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2018 Site Contender
- Thread starter RadioFlyer
- Start date
pglaves
#13338
Good. Then I could actually sleep in a real bed at our daughter's house. And bring our teenage grandsons to the rally.
BMW Triumphant
Ed Kilner #176066
Tried to follow link; video is private, so can't see it.
pglaves
#13338
Status of the video has changed since the original post.
It was a promo piece for Des Moines, Iowa.
RadioFlyer
Right2Repair
Ha! This was a video prepared by Des Moines promoting itself as host for the 2018 BMWMOA Rally. Apparently the creators inadvertently put it on YouTube with no access restrictions and then discovered it was being viewed by the masses and changed it to private.
We will learn whether Des Moines succeeds in due course.
mike
160860
New member
I hope not
I cannot see how this could make the final cut and would hope the selection committee would reach out to the members in any proposed area for their input. From my local perspective living in Iowa and the Des Moines area and in Nebraska in the Omaha area for the past 16 years, there are much better options in the mid-west. There is a reason why even2-Day weekend rides are done out of state. It is an area great for farmers of corn and wind but not 2-wheeled happiness or adventures.
Here are my initial Pro’s & Con’s which I cutoff to keep from rambling …..
Pro’s
- The Iowa State Fair grounds in Des Moines are what help make it the one of the best state fairs in the country, great facilities
- Small city, light traffic, great people
- Downtown Des Moines has great places to eat and some outstanding brew pubs & tap rooms
- The Loess Hills on the Western border offer some minor elevation changes and a few turns both on and off pavement, to include some minimum maintenance (no-gravel) B-Level roads
Con’s
- Located in the center of the mid-west, if anyone didn’t notice the plains are FLAT and the roads are straight
- There are NO twisties in the state, a few areas with sweepers but those are short lived and along the border river areas
- Lack of elevation changes, the glaciers of the ice age did a rather effective job of flattening the land.
- There is a reason Butler Maps doesn’t have a map for Iowa
- No National forests to ride in period
- No of State forests with trails to ride
- State parks do NOT allow motorized vehicles
- State is NOT a supporter of the power sports industry, riders are restricted to small patches of state riding parks or private club lands
- Nothing worthwhile is within walking distance of the fairgrounds as it is in the older side of town near an industrial area
- After riding in 36 states and 3 Canadian provinces, Iowa is by far the buggiest, better bring plenty of your favorite visor cleaner and bug repellant
- Thousands of miles of crushed limestone gravel roads through cornfields do not make an adventure ride
- The Loess Hills (depending on point) are two hours to the West and only offer about two hours worth of riding interesting riding requiring another two hours of flat, straight road to return to Des Moines.
Although the state is bordered by two large rivers there are no scenic river roads that follow these rivers due to the geographic area (flood plains) along them. The best Mississippi river riding in along the Wisconsin side.
With that said the best prospect for the GS Giants is to head south down to the Mark Twain National Forest area in MO for the round up as there is at least some good on/off pavement riding down south.
I cannot see how this could make the final cut and would hope the selection committee would reach out to the members in any proposed area for their input. From my local perspective living in Iowa and the Des Moines area and in Nebraska in the Omaha area for the past 16 years, there are much better options in the mid-west. There is a reason why even2-Day weekend rides are done out of state. It is an area great for farmers of corn and wind but not 2-wheeled happiness or adventures.
Here are my initial Pro’s & Con’s which I cutoff to keep from rambling …..
Pro’s
- The Iowa State Fair grounds in Des Moines are what help make it the one of the best state fairs in the country, great facilities
- Small city, light traffic, great people
- Downtown Des Moines has great places to eat and some outstanding brew pubs & tap rooms
- The Loess Hills on the Western border offer some minor elevation changes and a few turns both on and off pavement, to include some minimum maintenance (no-gravel) B-Level roads
Con’s
- Located in the center of the mid-west, if anyone didn’t notice the plains are FLAT and the roads are straight
- There are NO twisties in the state, a few areas with sweepers but those are short lived and along the border river areas
- Lack of elevation changes, the glaciers of the ice age did a rather effective job of flattening the land.
- There is a reason Butler Maps doesn’t have a map for Iowa
- No National forests to ride in period
- No of State forests with trails to ride
- State parks do NOT allow motorized vehicles
- State is NOT a supporter of the power sports industry, riders are restricted to small patches of state riding parks or private club lands
- Nothing worthwhile is within walking distance of the fairgrounds as it is in the older side of town near an industrial area
- After riding in 36 states and 3 Canadian provinces, Iowa is by far the buggiest, better bring plenty of your favorite visor cleaner and bug repellant
- Thousands of miles of crushed limestone gravel roads through cornfields do not make an adventure ride
- The Loess Hills (depending on point) are two hours to the West and only offer about two hours worth of riding interesting riding requiring another two hours of flat, straight road to return to Des Moines.
