Beemers on the grassy knoll

[highpockets]

Hello, Have heard through the grapevine that on the U of C camping areas that bikes WILL NOT be allowed into the grassy camp areas. Have heard that bikes must stay on pavement and so rally goers will not be able to park right outside thier zippered front door.
If that is true ,and you prefer having your bike right next to your tent , do you have camp right along the pavement? :dunno
Thanks ,
HighPockets

[robnye]

Greetings,

You have heard correctly. Bikes will not be allowed on the grass.

There are many areas (islands, etc) in the various parking lots that if having your bike next to your tent is important you should be able to find a place to do so.

Best,

[Friedle]

At the U of C NO bikes will be permitted on ANY grassy area by the request and contract provision of the U of C.

As Rob said, you will park on paved parking lots, but you can set up your tent at the edge of the lot if you must be by your bike. If you choose to occupy a "river view" tent location, the furthest you will be from your bike is about 200 yards. The lawns are so nice and lush, that if your bike were parked next to your tent it might easily end up leaned over into your tent.

If you don't feel comfortable without your bike right next to you, you can camp at the quiet area or the Northgate area where you will be able to park right next to your tent.

Your choice.

[DON BIGELOW]

What about the other camping areas,can a bike be placed next to a tent?

[JOSH]

Bikes can be parked next to their tents aanywhere except the U of C camping area.

Josh
Rally co-chair

[zigamo]

What is the real reason for not being able to park your bike
next to your site on the River Campsite?

My bewilderment of why the bikes cannot be parked on
the grass next to the tents has me writing this reply.
Golf courses have the finest grassy surfaces of all, but
does a public golf course turn down the chance to host
a tournament because the fans who love golf are going to
trample thier beloved surface? No the course wants more
people to play golf at thier course. Its called advertising.
- More damage is going to be done by the tents on the lawn
than a Beemer standing next to it.
- People walking on the grass do more damage.
- A grand opurtunity to Advertise with Kick stand plate.
- How many bikes will be damaged when people carrying their
camping gear to their site just so happen to catch a mirror or
foot peg while weaving through parked bikes. Especially when they have to make 2 or 3 trips back to attain all their gear.
- Grass will recover in a week.

Good Luck - see you next year!

[Friedle]

There are two main reasons for not parking on the grass at the U of C.

The first reason is that it was a contract provision for us being able to use the campus facility. Taht reason alone is quite enough.

The second main reason is that the campus will be quite crowded with tents taking up all the grassy area available. Your bike would take up a place that could house another tent. IF you are choosing to camp onthe Riverside Lawn of the campus, your bike would quickly become "landlocked" by other tents. There is plenty of level paved parking available a short walk or adjacent to the grassy areas.

If you absolutely must have your bike next to your tent, then you can always choose one of the other two camping areas where you CAN park your bike next to your tent if you wish to.

Charleston, it's all about choices. We give you options, you make your choice.

[mabugner]

This seems to be a hot topic, bikes or no bikes on the lawn. From past stories of other national rally goers. It will be a sea of tents on the campus, and parking my bike next to my tent will make it hard to leave with my bike, much less try to ride through a maze of tents only to falter and drop into some unsuspecting napper in their tent. And with the past several weeks of rain and flooding, Question stands; will the ground be dry and solid enough to support a bike even with a kickstand block.

Just had to add my .02

[KBasa]

At Redmond, I'd venture that 95% of the bikes were parked on the walkways and roads of the site.

I'm having a hard time understanding all the concern.

:dunno

[DON BIGELOW]

I to am saying maybe next year,everything is to spread out,night transport only shuttling people, bikes at different locations to look at,I like everything in one arena.Nice riding country though,have fun everyone.

[beemerron]

As someone not afraid to try something new and knowing that the roads in WV are great, I look forward to this rally. Sure the site aint a Trenton or DuQuoin, but let's give it a shot. To all of us going to Charleston, see ya there. To those of you not going, see ya next year, maybe. BTW, the entertainment sounds great. I remember my first National. Asleep At The Wheel played Saturday night. Nothing yet has matched. Tear the roof off the mother.....

