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Who do you blame

I've worked as a weather forecaster for Environment Canada for almost 30yrs. You can blame me. You will not be the first! :)
 
Too HOT

My wife and I have attended a number of the BMWMOA Rallies, but this years event really got a lot of people thinking that the MOA really should consider alternate dates for the event. Our membership at the Rally is comprised of primarily older riders who frankly are not able to cope with weather extremes - especially the heat that we all went through last weekend. In our group of around 60 club members (Mac-Pac) we had two of our members picked up by the Medics on Thursday, one of which had to be admitted to the hospital. While I think everyone accepts that the heat was not planned or expected, there could have been some measures taken to provide additional relief - such as keeping open the General Store Building (which had AC) for those campers who were having problems from the heat.

In the case of myself and my wife, we ended up packing up our tent and leaving Friday evening and heading home. I also felt sorry for the venders as it was frankly too hot to spend much time visiting the stands.

The location could have worked our well and I'm sure the sponsors put a lot of time into the planning, but its time for the MOA to consider that July weather can become very hot and that a May/June or August/September date might be a better choice.

Just my thoughts on the issue. I looked forward to the event since last year, but I like many others did not last the entire event - a loss for myself and also for the event.
 
My wife and I have attended a number of the BMWMOA Rallies, but this years event really got a lot of people thinking that the MOA really should consider alternate dates for the event. Our membership at the Rally is comprised of primarily older riders who frankly are not able to cope with weather extremes - especially the heat that we all went through last weekend. In our group of around 60 club members (Mac-Pac) we had two of our members picked up by the Medics on Thursday, one of which had to be admitted to the hospital. While I think everyone accepts that the heat was not planned or expected, there could have been some measures taken to provide additional relief - such as keeping open the General Store Building (which had AC) for those campers who were having problems from the heat.

In the case of myself and my wife, we ended up packing up our tent and leaving Friday evening and heading home. I also felt sorry for the venders as it was frankly too hot to spend much time visiting the stands.

The location could have worked our well and I'm sure the sponsors put a lot of time into the planning, but its time for the MOA to consider that July weather can become very hot and that a May/June or August/September date might be a better choice.

Just my thoughts on the issue. I looked forward to the event since last year, but I like many others did not last the entire event - a loss for myself and also for the event.


Very well said. I hope that your fellow club members will have a speedy recovery.
 
The heat sucked, The Rally was good. I met a ton of new people. The misting tent was a great idea. It was a great effort by the crew to keep the water coolers full.
Thanks for a good rally. It would be nice if I won a prize though. preferably and air conditioned bike and riding suit.

James
 
Thank You, 115189!

My wife and I have attended a number of the BMWMOA Rallies, but this years event really got a lot of people thinking that the MOA really should consider alternate dates for the event. Our membership at the Rally is comprised of primarily older riders who frankly are not able to cope with weather extremes - especially the heat that we all went through last weekend. In our group of around 60 club members (Mac-Pac) we had two of our members picked up by the Medics on Thursday, one of which had to be admitted to the hospital. While I think everyone accepts that the heat was not planned or expected, there could have been some measures taken to provide additional relief - such as keeping open the General Store Building (which had AC) for those campers who were having problems from the heat.

In the case of myself and my wife, we ended up packing up our tent and leaving Friday evening and heading home. I also felt sorry for the venders as it was frankly too hot to spend much time visiting the stands.

The location could have worked our well and I'm sure the sponsors put a lot of time into the planning, but its time for the MOA to consider that July weather can become very hot and that a May/June or August/September date might be a better choice.

Just my thoughts on the issue. I looked forward to the event since last year, but I like many others did not last the entire event - a loss for myself and also for the event.

Extremely well spoken, Sir! An outstanding post from a first time poster! You have summed up so perfectly what a number of we long time MOA members are thinking.

"The location could have worked our well and I'm sure the sponsors put a lot of time into the planning, but its time for the MOA to consider that July weather can become very hot and that a May/June or August/September date might be a better choice."

It's time this gets put to a vote by the General Membership, put a mail in postcard into the next issue of Owners News and let we the Members vote this in or out immediately!
 
The membership has voted...

During the Membership survey which was conducted in early 2009 and concluded with a random focus group being surveyed at the 2009 Johnson City rally, the VAST majority of responders voted to keep the rally in July.
 
"During the Membership survey which was conducted in early 2009 and concluded with a random focus group being surveyed at the 2009 Johnson City rally, the VAST majority of responders voted to keep the rally in July."

I made the point in another thread that this was a few years out from the Lima Ohio rally which, by all accounts was miserably hot as well.

To all of those who are searching for a better month, I suggest that you skirt the earlier dates as the May/June weather tends toward the wet in a large part of the country and we are as likely to run into a wet one as we were a hot one this year.

While a September date might not be too bad, you start to conflict with several of the larger regional (and long standing) rallies - Finger Lakes over Labor Day, Vermont the weekend following, etc... as well as getting into the local, county and state fair season. Like the MOA rallies, fair folks start arriving early to set up and linger in take down so you'll likely find fair organizers may be hesitant to schedule in something like what the MOA does within a couple weeks of their own event. In effect you'll now be discounting OTHER parts of the country by moving the date to September to accommodate heat and the south west region.

It has been well documented that a "moving target" is a recipe for disaster. There is enough case study on how well established events, both large and small, have crashed and burned when this was tried.
 
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"During the Membership survey which was conducted in early 2009 and concluded with a random focus group being surveyed at the 2009 Johnson City rally, the VAST majority of responders voted to keep the rally in July."

