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Summer 2019

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Summer 2019 Empty Summer 2019

Post by mogu83 Tue Nov 13, 2018 9:57 am

While posting Events/Rallies I noticed that the BMWMOA rally is the weekend before the Virginia Guzzi rally.  What a great opportunity to explore the Tennessee/Kentucky/ North Carolina areas between rallies. For people still working, taking that week off and a couple of days the week before could lead to the motorcycle ride of a lifetime.
mogu83
mogu83

Posts : 2027
Join date : 2017-02-17
Age : 80
Location : Beachwood,NJ

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Summer 2019 Empty Re: Summer 2019

Post by mogu83 Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:33 am

Interesting that these two rallies are examples of the two extremes that you can find at a motorcycle rally.
 
The BMWMOA rally is BIG, lots of people (5+ thousands), motorcycles, vendors, entertainment and almost continuous seminars.  Down side is to provide facilities for thousands they need a site like a State fair ground and most of the time it's not located in an ideal MC environment.  Also, although it's easy to make friends you'll  likely start the event not knowing the people you're camping next to, and the tents will be tent peg to tent peg.   Some people hate the BIG rallies, some like them and some just put up with them.

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The Virginia Rally (and most local BMW and Guzzi Rallies) are the other end of the spectrum.  Usually small with attendance of 100/200, you'll rarely find a vendor, entertainment or a seminar.  While the big rallies take on the feel of a mid-sized city the small rallies are more like a family reunion.  After a few rallies, with a little effort (like saying hello and engaging in conversation) you'll become one of the crowd.  Entertainment usually consists of sitting around the campfire, consuming enough adult beverage to get relaxed, and listening to the tales that get told over year after year (OK sometimes a new one).   While at the big rallies your usually on your own for food, at the smaller ones an effort is made to provide meals but still keep the cost of the rally reasonable.   Because the small rallies don't need a lot of space they are usually located in an area with nice motorcycle roads and the camping is usually more spread out..

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My read.  I like to go to one big rally a year, usually in a distant State it gives me a reason to go there.  I guess the smaller rallies would my favorite because I like to meet people and learn about them,  being a 'city boy' people that were raised on a ranch, farm or very rural area just amaze me.
Sadly, I think the days of the small rallies are numbered, the attendance is dropping off at most and around the campfires at night gray hair and bifocals are the norm.  Many of the people running the rallies are up in years and no one seems to be willing to take up the challenge of continuing the tradition.
The growing thing in the BMW world are Getaway Weekends usually at a hotel/motel there is no facility for camping and can be a little expensive (IMHO).   I started going to MC rallies years ago because it was a reason to ride, I met people that had similar interests and it was affordable (OK cheap), that seems to be going away.

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mogu83
mogu83

Posts : 2027
Join date : 2017-02-17
Age : 80
Location : Beachwood,NJ

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