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The worst part of the rally.....

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I was disappointed with the on-site Farmer's Market. And the fault lies squarely on my shoulders since I brought them in. I should have asked for specifics from the organizer instead of leaving it at "fruits, vegetables and baked goods".

That's how we make these events better - listening to constructive criticism and using it for the next rally.

Personally, the farmer's market was about what I expected. Local produce, in season. It was FRESH and wonderful! Rohrbaugh's (sp?) brought FROZEN apple cider. It was a real treat. Half gallon for $3. I bought 3 of them.The other stand had fresh tomatoes, peppers, green beans, etc. If I wanted bananas or kiwis, I'd find the nearest Food Lion, Mars, etc. The farmer's market was a plus.

That said, I looked longingly at the amazing baked goods, but being only two people, buying a whole pie or loaf of bread just wasn't very feasible. Smaller portions would have sold better. I felt bad for the Amish bakery stand.

Information should have flowed both ways. Riders are looking for small quantities to supplement the (ahem) less nutritious fare offered at the rally. Not a week's supply of anything. Foods that only need to be washed, then eaten are the ideal offerings.

I also felt a little bad for the garlic/herb seller and the syrup stand. The issue being transportation of goods home on a motorcycle. I can't imagine they made much money.

P
 
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#6 Camp sites:
We showed up on Tuesday to volunteers a where told where we could not pitch a tent only later to see others take the spots we would have used. One couple pitched their tent twice and were told to move by the same person, only to see those sites used by other campers (their last rally). If some one volunteers they should have first rights to a site.
Tony

Was this in the area between the main gates, near the fence? That was the "Club Camping Area." Clubs reserved space ahead of time. There was surveyor's tape marking off sections for the clubs who'd reserved space. That would be "the same person" who asked folks to move. And explains why those same spots were later occupied.

With the rock hard ground, it was tough to put signs up where they could be seen and would not get knocked down. On Thursday, as my hubby was teaching an MSF class, I ended up helping a bit with his Club Camping Chair volunteer position. It was tough to have ask anyone to leave after they'd already set up.

P
 
I understand that the MOA cannot control the weather, and though it was oppressively hot and definitely impacted my experience at the rally, I won't blame mother nature's cruel tricks on them!

Things which I liked:
1. Various attempts by MOA to ensure that people had cool drinking water, and the fact that there also were several potable water faucets around the fairgrounds for anyone to use. The sprinklers setup in various places was also a good idea, whoever came up with that idea.
2. Having a variety of bands/musical performers of different styles throughout the day/rally helps ensure that everyone gets to hear some music that they like at some point each day, and they can simply plan to be doing other things at other times. Though, I thought that Mr Jennings' band was supposed to play later in the day then they did.
3. The MOA staff, and more especially, the members of the MOA who volunteered to do so many things inthe oppressive heat demonstrates the character and quality of the people in an organization of which I am proud to be a member. I've attended a number of MOA rallies, and this one did seem to have a "family" like feel to it with many people pitching in to help.
4. I liked having more vendors and more prizes in the daily drawings and the final drawings.
5. I liked that there were some different seminars at this rally than in some of the previous rallies.
6. I liked the variety of food vendors and the variety of local/national entertainment/performers as well as local/national beers!
7. I liked the fact that in spite of everyone's discomfort, pain, and expenditures on water and colling supplies, that so much money was still raised to benefit the local charities. This sort of thing is good stewardship and helps to ensure that the MOA rally is a very DESIRED sort of event to communities who are approached to be rally locations.


Things which I disliked:
1. Maybe somewhere in the country, possibly in the dead of winter, flamethrower cars would be welcome. But, IMHO, booking them was a marginally interesting idea at best, and to actually have them do their flamethrowing into an already tired, overheated, and stressed group who were trying to hang on to their sanity through the rally was adding insult to injury, and just plain dumb. Anybody who was thinking should have just sent them home, even if you did have to pay them up front.

2. It would have been nice if info regarding nearby swimming holes, beaches, and public pools would have been made available at registration, given the heat situation - a very minor gripe.

