The next international rally

[Flyinfool]

I think the KOA was for campgrounds for overnight stops while in route to the the IR. Not for once you were there.

[Brake Pad]

Did some checking. Nearest KOA is at Oxford on I-20!! Not close unless you consider 75 miles to be "just around the corner". A "Good Sam" affiliated campground is at Woodville, about 20 miles north of Guntersville. No listing on what they rent their cabins for on the site. Guntersville State Park has "cabins" but they sound more like the bunkhouses at Galena and are set up for 1-6 people w/ 2 bedrooms and are listed at a higher price than the rooms at the lodge. I'll keep looking!!

 

 

this was for on the way to the event. just cheaper then getting a motel room for the night.

I have a gold card with KOA, I get a 8 to 12 dollar discount on Kabins i stay in. I also book them out for my entire trip.

[meach]

Assuming this to be the site for 2014 IR (which I get the idea hasn't been finalized) here are a few suggested rides . As somewhat of a newbie (I've never gone on any VR rides, have stopped by a couple of events) not sure what everyone likes to do, see, etc. I've done a lot of riding over the years in N.E. AL, some of it with a VTX group, after I got tired of riding the same roads in GA.

 

From Guntersville to:

 

Lynchburg TN, tour Jack Daniels distillery. Around 170 mi. round trip

http://www.jackdaniels.com/visit

 

Little River Canyon, east of Ft. Payne. 11 mi loop road around canyon. Around 90 mi round trip. Also if any folks are the group Alabama fans there is a museum/gift shop in Ft. Payne which is part of their fan club.

http://www.nps.gov/liri/index.htm

http://www.thealabamaband.com/fanclub.html

 

Mt. Cheaha State Park (highest point in AL) , south of Oxford AL 180 mi round trip, they have a restaurant with a decent buffet as I recall, been a couple years but we would ride over eat lunch then ride home.

http://www.alapark.com/cheaharesort/

 

Cloudland Canyon State Park, GA. east of Rising Fawn, GA. 150 mi round trip

http://gastateparks.org/CloudlandCanyon

 

meach

[Marcarl]

Something that came up this weekend. There has been discussion on riding distance, accommodations and such.

Now I may have missed it, but very little has been said about the daily temp in AL. I for one would not have a good time if it was hot every day.

So to start this discussion, seeing as the temp runs around 90 to 95 degrees during the daytime, I would not be attending.

Now that's not saying that nobody should attend, or that we should move to a different location,,,,, but,,,,,,it's a good thing to discuss all the in's and out's but if we decide not attend, then all our input is kind of redundant.

So what's your thoughts,, will you attend if the IR is in AL and the temp will be 90 or better?

 

Brake Pad has done a lot of preliminary work on this already, but maybe it's a good time to see some numbers.

Should we do a poll on this?

[CaptainJoe]

Freebird needs to make the call on this.

 

 

As stated earlier, I had questions, like you, on how to go about picking a spot. It (the poll thread) got deleted...

 

Would be a waste of effort to start another poll if he has already made up his mind.

 

I had contacted Snowshoe about having it there, but it is pricey.

 

The thing about doing it at a resort is "They have a captive audience, and " they know it"... $139 and up for rooms on the hill, $15 breakfast, $25 lunch, $30 dinner PP, plus tips..." Not to mention a banquet room Renting for $500 (5 pm to 11 pm), the catered dinners $30-$60 per person.

Then there is the expected gratuity of 20%...

 

When we did Cody,Wy people stayed in two or three motels, breakfast was free. Campground was close by. We rented a motel space for banquet.

 

We have a lot of members on a fixed budget.

 

I can't see myself heading south either in August...that, and the fact that it would have to be in a place, that i would go out of my way to get to. No knock to mike or the great state of Alabama, but i can truthfully say, I have never even considered Alabama as a vacation destination.

 

Before the Cody IR, I had always wanted to do Bear tooth pass, Yellowstone and Chief Joseph highway(in the top ten motorcycle roads), the IR gave me an excuse to do act upon it..

 

 

*Instead of just seeing who volunteers to host such an event, shouldn't we be picking a spot(s) where a lot of us would like to go?

 

The M&E's cover just about every state, if that's where you really want to go.

 

As always, I hereby reserve my remaining time, and the right to revise and extend my comments...

 

See what you started Marcarl... Just wait till the Boss sees this!

