Now that the 2014 Rally is over, I just sent the following email to our Board of Directors:
"I believe the MOA should change the fee structure for its annual rally, and offer a day-pass for a single day visit. Here is why I support a fee change:
I bought my BMW motorcycle and immediately joined MOA in August 2012. I have attended two MOA rallies (Sedalia in July 2012, and Salem in July 2013) and enjoyed them, but decided at the conclusion of the Salem rally that I will not likely attend another three-day rally. I do not camp and therefore do not participate in one of the ?benefits? that seems so enjoyable to a large number of regular rally attendees. Mostly, I go to a rally to look at motorcycles (old and new) and visit all the vendors?and I bought several items of gear at each of the two MOA rallies I attended plus the multiple motel nights and all the meals I consumed while there. But, three days is too long for me to be entertained at a rally, and the full entrance fee is too much for a single day admission. What I would like is to be able to ride to a great motorcycle-friendly location (Billings next year, for instance), spend a night in a local motel, attend a day of the rally, and then mount up early the next morning and continue a great motorcycle ride (again, next year perhaps into western Canada) before heading home.
Significantly, I opted to NOT attend the just-concluded MOA rally in St. Paul because of the three-day ?requirement? and the expensive fee. Instead, I spent a few days in early July riding around the Dakotas and western Minnesota, enjoying the scenery and friendly locals of that area. I would have preferred to have sandwiched that ride around a one-day visit to the MOA rally in St. Paul."
"I believe the MOA should change the fee structure for its annual rally, and offer a day-pass for a single day visit. Here is why I support a fee change:
I bought my BMW motorcycle and immediately joined MOA in August 2012. I have attended two MOA rallies (Sedalia in July 2012, and Salem in July 2013) and enjoyed them, but decided at the conclusion of the Salem rally that I will not likely attend another three-day rally. I do not camp and therefore do not participate in one of the ?benefits? that seems so enjoyable to a large number of regular rally attendees. Mostly, I go to a rally to look at motorcycles (old and new) and visit all the vendors?and I bought several items of gear at each of the two MOA rallies I attended plus the multiple motel nights and all the meals I consumed while there. But, three days is too long for me to be entertained at a rally, and the full entrance fee is too much for a single day admission. What I would like is to be able to ride to a great motorcycle-friendly location (Billings next year, for instance), spend a night in a local motel, attend a day of the rally, and then mount up early the next morning and continue a great motorcycle ride (again, next year perhaps into western Canada) before heading home.
Significantly, I opted to NOT attend the just-concluded MOA rally in St. Paul because of the three-day ?requirement? and the expensive fee. Instead, I spent a few days in early July riding around the Dakotas and western Minnesota, enjoying the scenery and friendly locals of that area. I would have preferred to have sandwiched that ride around a one-day visit to the MOA rally in St. Paul."