Was this your first National/rally say Aye

[wezul]

I've seen many posts where it's:
This was my first National.
This was my first rally.

No politics, tell me about it.

[heychooch]

I'll start it off
This was my first international rally and my wife's first more than one days ride. I rode all across the US on a 84 R80RT before i met her but never attended any of the MOA rallies. I wanted to it just never worked out. I sold that bike when we started a family. Last year i got the itch again and bought a 04 R1150RT. We're from the Lancaster area of PA. We went with two friends and rode the Parkway down to the rally and back home again. My wife (to my surprise) loved it. Shes ready to go again. We had a really good time. A big thank you to all of those who make these rallies happen.
Scott :thumb

[mikeinohio]

yes. it was pretty good. i've posted comments in both the "this rally sucked" and "this rally rocked" threads because it did both. and i don't want to violate etiquette and repost. The sucks part was that I felt a little like an "outsider". The rocked part was the cantelope people, the food in general, and all the amazing bikes.

[2bikemike]

My first rally. I live 100 miles from Gray so I had no good excuse not to go. I preregistered so I got off to a good start. I talked with several riders while waiting in line, all very nice folks. The volunteers at the registration bldg. were also nice folks and very helpful. I can't remember the guys name who I dealt with but he was so polite and had such a warm personality that I felt immediately part of something much bigger than I. So, I make my way back to my bike and met a guy from MAC PAC Eating and Wrenching Society, we talked a bit and after his buddy got back we rode over to Sherpa Service. Ted's place is just absolutely great. I don't camp much, so I was a bit concerned about what I was in for. In short I had a blast. I was very comfortable every night. At Sherpa, I met two riders from Connecticut, who I hung out with until they left on Saturday morning. These guys were alotta fun to be around. I met others who were just as pleasant to talk with also. The lady from Illinois, the rider from Austin, Texas and the rider from Florida who I had dinner with at a local BBG joint. I guess rallies are what you make of them, I made mine memorable. I'll go again.

[drsales]

This was my first rally of any kind. I rode solo from Avon Lake, Oh coming down 77/WVTP and hoped off the hard at Rt19 (Bluefield) Then over to 16 (wow). Rode the snake and also did Bristol Raceway (wow again) I did the Sherpa also, where I met many riders form all states and employment. Plus a few from Ohio. Great job to all you spent many hours planning and executing.

The experience was quite positive. Never regretted making the decision to come on down. Now I am thinking of The Finger Lakes Rally on Labor Day Weekend.

I took Rt 23 back north all the way to Columbus then 71 north. BTW much nicer ride than 77.

[kantuckid]

Like Mike from OH, I have posted both ways and a 1st timer. I am not much of a "joiner" nor a particularly social animal(read crowd seeker into that) so after riding bikes since 1963 , there I was. I have camped and backpacked for many years, so had a realistic expectation as to thousands of tents. When I camp, I want mine to be the only one! I live really rural so a local club is out . I don't have a 650 so the chain gang welcomed me, in spite of that, as an "alien" amongst them! I drink beer, but when I went saw no one I knew and went back to the entertainment , which I have commented on unmercifully.
I'll second the canteloupe people and add, that as a resident of nearby eastern KY, they were typical of the friendly types that inhabit the applachians! I taled to them and the Amsoil oil guy(another local) a bunch.
To enhance my experience I worked registration for 12 hours(hope I was the nice guy mentioned above!) and security 4 hours. I met some nice people here and there but kind of like a "military acquaintence" they are nice but shortlived things.
I bought some overpants as they were cheap and could size them to my gorilla body. Also some gloves for the same reason. The rest of the bling cost more than my bike and didn't fit it. I ride a 2003 1150R and the stuff tended toward GS everything in many cases. It is amazing how much $ some spend on stuff...
I plan to do the Oregon rally and then ride up into BC and back across-any takers? It wont be because I have to do rallies to feed my social needs, or bling requirements, just a fun ride and another excuse to ride! I do feel that volunteering ties your time together in a meaningful way at the rallies.
I see the mugs & pins as a waste of $-to each his own. I left before the awards ceremony as it held zero interest for me and I was tired of vendor food. If you thought that was good , overall, then you need to eat at my house for awhile.
Riding and rallies are obviously not a combination for all and I'll probably do another one here and there, but never be able to brag about having done so many as I have several other hobbies and enjoy them much!