[stevesatt]

Looks like to me BMW MOA is kind of killing what a rally is about you tell me that in a world this large this is the only place we could have a rally. I love to camp I enjoy the beer tent I enjoy spending my hard earned money at vendors. I really dont like having to take a bus to do these things. BMW MOA TAKE NOTE set up another rally like this and I will never attend another. I feel they are tring to force us who camp and enjoy things like getting up in the morning and walking around shooting the bull with other riders. This will be the worst rally ever how do you secure four areas man the more I type the madder I get I am sure I am not alone:eek

[KBasa]

Yeah, but are you going? Let's wait and see how it works before we call the whole thing horrible.

I've been to the Vermont Rally and thought that sleeping in dorms was going to be awful. Instead, it was simply terrific.

:D

[beemerron]

to paraphrase H. J. Simpson, "I fear the unknown or different".

[beemerron]

To:Darkside dozer, DON BIGELOW & cybercycle, Thanks for the camping space. You probrably saved my horn a few beeps too. See ya next year, maybe.

[gararnett]

Originally posted by Darkside dozer
Looks like to me BMW MOA is kind of killing what a rally is about you tell me that in a world this large this is the only place we could have a rally. I love to camp I enjoy the beer tent I enjoy spending my hard earned money at vendors. I really dont like having to take a bus to do these things. BMW MOA TAKE NOTE set up another rally like this and I will never attend another. I feel they are tring to force us who camp and enjoy things like getting up in the morning and walking around shooting the bull with other riders. This will be the worst rally ever how do you secure four areas man the more I type the madder I get I am sure I am not alone:eek


Not being mean, but how can one pre-judge something to be a failure without even trying? Personally, I have never been to a MOA National rally. I have been to 2 "local" BMW rallies this year, so obviously I am not a MOA Rally expert. Usually I am the voice of dis-content, but just because something is different doesn't make it bad. I actually don't see how this rally can be bad.

[Hawk Hawthorne]

Hey Beemerron: I like your stlye. You know, we have elections coming up next year for the Board....

I am sorry to see some members judge the rally without going. I am a camper, and when I first heard about this format, I, too, was livid (right Freidle?!). But the fact of life is that, in this "great big wide world" it is getting more difficult to find a facility that can house, shower, feed and TOILET 5 or 6 or 7 THOUSAND people, plus vendors, motorcycles, etc. And if you enjoy your BEER, you need to know that some damn nice sites have been rejected by the Board because of the facility's alcohol policy (duh, prohibited).

I am looking forward to Charleston, just to see if it works. If it doesn't, we won't do this again. But if it does, it opens a whole new class of potential Rally sites for the future.

For those who think that in this great big world it's so easy to find a National Rally site, I encourage you to volunteer for the Rally Site Selection Team and have a go at it. We need the volunteers.

Ride safe. See you in Charleston I hope.

Hawk Hawthorne
VP BMW MOA :D

[stevesatt]

Hey I am going but I will be in the Holiday Inn express (should make me alot smater huh)so I will be at the beer tent friday at 8:00 pm with the rest of you if not volunteering at that time. As for the volunteering for the site selection team where do I sign up that would be a great job:clap

[MJ in OH]

Rode to Charleston on Sunday, just to check out the campus. It's small, that's one of the main reasons I can see that no parking will be allowed on the grass, it will pretty much be taken up just by tents. They were having a car show on the grass while we were there but most had boards under them, but I believe that was because it was still a little soggy. The parking lot is a whole nother story, not much of it either.
I also am trying to keep an open mind about the multiple locations and am looking forward to the rally. If this doesn't pan out though, I doubt that I would be willing to try it like this again.
One good thing about the limited camping spaces, you shouldn't have much problem finding all your buddies.
See ya in Charleston!

[chasman]

Darkside dozer, e-mail me so we can discuss your interest in the Rally Site Selection Team.



Chuck Manley
Director, BMW MOA
Rally Site Selection Team Liaison

cmanley@bmwmoa.org

[KBasa]

:)

I moved the rally horror stories here. (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=669)

[daver80]

I'll return to MOA national rallys when more traditional rally sites are selected. I was really looking forward to riding in W Va.

[KBasa]

Too bad, dude.

You're missing a great rally. Really.

[CustomSarge]

Before I got there, I was not ok with not parking scooter next to tent, security concerns mainly. However, given the softness of grass (re:wet!), I doubt anything above a moped would have stayed up. I camped at the far south end on a strip next to a parking lot & had the bike right there; twice this kind of space would have been usable & filled. As for trying to find others without previously agreeing on a spot, I don't think so.