3. I don't get forcing everyone to watch an effects-laden poor music video produced by Revzilla at the end of the rally to the people who have been sticking it out to that point. We were there, we knew what went on, we were part of it and/or watched it happening in real time. Being forced to watch a disjointed viedo in slow-mo with lots of synthesized noise while being hot and tired and dehydrated seemed pointless to me. Now, I DO appreciate the vendors appearing at the rally, selling cool products, offering discounts, and donating the many prizes. I think that we all show our appreciation through our business transactions with them at the rally, and maybe some applause,etc. The donators of the prizes should be able to do their (brief) selling schpiel during the closing ceremony - and fortunately most of them realized how uncomfortable everyone was and kept things brief.

4. Unfortunately, the closing ceremony of this rally was a good example of just what NOT to do when giving any sort of presentation, professional or amateur. A few tips to consider:
A) If the "MC" introduces person A to say something, have them just say it and don't simply have them talk and have person A then introduce person B to actually say the thing that we're interested about. Takes to long and no one cares or remembers what person A said.
B) Keep things moving. Don't attempt to use this as a Sunday Soapbox or to go off-script if you aren't experienced in going off script and getting to the point.
C) Keep the crowd interested. Droning on for an hour, even under the best of environmental conditions, is tough on the audience. At the Johnson City rally, things were kept interesting by mixing in some prize drawings in among all the "thankyou" speeches, committee speeches, etc. IF you sprinkle in the carrots among the "stickes", the audience will be happier and more attentive than if you hit them with sticks for an hour or more and then start to feed out the carrots.
D) DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE NEW TECHNOLOGY OR METHODS THAT YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY USED OR PRACTICED WITH BEFORE THE ACTUAL EVENT. That said, the MC did a decent job of recovery and dealing with the increasingly impatient mood of the crowd.

5. Running out of the "GOOD" beer and having to settle for the budget Miller beer on Saturday night, but, I still drank some anyway.

6. Having BMWNA hold their cookout/party as a separate, ticket-only event, and holding it close enough to the performance stage that there was a conflict between their musical entertainment and the scheduled musical entertainment on the main stage. This is just SIMPLY NOT COOL and unprofessional from a musician's standpoint.
7. [Edit-added] BMWNA bringing ONLY the GT/GTL bikes for the demo ride? Well, it wasn't LIKELY that I'd buy a new BMW while at the rally, but it absolutely GUARANTEED that I would NOT as I have absolutely no interest in the model of bike that they brought. If they at least had some GS bikes, 650/800s, and a few R1200Rs I'm sure that I would have been standing in line for a test ride. This seemed so stereotypically authoritarian: "You vill try and like this flavor or go without".
 
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nothing to add here

i can't honestly say i can think of any one *bad* point...

well OK i DO agree that the conflict between the main stage and the OktoberFest Tent on Friday was borderline crass, but THAT horse has been beat to death. i was in the wings and Paul Thorn made a small joke about *that other band* or *sounds like fun*, or some such and then carried right on thru his set with little more ado. the main stage PA was loud and proud so it's not like BlechBlos'n drowned anyone out from the Oktoberfest Tent.
that event put on by BMW Mottorrad USA was actually kinda fantastic in its own right anyway, and no easy feat in itself, considering the difficulty JUST in getting that band into the country for a one-off gig!

all the organizers and volunteers are to be HIGHLY commended for their hard work in putting this Rally together. all the attendees are to be equally commended for sticking it out in the extreme circumstances.

3 cheers for all!
 
Wow! Three pages of what was wrong with the rally and not nearly the number of posts about the best part of the rally.

I had a great time too, but the topic of discussion is the following:

Please post what you would change about the rally, if you could. Constructive criticism can be used to continue improving the National Rally for it's members.

Nix the flame throwing cars... Input "flame throwing bikes!"

Swimming hole, while a nice accessory was highly underadvertised!