[vectorprime27]

This was our first rally as well. We rode up from Orlando, Florida, arriving about 11:30 on Wednesday morning. Since registrations wasn't open, we headed off to set up our tent and shade tarp (many thanks to Tom for his help with the tarp!). After grabbing some lunch, it took us about 10 minutes to register...quick and painless!

I found my way to the Country Store and assisted with the set up of the Cyber Cafe, then headed out for dinner. The first day was a breeze :thumb

We spent most of Thursday at seminars (some very good stuff there!), stimulating the economy via the many vendors, and of course hitting the beer tent. Friday was split between slaying the Dragon and the Skyway, and more vendors.

Heres a summary of my thoughts, as I have no benchmark since we were virgins:

1. Traffic flow through the vendor area was chaotic. However, in reading other posts, I think this was the best of the bad solutions.

2. We met most of the folks camping around us, but no one inquired about the "1" pin we were sporting. It would have been great to have a reception or some sort of gathering for us "virgins".

3. The seminars were good, but all over the place. We did one at the school, than another at the Raritan building (329 miles away....or so it seemed becuase we walked it).

4. EVERYONE was friendly and ready to chat about their machines, local rides, great places to eat, etc.

All in all, we had a great time and this won't be the last rally we attend....although I am still trying to get my head around making a 3,000 mile trek one way out to Redmond next year.

:dance:dance:dance

[rkimmel2]

Been riding Beemers for over forty years and this was my first rally. What a treat! Next time I will camp bads joints be damned. Everytime I went back to my hotel at the end of the day I felt like I was missing something.

Both instructors at the seminars and vendors were laid back and very cool. Living in a resort town where bike week means something entirely different, what a revelation. I am now looking for smaller regional rallys to attend. these things could easily become my retirement plan.

[gharlow]

First MOA rally, and had a good time. Took two days each way from/to Chicago and really enjoyed the ride. I stayed off-site, so I didn't experience any of the camping issues. I am amazed that the cost was only $30!! It could have been triple that and I would have considered it a good value.

Compared to similar events I've attended for other motor hobbies I think it was well-organized and well-run. Not perfect, mind you, but considering that it was administered and staffed by volunteers it was impressive. I guess my expectations were realistic, so the lack of perfection didn't disappoint me.

The seminars were quite good, and I found the school to be an easy walk across the soccer field. Learned a lot from visiting the vendors, and spent a little $$. (Who knew that I could buy a holder for my I-Pass!) A map of the vendors would have been helpful, though.

On the whole, it was a good time, and I'll come again when it's within 1,500 miles of Chi-town.

Geoff

[hojoinsc]

Not a BMW owner YET, and this was my first BMW Rally (although I've been to other brands). I went up only for Saturday due to work restraints and was impressed with the turnout and the number of campers!

[Rpbump]

AYE Was my first and will not be my last. Ride Safe :thumb :usa :usa

[briana]

Aye

[jrgporsche]

Aye and I'll return. Not oregon tho.

John
Aiken, SC
2001 R1100RT

[DABrisson]

This was my first National. I was a little overwhelmed at first, then there's the just finding your way around part too. In the end I was feeling like it was a little too short to get everything done I came for, well next time. The best part was the Experienced Rider Course. Instructors Scott & Jim were wonderful. I looked everywhere and could not find a way to pre register. Maybe it was just me but I kind of expected the class description to tell how to register.

The ERC caused me to miss many of the seminars I wanted, I'll try again next time.

Vendors were good, as someone above said I would have liked a vendor map.

This was a camp ground, finding water was almost impossible, if there was a supply hydrant, I never found it. That really needs improvement. I didn't find camping on a hillside, that's the price for hilly country.

Food was good, not enough time to try everything. The farmers market was a favorite.

My single biggest complaint was the access path, that was down right dangerous. I can't understand how mixing motor vehicles and pedestrians on purpose can ever be a good idea. I happen to approach the Rally from the north, bringing me to the grounds before finding the registration. I ended up circling the whole place just to get to registration. There were no signs at the ground's entrance pointing to registration.

Again this was my first, I didn't have anything to compare to so I'll be back to compare and catch what I missed this time.

Oh, the shower trucks. Those things were the best shower facilities I've had camping in 20 years, thanks.