Edited August 19, 2013 by CaptainJoe

[Squidley]

All the input isn't a bad thing here, but lets be honest anything south of the northern border of Kentucky IS going to be hot June thru September. If thats going to keep folks away, then thats what it is. Northern areas are prone to summer time showers, so the likely hood of getting wet is better.

 

There are folks that wont go East or West of the Mississippi, we are not going to please everyone, nor can we even try for that, it's not possible. The Hub was done in Arkansas in August, definitely hot, but it was a great rally. This has always been about someone stepping up and saying "I'll do this" and thats usually where they live at or around there.

 

It seems that with the international rally's we are now looking for 1 centralized location that will fit all our needs, which is nice, but comes at a price. I am under the thought that if we are wanting this, it's going to take folks away from wanting to volunteer to host one of the rally's. I have done this, and helped with a couple others. It's a labor of love, it might be pessimistic of me to think this, but if it becomes too complicated, folks aren't going to do it....

[Hammer Knocker]

lets see this is August 18,2013 and here in Talladega Alabama at 1500 hours or 3 PM it is 72 degrees

[JohnT]

I still have to work and a 1100 mile ride to get there and 1100 back is a bit much. Mama isn't going to saddle sore it and that makes it at least 2 days there and 2 days back for us. At best. Limited time off available.

95 degree plus in Alabama is no fun.

I tried to vote Kentucky but the poll was already gone.

[Brake Pad]

I still have to work and a 1100 mile ride to get there and 1100 back is a bit much. Mama isn't going to saddle sore it and that makes it at least 2 days there and 2 days back for us. At best. Limited time off available.

95 degree plus in Alabama is no fun.

I tried to vote Kentucky but the poll was already gone.

 

Took me 4 1/2 day each way to the Last IR, Three KOA's and Rick's House Up

This next one would be two days up. 800 miles from door to door

[steamer]

There is no perfect place to hold the rally. If you want to host the IR, put a plan together, set up your committee, present it to Don for approval and make it happen. Post it on the calendar and wait for the sign ups. It will happen, but not if someone doesn't take ownership of this thing. Stop talking about it and DO IT! They will come.

[CaptainJoe]

Steamer,

 

Who asked the initial question if they had cleared it with Don??? This has happened twice now...

 

If there are established procedures, , rules, regulations, to hosting a rally, please provide us with the link, so we don't take up valuable time talking about it...........

Edited August 19, 2013 by CaptainJoe

[Patrolman46]

Watching your posts on the VRI in Alabama I looked for weather averages for the area. This may be of some help:

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USAL0255

 

C Ya, Patrolman46

[Red1]

Here's my nickel's worth -

I look at these rallies as an opportunity to ride some roads I have not ridden and see some things I haven't seen. I enjoy the ride there and back as much as the time at the rally. And as I plan my routes - I look for fun roads & stops along the way that are things of interest for myself and my wife. Some time at Mammoth Cave will be one of those stops if we go the IR in AL. Coming back from the Hub in Arkansas, we stopped In Hannibal, MO, saw Mermac Caverns and the Motorcycle Museum in IA. The riding to and from is as much a part of the vacation as the time at the rally for me and the missus.

 

When I'm there - I also look for things I wouldn't be able to do or see at home. I'm not a fan of the big, organized group ride - I prefer to find my fun at my own pace. I don't look to the daily agenda as MY agenda - making sure my wife & I have a good time is our responsibility. So we'll visit a local winery or brewery, see some local history, maybe go shoot a hog or go fishing or check out some local backroads.

 

The south is gonna be hot in the summer - always has been, always will be. Not much to discuss here. There are ways to keep cool and at least it's not snowing. If you go, then suck it up, Buttercup and don't complain about the frickin' heat.

 

Sometimes I can make the time to go to these rallies and sometimes I can't if they are too far away. But more often than not, the destination is just the excuse I need to log some saddle time and force me to take a real vacation. I appreciate those who take the time to set these rallies up and create the opportunity (and the reason) for me to take some time off and ride. While I still can.

 

So - I'll deal with the heat, find my own motel if I think the host hotel is too pricey, and I'll make sure I have fun. Hopefully, I can make to AL (or wherever the next one is) and look forward to seeing ya'll again. Now - can someone set up a IR in Alaska? I REALLY want to ride there!