I agree that the rally/vendors were focused on the GS crowd (myself being one of them). One way to offset that would be to offer a motorcycle rodeo course. You could make all sorts of divisions, by age, type of bike, years of riding experience. Have open course times and timed trials with finals and semifinals included in the course. I think this would provide something competitive that EVERYONE no matter what type of bike could compete in. Oh and there needs to be a veteran catagory to provide a special recognition for those riders who've served. You'd be hard pressed to find a national organization to recognize the part veteran's play. To have at least 1/5 of the audience at the closing ceremony stand up was inspiring (I am also a vet, so I'm tooting my own horn).

Along with the motorcylce rodeo course we would need a farkle competition. As some of the more creative riders have really cool accents to their bikes. Small ribbons or cheapy medals could be given out as prizes for these events and it would give everyone something to be excited about. The guy from New Hampshire with an ice cooled air conditioner for his wife in the sidecar was stellar and truly first class!

I think having guided rides that leave on the hour would be great as long as the time of the ride doesn't exceed about 2 hours. It was difficult enough for my riding partner and I to ride to Bloomsburg, and to see that the 'day rides' all exceed 4 hours made me not even want to attempt them. I think the GT/GTL demo crew had this set up perfectly. The ride route utilized terrain that challenged all skills and was just long enough to be a ride, but short enough that I don't think anyone would not want to ride it.

Two hour volunteer shifts would be more attractive. Having a board with needed volunteers at registration and asking each registrant where and if they would like to volunteer would be nice. I think if I were asked at registration if I could volunteer a two hour shift sometime during the rally at X, Y or Z location. I don't think I would have said no and having volunteer coordinators to drop off shift changes would be a must.

I think the on the spot sprinklers were a great idea and were actually critical to the health of some of the attendants. One other thing that could have been done is to purchase large blocks of ice so that attendents could make ice statuary by cooling thier warm hands in the ice blocks. The rally staff was very proactive in emplacing heat measures. I think the aging population of the BMWMOA makes it difficult to handle the pressures in an 'on the spot' manner as was done. I'm sure that not all future rallys will be this blistering and that we will have some that will be more so. Shade was a premium at the rally, and I don't know how the rally organizers could have done any better than they did. There was a swimming pool company nearby... we could have given them a free outdoor booth! or had several BMWMOA dunktanks set up for the charity!

I like the idea of the provisions of 'cool rooms' brought up by R80RTJohnny. In the Basic Training environment we have coolers alongside the road with sheets soaked in icewater. There were several people showing signs of heat exhaustion. I think putting an area over by the Barton House or Rupert School would have been ideal with the tree shade there. As a place to treat people for heat injuries before they became critical and medical personnel were necessary.

Moreso to future campers... if I were to plan on camping at a rally like this, I think I would first make hotel reservations in advance. Then as the event nears and there is 'optimal' camping weather. I would cancel my reservations before I was charged a late fee.

I like the idea of having a permanant fruts and veggies stand. I like carnival food, but in the heat, sugar and hot fried food is the last thing I want to be consuming.

Hand washing stations outside the port-a-johns are a must!

Finding area restaurants was challenging. I usually looked for a bunch of motorcycles outside and then asked one comming out if it was good or not. So maybe having the local restauraunts put together a BMWMOA special and advertise it in the upcomming Rally manual.

I think having the rally manual mailed 2 weeks prior to the rally would be awesome. So I can plan what I am going to do before I get there. I think during the registration you could ask if you wan the manual mailed early or pick it up onsite. During registration an addendum could be given for things that were unable to make the cutoff publication date.

A flag at the closing ceremony instead of on screen, there was one in the distance and could have been pointed out during the National Anthem.

We could do a motorcyle parade for the community that we are in. I think it is cool to see thousands of riders come through and it gives the communities a reason to come out and see what we're up to. It also pulls the locals out of their homes and gives the local businesses more opportunity to capitalize on having people out and about.

Pulling in the younger squids needs to be a priority. Having a track nearby or even a local half mile road "closed off" and "set up" as a track would be fun to watch. I think BMWMOA is great at handling/managing liability and waivers would of course be par for the course. Working with the local law enforcement and emergency department, I don't believe this would be too hard to pull off.

Closing ceremony needs to be less than an hour. If we want to do all these awards we can do a formal awards dinner at an offsite location, the highlights/awards can be posted onscreen (PowerPoint style w/photos) while attendees are filling the stages.