[xtek95]

Johnson City was my first National as well. I have family living within 50miles of JC, so spent nights with them.
I am considering travelling to Oregon next year, but would like to do camping instead of hotel. For one thing, i missed a lot of late night entertainment , and adult beverage consumption due to impending ride to brother's place.
I had the chance to ride for the first time with my younger brother and his HD Ultra Classic, what a hoot riding Cherohala Skyway together.
Great people at the rally, great time overall.

[sgtboring]

My wife and I made down for our first "big rally".

Although I felt torn about not camping, I do not think we missed much staying "of post".

I found the crowd to be the best behaved mostly polite group I have been in outside of Christian Rock Festivals.

Our #1 pin did have some folks approach us and start up conversations. I was happy to look at all the bikes and my wife was happy shopping. Ladies gear is not always easy to find (for none cruiser type cloths).

We worked the country store from 1200-1500 Sat. That was fun, and I got to meet some nice folks.

Thanks to the MOA for a great event.

[atlbmw]

more details to come later....but...
I got off to a rocky start with the unfortunate rude encounter at registration, but I wasn't going to let that ruin my first rally and spoil the Mountain Magic that I came to enjoy. The rally just kept getting better and better for me. I had a lot of fun and will have to try and rearrange my vacation in the future to include the Rally.

Redmond....at least 2500 miles later here I come! Crossin Fingers!

[KatTN]

Aye!!! This was a first for me and my husband. We had gone to a RA Rally before and loved it so we planned to make this one. We did Daytona once and I don't have the desire to do that one again. We wore our 1st timer pins proudly although I was expecting to get a bucket of water dumped on our head or a swift kick in backside as an initiation or something.:whistle We had a few people shake our hands and welcome us aboard after seeing out pins. We camped about 13 miles from the rally and had some great neighbors that were also attending the rally. We had lists of what we wanted to find when we shopped and we found everything on the list. We even bought a few things that wasn't on our list. We loved it and will try to make another one. Thanks to all who made this rally happen!!!!!

[crazydrummerdude]

Aye.

First national, third rally.

[SheRidesABeemer]

Aye.

First national, third rally.

Nice to meet you!

[Mark II]

First rally of any type. Not likely to be the last.

[pjm1128]

First BMW National and BMW rally. Attended the Women On Wheels Int'l Ride-In last year in Boyne, MI, which was my first rally of any kind. On this trip pretty much rode US-23 from MI down to Ashland, KY, cut over to Knoxville, TN, and headed south to ride Tail of the Dragon (camped overnight at Iron Horse Resort, which was awesome) and a bit of Blue Ridge Pkwy before arriving in Johnson City Thurs afternoon. Spent Fri and Sat doing some seminars and hitting the vendors. I stayed off site, so missed some of the evening entertainment, but had a good time nonetheless. I'm thinking this won't be my last rally either, but I'm doubtful that I'll head to Oregon as it would be difficult for me to get the time necessary off work for travel to/from the rally.

[beckgr]

First rally of any type for me. Had bike problems which were challenging, but still thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

There is just a ton of work that goes into pulling something like this off. My hats off to all the volunteers who made this happen. I will volunteer in the future and make sure I give back some of what I got at this rally.

I'll be doing more, that's for certain.

[zoridog]

Not my first rally but my first National. Great time! Had fun at the RA rally also.
I'm planning to go to next years but 2800 miles each way will mean I go solo. I may need to take the train half way to convince my riding buddy to go.

[Firebird]

This was my first MOA rally. :twirl PJM1128 and I were roommies. :buds There was this fish fry truck at the rally which served the BEST fried fish EVER!!!!! :eat

[slater]

This was my first rally, ever. Had a great time, thought it was really well organized, and the location was terrific (great roads!). Hope to do a better job of balancing riding vs. taking in the events next time. But had a great time.

I heard there was some kind of n00b pin you got if it was your first rally (maybe I'm mistaken). I didn't get one, are there any leftovers?

[crazydrummerdude]

Nice to meet you!

Hey, nice to meet you, KBasa, Bubba, Knary, Rapid_Roy, and a few others!

[Weasel]

Aye to first BMW rally, though I've gone to Antique Motorcycle rallies in the past. At registration, everyone clapped because it was my first rally, but no one offered me a pin, nor the tokens for the free beers. Oh, well, I had a great time, anyway!

