Black Diamond BMW Rally

[empeg9000]

Well I went down to the Black Diamond Rally this past weekend. IT wasn't too bad. On Thursday night I super slabbed it from Albany NY area to Ridgewood NJ to stay at my friends so we could ride up together. Friday morning the rain had stopped. I programmed the coordinates into the GPS and selected no toll roads or highways. It picked a very nice selection of back roads and county roads the whole way.
Here we are taking a break in Milsford PA. Thats my buddies Katana. Pretty nice bike for the money.
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030386.sized.jpg

While stopped at a park on Rt 390 a guy named Steve on a R80 stopped and asked for directions. He jsut tagged along with us since we were only about 20 miles away from the rally
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030395.sized.jpg

Here was my home for 3 days
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030407.sized.jpg

They had a nice bike pole barn for everyone to store thier bikes in
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030412.sized.jpg


My buddy Ian loved the K1200R, which was on sale for 12.9K
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030416.sized.jpg



__________________

[empeg9000]

Jack from Two Jack BMW brought a full compliment of bikes for everyone to sit on and check out. Thats him on the right.
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030418.sized.jpg


Here we are at dinner time. Left to right its my friend Alan, Ian, and me
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030430.sized.jpg

Friday night they showed a movie in the Rec Hall, the "Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins. I guess some guy went 201 mph on a 1929 Indian.
It was definately cold at night. The cabins didn't have heat. I ended up sleeping with my long john and a hat on in my sleeping bag. They had a good bon fire friday night.
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030434.sized.jpg

Woke up Saturday morning and it felt like fall and it was chilly.
Nice view on the lake right next to our cabin tough
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030436.sized.jpg


After breakfast they had 5 different rides you could do. I picked ride number two. Unforuntately they didnt give distance between any of the turns so we got lost many times and ended up in NY. We still had fun and rode about 200 miles that day. Here is a sample tasty road
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030441.sized.jpg

We had lunch at Big Willies BBQ in Calicoon just off Rt 97. $8.99 for all you can eat BBQ buffet. Some woman in there kept giving us the stink eye. I guess she didn't like us rough necks in her town. :laugh
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030450.sized.jpg

The recquisite food shot
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030456.sized.jpg



Sunday it was raining like crazy so I mostly super slabbed it home the 200 or so miles. It was a fun trip and good for the money. I would do it again I guess. I met lots of people and saw two other S riders, no one on this board I believe.
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album24/P1030461.sized.jpg

Here are the rest of the pics if you are interested (http://www.spmicro.com/gallery/album24)

[wmubrown]

SWEET! Looks like a beautiful area! I've never heard of that rally... I'll have to check into that for next year.

[rdalland]

Jeez... I gotta start being more friendly, I'm still trying to shake off twenty years of living in NYC. Sorry I didn't introduce myself.

Does this look familiar?

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199246-M.jpg

All (well some of) the comforts of home.


Here is another shot of the indoor parking.

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100196701-L.jpg

Saturday morning started out pretty foggy.

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199260-M.jpg

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199291-M.jpg

The sun was bright, and the fog burned off quickly.

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199297-M.jpg

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199281-M.jpg

The rally site was really pretty. The group of chairs in the photo above are where the fire was Friday night.

I had difficulty following the route sheet that I chose as well, but the route that was laid out was exceptional. Mostly small state roads without a soul in sight. PA also allows passing on double lines, keeps the view fresh.

Here's a couple of shots of Hawks Nest in NY from the ride home on Sunday.

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199316-M.jpg

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100199323-M.jpg

One final shot a little closer to home.

http://reid-dalland.smugmug.com/photos/100196704-M.jpg

Everyone that attended the rally won a door prize - they had more prizes than attendees!

The rally organisers did a great job with this rally! It's a perfect location for a rally, beautiful site with great riding roads every direction you turn.

[empeg9000]

Jeez... I gotta start being more friendly, I'm still trying to shake off twenty years of living in NYC. Sorry I didn't introduce myself.
Oh yeah you were in the opposite corner from me. You took off pretty early Sunday as I recall. Well I enjoyed myself and I think I will go again next year, for the money with the 4 meals and the cabin it was pretty good. I am heading out camping in the Catskills this weekend. This will probably my last big ride of the year. The R11S needs new sneakers so I will have to get them in the spring.

[wmubrown]

Here's a couple of shots of Hawks Nest in NY from the ride home on Sunday.
Hawk's nest is a beautiful area. Too bad the Hawk's Nest Diner won't be reopening... they can't get insurance because of how it hangs out off the cliff to view the river.

Why are all the bikes indoors??

[empeg9000]

Why are all the bikes indoors??
It was just a little pole barn to keep the parked bikes out of the weather. They also left the lights on so the bikes were secure. :german

[rdalland]

Why are all the bikes indoors??

It was a request of the owners of the camp. You were allowed to park near where you stayed to load and unload, but were asked to park in the "barn". The roads around the bunk houses were narrow and not in very good shape, and they would never accomodate all the bikes. I heard that they were also concerned about plastic plumbing pipes buried just below the surface.

It actually made for a peaceful rally experience. It was nice not having bikes moving around the site all the time. If you wanted to look at motorcycles, they were all in one place, and neatly parked.

[empeg9000]

It actually made for a peaceful rally experience. It was nice not having bikes moving around the site all the time. If you wanted to look at motorcycles, they were all in one place, and neatly parked.
That actually was cool. On Saturday night when it was pouring I wasnt ready to sleep so me and my friend just walked around the "barn" checking out everyones bikes and talking to various people.

[john1691]

I was up that way Saturday, had free tickets to a football game, so rode the slab (81) north past you guys. Wish I'd had the time to stop in and meet some folks. After seeing your great photos, I'll be sure to put that rally on my calendar for next year. Thanks for the report!

john1691
2000 K1200RS