At the rally completion if the site does not have a light controled intersection, we could use a traffic officer to assist getting everyone out of the gate and across the street. If you needed to get on 11 South, or get across the street to get up to the freeway, that was a bit hokey the way normal traffic was comming from two directions with three avenues of egress.

The rally "Schedule of Events" was difficult to use. RPU for anything over 90 minutes needs its own section. Things that happen daily for the duration of the day such as "Off-Site Showers" need its own section. My thoughts are anything less than 90 minutes nees to be in the daily schedule of events. Other things that are half-day or day long need to go into another section. I ended up not attending any of the seminars just because the schedule of events was so daunting.

So if I were to pick the major things I would like to see in future BMWMOA rallies...
2 hour guided rides
Motorcycle rodeo course (maintin GS course)
Community parade
Fruits and Veggies stand
 
Barbara and I had a great time, despite the heat, and our thanks to the organizers and volunteers (of whom we were two). Also thanks to the WWII re-enactors who camped out in the heat all weekend to entertain and educate us.
The worst part for us was the flame cars, pointless in every way, however, I did get a laugh at the expression on the face of the woman who was too involved in her cell phone conversation to notice us all yelling at her to get away from the fence.
The closing ceremonies went on too long, as they always do and more imagination is needed for that part of the rally.
We think the organizers did the best they could under the circumstance of a heat wave. What if it had been cold and rainy? How would we complain then?
As for those who are already saying they're not going to Sedalia because it will be too hot, I need to know the weather for the first week of November.
Cheers,
Tony
I want to be a trolley safety in Sedalia.
 
To be honest the German Band is a top draw in Germany / EU. Plus it was BMWs GIG not the MOA's, so BMW can. It sure saved me a few grand to see them here. :thumb



Mike, did Paul say that ? BTW, I never heard of Paul Thorn till this rally nor any of the other billings, sadly I am not a big music fan of any one type. I could listen to Paul for a song or two then on to something else. The music industry would be singing the blues for my dime. Personally I'd rather listen to new and old friends than have music at a rally. :scratch I know we have to have music for others.

Yes Paul said that and he didn't apologize either.
 
Gimmeabreak

Seems most of the negative comments were about the heat. Something we have absolutely no control over. Locals stated that it had been in the 70's the week before. It would have been difficult to find anyplace not suffering from record heat this past week.

My worst experience at the rally was witnessing the unbelievable rudeness of some in the crowd booing and criticizing presenters. The flame throwers would have been a good show under different weather conditions. Presenters were not unusually long winded and sponsors are not contributing out of the goodness of their hearts. They are advertising their products and deserve time to do so.

My wife and I did a couple of gate/security shifts and she put some additional time in with pins and patches. We would have done more, but the heat had us wiped out. Organizers and committee chairs didn't have the luxury of giving in to the heat. They worked anyway.

Anyone who was raising a fuss at the closing ceremonies should be ashamed of themselves. Especially if you did not volunteer for anything. :violin:violin:violin:violin:violin:violin:violin
 
The rally book was tough to use.
It needed some sort of schedule grid so it was possible to see which seminars happened when/where in relation to other seminars. . . the better to plan which ones to attend. Put descriptions of seminar content/details in one section, followed by the simple time/location grid for said seminars. And/or. . . Color code for content ie blue for moto tech, green for gear tech, yellow for travel, orange for moto discussions, moto other (writing and such), and purple for 'rider prep' yoga, self-defense, etc., red for Rider classes.

A map of the nearby area!! With main roads and arrows for the nearest Walmart, grocery store, drug store, laundra-mat, as well as which restaurants are which direction. (How many folks knew that Knoebel's a Nationally Recognized FAMILY Amusement Park is 10 miles from Bloomsburg? Free admission and renowned water rides, plus a restored 1947 wooden roller coaster.)

A BIG area map on the wall behind the volunteer check in/sigh in table. With address/locations of area restaurants, yadda yadda That way as folks are looking for where to eat, they can be encouraged to sign up for a volunteer stint.