Although the state is bordered by two large rivers there are no scenic river roads that follow these rivers due to the geographic area (flood plains) along them. The best Mississippi river riding in along the Wisconsin side.
With that said the best prospect for the GS Giants is to head south down to the Mark Twain National Forest area in MO for the round up as there is at least some good on/off pavement riding down south.
pglaves
#13338
Not quite that bad but I get the point. But compared to Bloomsburg or even SLC it would be a big improvement. I have only missed one national in 32 years. Voni has missed none. I have done seminars for going on 20 years. But from here on out I will be selective. If the Board approves dumb choices I won't be there. There are too many good choices to put up with any more Bloomsburgs. Not ever.
AKsuited
New member
The appeal of SLC to me is the riding I can do on the way there: Colorado and Utah, and maybe swing up to the Tetons before heading east and home. Like they say, it isn't the destination, it's the journey.
Bloomsburg would have been a short trip for me but it was just too hot, the hottest ever for this area, so I stayed home.
Harry
pglaves
#13338
We do that every summer, sometimes two or three times.
greenwald
New member
Totally agree.
Understand, I've enjoyed Iowa on two wheels immensely, but only because I had friends or destinations worthy of a visit. The State Fair is "the best state fair in that state," the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, acquaintances in Ft. Dodge and Marshalltown, Motorcycle Museum in Amarosa, eagle-watching near Dubuque, etc.
But knowing the 'wander-lust' of MOA members, Iowa not much of a terrain challenge.
Not to mention the pace there is unworldly. In a phenomenon that Einstein failed to explain, if you observe your wristwatch while in Iowa, time actually slows down. Iowans also drive that way, which would definitely frustrate this crowd. They even have mile-long "acceleration ramps" to some of their interstates, so as not to be in any rush (I actually wrote about this peculiarity in a recent article I provide to another motorcycle publication I write for).
I'd say skip Des Moines and look for rural areas with roads that excite those of us on two wheels.
And in the spirit of Jim Bowie, Davy Crocket and others, "Remember Bloomsburg!"
1074
Active member
Location, Location, Location
Now Paul,
You're one of the last people I'd expect to finger Bloomsburg as a poor choice! Nobody expected the weather to be that bad! The area has a lot of great roads and things to see. If the weather had been more cooperative, Bloomsburg would have gone down as one of the best!
As far as SLC, I wouldn't want to pass judgement before the fact. There's some good riding to be had there too.
The necessary criteria for locating a National Rally site eliminates a lot of terrific locations. You can't always get what you want.
Now Paul,
You're one of the last people I'd expect to finger Bloomsburg as a poor choice! Nobody expected the weather to be that bad! The area has a lot of great roads and things to see. If the weather had been more cooperative, Bloomsburg would have gone down as one of the best!
As far as SLC, I wouldn't want to pass judgement before the fact. There's some good riding to be had there too.
The necessary criteria for locating a National Rally site eliminates a lot of terrific locations. You can't always get what you want.
pglaves
#13338
The problem with Bloomsburg was not just the weather. It was the fact that it was a poor, old, tired, run down facility that had never hosted a group like ours. It had two old buildings with swamp coolers and it had no air conditioning whatsoever, which made the indoor spaces miserable anytime later than about 9:00 am. It was almost as hot in Sedalia but the newer buildings with good air conditioning made the differences like night and day.
Bloomsburg also had new management that broke promises made when the Board selected the place. All in all it was a horrible choice for a place to go and I mostly blame the Board that chose it for picking such an old, tired, dreary facility.
I think this was the key. I was there, too, and sure it was hot, the closing ceremonies were even hotter. But my recollection as to facilities is that if the A/C and other features promised had been there, it probably would be just fine. YMMV.
Sue
Friend of the Marque
Des Moines, eh? Maybe it will be time to ride the Slash Five to a national rally, and leave the big, fast, newer one at home. Frankly, I've never missed one since 1987 and next year won't be any different, regardless of the location.
A rally is as good - or as bad - as you make it.
I always choose to make it GREAT!
A rally is as good - or as bad - as you make it.
I always choose to make it GREAT!
lee
Debbie's Servant
The Rally Site Zone Rotation Map shows 2020 before the National returns to the Eastern states.
http://www.bmwmoa.org/?page=siteselection
pglaves
#13338
A plan invented by Douglas Corrigan, an early MOA member, no doubt!
No. A few years ago we had five zones. The new zones and rotation order is a creature of a fairly recent Board. I do not know exactly when it happened.
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