Rally Review

[beemerron]

Michele and I had a week off, so we set up a base camp at Lake Carmi and did day trips Mon- Wed. Thursday we moved down to CVE.

Site/Locations: Great roads and great site. Many local eateries and services. Let's put this place on the short list.

Vendors: Top notch. Air conditioned building and many vendors. Wish I had more money to spend.

Entertainment: Also great. I'm all in favor of spending extra money to get good bands. I like the idea of the MP3 DJ in the beer tent thing that never got together, but wonderful idea. Next year could it be done from Noon til ?

Best National ever. I tip my helmet to Michael, Josh and everyone else that put so much work in to pulling this thing off.

IMHO, we should identify 10 or so good sites and rotate through them.

[PAULBACH]

Vermont is certainly rural but draw an eight hour riding circle using Essex Junction as the center.

Included in that eight hour ride would be the two largest cities in Canada and the largest city in the US. Add Boston and you have quite the "local" population to draw upon.

It is only a guess but only some location in the Catskills would include a larger base. Rhinebeck is one such location and a rally was once held there. Syracuse, NY would be another.

Each rally learns from the previous one so the Cheeseheads will have a lot to draw on. I hope they can find a campus like St. Michael's.

[Beemeup]

I thought offering early camping at Lake Carmi at a discounted rate was a
great idea. I went to Lake Carmi on Wednesday and thought it was a fantastic place to camp.........it seemed like very few people took advantage of this opportunity.........too bad you missed a great camping experience.

Lake Carmi was very pretty and the sites were plentiful and great. I got a
lean-to right on the lake. The staff at Carmi were very friendly and attentive and if you ordered firewood they delivered it next to your fire ring on an atv. There was a lovely beach with picnic tables, warm water to swim in and ducks that liked to come up and say hello.

The facilities were very clean and it was quiet at night. Our group got a little mid-evening excitement when a skunk decided to drop into our good cheer by the campfire session to join in the fun. If Carmi had been closer I might have stayed there throughout the rally.

Anyway, Cudos to the organizers for arranging early camping at Lake Carmi, it was great ! :thumb

[amiles]

The Lake Carmi concept was a great idea. Beautiful place, nice staff. Very inexpensive.

That said there were a few things that I found problematical.

I felt that it was too far from the rally site.

I had difficulty locating it, The State of Vermont must be trying to keep it a secret, very minimal or non existant signage. A couple of BMW roundrells with arrows at strategic points would have been greatly appreciated by me. Returning at 11pm Weds night was frustrating to say the least.

My Sprint phone was unable to get service there, it would have been nice if it had. Lucky I brought a phone card as backup.

[Catman]

I also thought the Lake Carmi site was excellent. I arrived there on Monday and ended up spending the whole week there, taking day trips to the rally on Thursday and Friday. Someone on the park staff told me that there were about 250 of us by Wednesday night.

The riding in that area was outstanding: scenic roads with farms on one side and lake views on the other. Spent all day Wednesday riding some great roads and visiting some small towns in Quebec. I can tell you that the campground was considerably more quiet when the BMW riders were there than when the weekend campers arrived on Friday and Saturday.

[Beemeup]

I met you at the Pemi River Rally a couple of years ago, I was at
Lake Carmi at the same time you were, sorry I missed you. It would
have been great to catch up and see how your "C" has been treating
you...........

[beemerron]

We rode East and Southeast of of Lake Carmi and encounter very little traffic. The road geometry was great but the surface sucked. I thought Michigan had the worst roads.
Was there a back way in and out of the CVE? That 5 corners intersection east of the CVE is a traffic engineers nightmare. I shaved twice waiting for that signal to change. Also that pavement milling project on Rte 2 screwed me twice. Shame on me.
The local alcohol laws were lame. Nothing in or out of the beer garden? Sheesh :sick. For a blue state, Vermont has some red state (also known as blue laws, go figure) liquior laws. I trust Wisconson is a liitle more real.
The folks that put these rallies on are experts and they are all volunteers. We are fortunate to have such talent and enthusiasim amongst us.

[kbasa]

I like the rotating location thing. I'd love to go back to VT in a few years.

[BradfordBenn]

It was a cool rally!

[DcnDog]

I had a wonderful time. I have only been rallying since '99, but with Rhinebeck as a benchmark I have to say best I have attended.

Dan

[stealthrider]

This was my first rally and I really had a great time.. I tried to experience as much as possible, Riding, Vendors, Local Food & Volunteering. This is where my suggestion comes in.. As a volunteer on the gate I was asked many questions about where to find local businesses like the Laundromat, Drug store, Gas Station and the ever popular Beer store. After consulting with my gate partner I soon had directions down pat, but was thinking there must be a better way.. My thought is that this information and a local map be included in the rally handbook. Also lager maps of the local area should be posted near the gates for quick reference.. I know that most of this information could be obtained at the hospitality tent but it would make life a little easier if it was posted near the exits.
Just my two cents worth...

[Visian]

I like the rotating location thing. I'd love to go back to VT in a few years.

:nod

I'd like to go back to Redmond again in a few years.

Ian

oh... and I thought this year's rally ruled. :clap

[soffiler]

... Also lager maps of the local area should be posted near the gates for quick reference.. I know that most of this information could be obtained at the hospitality tent but it would make life a little easier if it was posted near the exits...

Lager maps are a great idea, but don't leave out the ales.

[85801]

I spent six days at Lake Carmi and it was great. Great staff, cleanest camp ground I have ever been in. On hot days ride and swim. On cooler days, ride and B.S. I heard the MOA dropped 12 K into securing Carmi for the days before the rally. Is that so? In my book, money well spent when you have great camping set aside after a ride from Los Angeles. Could have been more people. What was with the frogs? Keep up the good work MOA leadership. I had a great five week trip.