Better organization of the Bike Show (yeah, there was a bike show). It wasn't advertised well, and there wasn't enough information provided as to what the classes were and how bikes would be judged. An option at registration to sign up for the "peoples choice" award. There were some amazing rides I saw on the grounds that could have been recognized. (I'm already strongly considering taking this one on, myself - may I come to my senses soon) :help

I did a stint as shuttle safety and helped to judge the bike show. I'll likely be more involvld in Sedalia. We're already planning to be there.

Pam
 
I attend 3-5 rally's per year and this was my second national. Certainly credit has to be given to the volunteers and organizers for this event. If you take WAY above average temps out of the picture, this Rally just about had it all in my opinion. You pack 7000 people into any facility (camping) with 100+ temps, it presents challenges which organizers were trying to address. Thank you for your efforts!

I love identifying and exploring new places while riding. Reading post on this site certainly helped me identify sites to check out while in Bloomsburg. It would be nice to have more local rides lead by members who know the area. This would be a great addition in the Rally section of the forum. A consistent format to post your ride details, depart time, type of ride you have planned (dual sport or twisties), and amount of riders you would like to register. It could be as simple as a lunch run into town or a three state tour, just another way to break the ice amongst members. We should also have a rating system for the ride. It could be 1-5 regarding experience or skill level required so everyone has some idea of what to expect.Just a way to help people get out and enjoy the area.

I was puzzled by two parties taking place Friday evening. It was obvious BMW is trying to win over buyers for the new 1600, but did they pull Gold Wing riders to this event with a German band? Hell no, no one hardly knew about this event until we arrived. How many people showed up on a Gold Wing and test rode the 1600 during the rally? I have done a kick ass track day on the 1000RR with Keith Code, I ride a GS, and love getting to know members of the MOA. I love my BMW. These are examples of what I say to riders around me who are looking to purchase a new bike. How many people would have showed up to the BMW party if each MOA member brought a friend to the event who is not riding a BMW? Any member who brought a non BMW rider receives free T Shirt and dinner for your guest, or even better $50 gift card for BMW merchandise. It was disappointing to be watching the best band on the main stage we had all week, feeling like you were missing out on something taking place across the field. A lot of money and headache was used on both fronts Friday night, and it was discouraging to see a guest we invited to perform talking negative about the people in the other tent. He was correct! It would be nice to see 50 percent of attendees under that big tent whooping it up, sharing what we love about BMW and the MOA. I want to see more BMW riders and dealers in the US, but new members seeing this conflict was a joke in my opinion.:fight


Time to make plans for next year.....
 
I thought about complaining how hot it is... then I realized that: 1.) it isn't 109 degrees; 2.) I'm not 5,700 miles from home; 3.) I'm not dressed in a full BDU uniform and helmet and carrying 70+ lbs.; and 4.) there is very little chance that anyone will shoot at me or that I might drive over a bomb in the road today! Thank you to all who serve.

My son is a Captain in USMC with couple tours in Iraq, I'm proud of him and all our armed forces members however:
This has nothing to do with the Rally or the heat!!!! Our armed forces are all volunteers and they know what they are getting into.
On the other hand we do this for fun and it's not fun to attend a rally or even ride a motorcycle when it's 100 degrees out there. I can complain all I want.
Please, do not compare apples to oranges.
 
My worst experience at the rally was witnessing the unbelievable rudeness of some in the crowd booing and criticizing presenters. :violin:violin:violin:violin:violin:violin:violin

Most of the attendees for the rally were from north of the Mason Dixon Line. When he heard the crowd, my fellow southern mountain grown friend said "And they call us Rednecks".

Other than the heat, I thought the rally was great. The only rudeness I experienced in the entire week was the crowd at the closing ceremonies. The locals, businesses, and everyone involved with the rally were all very pleasant and friendly. Once I left Virginia, I never saw a policeman of any kind in a car nor did I see a need for one.

The person or persons responsible for the dorms at the University deserves a lot of credit. I would have very early if I had not had a very nice room there with the shuttle bus.
 
Felt Like BMWNA "highjacked" the Rally

I totally agree with what Paul said. Sadly,( for obvious reasons ) it'll probably be the last time he performs at a MOA rally!