[wezul]

OK, this could get confusing. :ha

[The_Veg]

On behalf of the entire Registration team, I apologise to those of you who didn't get pins. We had a couple of volunteers who forgot that step, but as soon as we found out about it we reminded them. Of course that didn't help some of you, or the fact that at one point we ran out of the pins! While the rally didn't set an overall attendance record, I would not be surprised if it set a record for first-timers. Seems like the first-timers were a huge portion of the crowd that came through registration during my shifts.

The first-timer pin program is really the Ambassadors' thing (Registration is the best place to distribute the pins though), and as I am not an Ambassador I cannot speak for their planning or for whether or not they get the word out to welcome pin-wearers...but I would hazard a guess that they're listening to the feedback and are interested in improving it for next year.

Thanks to all who volunteered, and especially to the first-timers who volunteered! We hope to see you again! :wave

Ben Lower
Co-Chair, Registration

[rwichtendahl]

my first rally of any kind. i had a great time. great location. fantastic roads. this rally was the reason i got out an rode my first week long trip (over 2700+ miles!). I could not believe how beautiful this part of our country is; Cherohala, Deals Gap, Shaddy Valley, Asheville, Blueridge Pkway, Skyline Drive, and that 4 state run was moving.

one of the best experiences in my life. my wife had an epiphany (she rode pillion for 3 days 900+ miles). soon as she got home, she got her motorcycle permit and signed up for MSF course.

Thanks BMWMOA!

[wezul]

This is great stuff folks. It makes me feel good to see this influx of new blood.
:thumb +100

[TNOutback]

Aye. Only two months into bike ownership and riding after a 30 year absence. I live in TN, but being 'new again' made riding over and back a big deal. Rode 1,147 miles between Wed. and Sunday. Had a great time. Spent most of my time riding NC roads. Stayed in a hotel nearby which was nice and had several rally attenders, but I feel I missed alot not staying on site. Missed all the seminars because I was too busy riding! I'll camp at the rally next time.

[mark1305]

My first Rally, too. And surprisingly to me, out of the roughly 10,000 or so folks I located about 10 -15 of the 20 or so of folks I already knew that would be in attendance. Also ran into some old acquaintances from non-BMW riding endeavors. Met lots of new friends, too.

Standing in line with my rear wheel in hand needing a tire at the Metzeler trailer, I chatted up the gentleman in front of me with an airhead front wheel in his hand only to find that he lived about 20 minutes north of me here in central FL.

I agree with a comment I saw earlier about the Fish Mobile and the great fried fish. I had some nice conversations with that vendor a couple of nights when things started to close down and he had time to talk with people. Yeah, I ate there more than once. :eat

I'm from the Southeast, so I know Southern Hospitality, but the locals from Johnson City and Gray exhibit some of the best hospitality I've known.

The Rally Staff did an outstanding job. A few glitches here and there, but I've been in operations management all my life, and I think the whole show went off very well.

Many more comments I could add, but to suffice it to say, I had a great time for my first Rally. Hopefully I will be in a position to try it again next year.

[mrmeat49]

AYE, was a newby!

So close to Chattanooga, that I had to go.
Great reception at the registration.
Really appreciated the job done by the volunteers.
Took long day trips on some great back-roads.
Learned that my R1200CLc is not meant to do what the accompanying R1200RT, R1050RT, and R1200GS were doing. Finally decided to ride my own ride, and enjoyed the ride much more!

Good job Rallye team and Johnson City!
All hail to the Chromeheads!

Mr. Meat

[OU812]

I got a few beer chips and it was my 2nd rally. I guess it is who you know.:whistle


:laugh

[UberXY]

Nay. Fourth MOA National for me. I think I might have spent 4 hours total on the rally site, seeing some vendors I wanted to talk to, checking out the S1000RR, watching Teach, talking to Nate, and enjoying the stunt plane. The rest of the time was spent riding or eating; e.g, we rode down to Asheville, NC for lunch on Saturday while the rest of our crew did the GS ride.

[jomafur]

I've been riding a BMW for about 3 years, heard alot about the BMW MOA. So when I found out you all were coming to my town, I had to join.
I live about 1 mile from the fair grounds in Gray TN. I was SO happy to see all the Bimmers around town. At the rally I was so inspired by every thing, I'm working on plans to get to Redmond OR next year!