. And yes, ticket pricing and simplicity did play a large part of it. We have H2O in the BG, as a safety/health issue, and with the Oasis containers and restrooms, all one really had to do was keep the plastic bottle and keep refilling. Having said that, we will do better in St.Paul.

The KGB Stout was 9.5% etoh by volume, the highest of the 4 micros, and VERY tasty to boot. We consumed a total of 121 half kegs of beer at 15.5 gal/keg. That beat Sedalia, which had 200 more attendees. I salute you all !!! BTW, used 15 kegs of KGB, astounding the distributor, who thinks that it is a cool weather beer. He also expected 75 kegs AT MOST. Way to go guys & gals!

Thank you all who volunteered, both old friends and first-timers. The BG rocks!

MAD DOG
Nat BG Chair {aka Jim Faucher}:drink
 
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