It felt Like BMWNA "highjacked" the Rally by holding an exclusive "party" just outside the MOA Rally gate; in poor taste at best and abusive at worst. Whoever signed off on that concept from MOA should reconsider trying it again in future years. An apology to Paul Thorn is only a small part of this needless intrusion. I hope that that deal was not the result of heavy-handedness by BMWNA, but just a poor decision by both parties.
 
#1 Conflicting Bands. Thorne vs. BMW or could it be MOA vs BMW
#2 Unprepared for closing ceromony. How bad can it get and folks still show up for a chance to win a prize.
#3 Where were the security folks with T-shirts and hats to identify them.
 
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Blue Moon Cycle

I would like to see a used parts area again..Also more than just one BMW dealer allowed to set up and sell new stuff...Where was MaxBMW? I remember when there was three or more dealers at these rallys...

Blue Moon Cycle was there. John had some great deals on used parts and genuine BMW riding suits.

I hope I did not miss any parts of the rally.

The people who did not know where the swimming hole was were simply not paying attention. It had its own thread here weeks before the rally and I packed my trunks because of that.

You know which group I never heard a single whine from? The Airheads. maybe this incessant whine is a CANBUS thing?
 
Wow- just rolled in (Monday afternoon) from my ride back from the Rally. Expected some critical commentary, but wholly cow - some intense reading here!! :stick

Like all of us with navels, I too have some suggestions for rally improvement. I hope whomever plans or chairs essential services for Sedalia (2012) reviews this thread and objectively considers the comments. Most were well-meant to correct or enhance the rally experience.

My two cents worth: signage, heat, and prize-awarding.

Signage: Signs were too few, too small (some arrows barely an inch tall?!) and too many patrons were left wandering to try and find essential locations. As an aging demographic, BMW MOA'ers need easier to read signs.

Heat: With a rally site being selected two years out, I agree that the 'heat-wave of the decade " that clobbered Bloomsburg was unforeseeable and unfortunate. However, if you're determined to hold rallies in the middle of summer (Hello?! Autumn!), you need to anticiapte the possibility of crushing heat and be ready. The 'air conditioned' vendor buildings were barely better than the oven outdoors. Either the AC was set too low or couldn't keep up. Large fans (the five-feet in diameter ones!) should have been stationed at the beer tent and other outdoor venues. All seminars should have been in an air-conditioned room/hall - not in cattle barns and sheep sheds.

Prize-Awarding: Screw the idea that you have to be present to win. You paid your entry fee, patronized vendors and dropped cash at food services. If you had to bug out before Saturday night, you should still be entitled to a fair chance at winning any and all prizes and not penalized. In the future, just let contributors of prizes know that "present to win" will no longer be a condition of participation.

I feel sorry for the volunteers that put countless hours of effort into Bloomsburg, only to be sabotaged by Mother Nature. Most rally goers hoped for a good time, but quickly switched from 'enjoyment mode' to 'survival mode,' as temps were brutal and most efforts to stay comfortable failed. The heat was an obvious distraction, and I witnessed many rally-goers running up the white flag and departing late Thursday and all day Friday - sad. :violin

Central Missouri in the middle of July next year could mirror many of these issues - let us hope that those who will dedicate themselves to preparations will learn from Bloomsburg and be ready for anything. :thumb
 
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worst

To me the worst part was the fact that we had to watch Sister Sparrow sqirm around on stage past my bedtime. Next she she should start earlier, every nite.:dance
 
Ha motocamper ,I know my beer has a pork chop in every bottle so food wouldn't be a problemo. I wish I could have made it there but work has been unkind to lots of people lately ! But I did hoist a few homebrews in all your honor's. I did a 1000 miles or so around here and had fun at harley museum. There's always next year!
 
Curious choice

Overall I had a great time at my first rally. Lots of interesting seminars and vendors.

However, I did find it odd that lots of folks in the MOA and BMWNA talk about attracting a younger demographic - and yet the only model made available for demo rides is aimed squarely at the over 50 market.

I was hoping to ride a 1000 RR.:banghead
 
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