I made the point in another thread that this was a few years out from the Lima Ohio rally which, by all accounts was miserably hot as well.

To all of those who are searching for a better month, I suggest that you skirt the earlier dates as the May/June weather tends toward the wet in a large part of the country and we are as likely to run into a wet one as we were a hot one this year.

While a September date might not be too bad, you start to conflict with several of the larger regional (and long standing) rallies - Finger Lakes over Labor Day, Vermont the weekend following, etc... as well as getting into the local, county and state fair season. Like the MOA rallies, fair folks start arriving early to set up and linger in take down so you'll likely find fair organizers may be hesitant to schedule in something like what the MOA does within a couple weeks of their own event. In effect you'll now be discounting OTHER parts of the country by moving the date to September to accommodate heat and the south west region.

It has been well documented that a "moving target" is a recipe for disaster. There is enough case study on how well established events, both large and small, have crashed and burned when this was tried.
I respectfully disagree. BMW Rally is a big rally and will draw the same or even more riders from all parts of the country if the dates moved to a more pleasant time of the year such as early September. As far as crashing and burn it will never happen no matter where and when you held the rally. As I stated in an other thread I invite the board members to conduct a general poll(no more focus groups or calling 30 random members to make decisions) among the members.
 
When you plan a week of vacation and the weather isn't perfect?

If you ski and there's no snow the week you go, who do you blame?

If you go to the beach and it rains who do you blame?

If you go sailing and there is no wind who do you blame?

Why do so many of you want to blame someone for a heat wave?

In any of the above cases I would blame myself for poor planning and not choosing a better time period with better weather patterns.

In the case of rally I blame organizers for not learning their lessons, and year after year holding the East coast rallies in the middle of the summer when heat and humidity sucks all the time.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.
 
In the case of rally I blame organizers for not learning their lessons, and year after year holding the East coast rallies in the middle of the summer when heat and humidity sucks all the time.

You are wrong. The last East Coast Rally, the 2009 Rally in Johnson City TN, also in July and about 400 miles SOUTH of Bloomsburg PA, was downright seasonable if even a bit on the cool side with temps in the low to mid-80's. I even heard some complaining of the low night-time temps.
 
As I stated in an other thread I invite the board members to conduct a general poll(no more focus groups or calling 30 random members to make decisions) among the members.

As noted they did just that in 2009 using a membership survey and determined that the majority favored the July date. I'm sorry that that is not the answer you are looking for but it IS the answer to the question.
 
You are wrong. The last East Coast Rally, the 2009 Rally in Johnson City TN, also in July and about 400 miles SOUTH of Bloomsburg PA, was downright seasonable if even a bit on the cool side with temps in the low to mid-80's. I even heard some complaining of the low night-time temps.

I live near Johnson City and the secret to cool is altitude and not longitude or latitude. I went from a cool 2,400+' southern elevation to a very hot 700+' northern elevation in Bloomsburg. I called home and was told it was blistering hot (it got to the mid 90s). I got home and mowed my 3 acres yesterday at almost 90 degrees. After Bloomsburg, it didn't feel hot at all.
 
I am with you Doubleplay, I also respectfully disagree.

I respectfully disagree. BMW Rally is a big rally and will draw the same or even more riders from all parts of the country if the dates moved to a more pleasant time of the year such as early September. As far as crashing and burn it will never happen no matter where and when you held the rally. As I stated in an other thread I invite the board members to conduct a general poll(no more focus groups or calling 30 random members to make decisions) among the members.

Hear, hear Doubleplay! My Son Seth, then 12, and his Daddy Don spent every single day of the Johnson City Rally on site, except for the organized day ride to Bush's Beans, and we were never polled or contacted regarding future dates!!!

The time has fully come for a general poll! Not calling 30 people or a focus group!!
 
yes but the entire point is:

the simple fact is:

the Rally is fully, wholly, and completely STAFFED BY VOLUNTEERS.
IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DO IT BETTER OR HAVE A BETTER IDEA, THEN STAND UP AND TAKE THE LEAD.

just think for one hot second about how seamless the rally was, in spite of all the heat and other potential difficulties.

did you personally have a problem?
was there not enough space?
didn't you get enough to eat right on site?
wasn't there plenty of beer?
didn't the music suit you?
weren't you welcomed in a hospitable manner at registration?
wasn't the entire fairgrounds clean enough for you?
weren't there enough vendors to cover your needs?
DIDN'T THEY HAND OUT FREE WATER?
i defy anyone to show me another single event where a bottle of water wouldn't have been 4.00 no matter what.

guess what. in addition to mowing the grass, raising the kids, going to work every day, painting the house, fixing the car, and all the things that make up every day life, a SMALL HANDFUL of dedicated people put this MOA National Rally together so that several THOUSAND folks could come out and pretty much have everything they needed at their fingertips.

and this small group of dedicated people do it year after year after year after year. FOR YOU.

i know for a fact that the same guys have been running the beer operation for ever. to the point of exhaustion.
it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that it's the same in every department. so put your money where your mouth is and VOLUNTEER to do it *BETTER*.

i guarantee that less than 1% of the *happy rally goers* were actually responsible for this entire event. many of the rest of us, it seems, take it all for granted.

jus sayin.
 
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When you plan a week of vacation and the weather isn't perfect?

If you ski and there's no snow the week you go, who do you blame?

If you go to the beach and it rains who do you blame?

If you go sailing and there is no wind who do you blame?

Why do so many of you want to blame someone for a heat wave?

I blame the Whether man cause he refused to tell me whether it would be nice out or not 10 months in advance!

RM
 
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