YBBJ tour and a real good time

Last November I asked my sweetheart if she was going to be up for a trip to the National. Knowing she would be deep in to studying for the Bar Exam at the end of the month, I didn't think she would say yes.

When she said she couldn't go I decided to invite a few friends. :hug

Next thing you know we're putting on a rolling rally to the National! :thumb

Our first night we stopped in Little Orleans, MD. Just over 50 campers enjoyed the Little Orleans Campground.

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Our second night we went south to Boyer Station, West Virginia. Boyer Station is in the same valley as the National Radio Observatory; it's a cell phone free zone. :thumb

Thanks to Max BMW Motorcycles 55 of us enjoyed a FREE BBQ DINNER Sunday night!

[SIZE="5"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Thanks Max![/COLOR][/SIZE]
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Camping at Boyer.
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Monday and Tuesday we posted up at Willville Bike Camp.

As we were working the gates Thursday we arrived at the rally Wednesday afternoon. I had no problem finding "YB Central"

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We were across from the Airheads who thought running a generator at 6am for coffee was a good idea. Once.

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I had fun at the rally.

I brought my own shade which also kept me dry when it rained.

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I brought my own half roll of TP just in case. Thanks to fortuitous timing I never needed it.

I got food when I wanted it, never waited in line for a shower and when nature called found a restroom or porta pot nearby.

I saw some old friends and missed seeing even more. Made a few new friends too.

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As a friend said late Thursday, "we're rallying now".

Thanks to Vince, Connie and all the folks that made this event happen.

You promised some mountain magic and you delivered. Congratulations on a successful rally and I thank you for it.



Rob Nye
2006 BMW MOA International Rally Co-Chair

The YBBJ was the perfect warmup for the Big Event.

I had no idea what an outstanding variety of offroad trails were availalable in the area!
Hats off to you, Rob, for organizing, and to JB and those locals who were kind enough
to give up their favorite ride routes for us carpetbaggers. :thumb

i think this tour was an excellent idea... it really looks like fun.

perhaps i can help pull something together for next year's ride to redmond.

rob, i forgot to ask you this over the din of the beer tent... was this a lot of work to coordinate?

ian

had a GREAT time at the rally but really wished i could have done the tour.


if it's one thing i definitely didn't get enough of, it was riding this past week.

[QUOTE=Visian;480474]i think this tour was an excellent idea... it really looks like fun.

perhaps i can help pull something together for next year's ride to redmond.

rob, i forgot to ask you this over the din of the beer tent... was this a lot of work to coordinate?

ian[/QUOTE]

In some ways it was easy and in others very difficult. The necessary arrangements would be impossible in a NPS site for example. This leaves private campgrounds which out west are generally a big step down from National Parks, plus KOA's can be hard to deal with ($$$) for groups. It was easy to make the necessary arrangements as I knew one campground owner, the other already hosts a chartered club rally and I went and visited the third.

I've been looking at next summer. In the past the YB's have done an "airlift" where we ship the bikes west and fly in. This saves the average rider three days. Past airlifts have gone to Salt Lake City and San Francisco. When it works it is a wash financially to ship vs ride once you factor in a few days of vacation time.

For 2010 I'm thinking Denver or Las Vegas and starting a tour there. I'm also thinking of a smaller tour that would start in Vancouver two weeks before the National and include Alaska. While the tour would be open the airlift is a YB only benefit.

One thing that made the YBBJ tour so good was aside from the first day the minimum daily mileage was pretty low, i.e. 200 or less, however there were suggested routes and scenic stops that folks could incorporate into their day. On a western tour the daily mileage would at double and the routes would be pretty well defined.

I'm doing some research now and will be heading out that way in a few weeks as I'm taking my son to college in Portland in the sidecar.

One working concept is to have reserved spots for every other night and recommended spots and routes for the 48 hrs in between.

I will say that the YBBJ tour exceed my wildest expectations, it was that much fun. We had a great group of folks with wide diversity in age, riding style and choice of motorcycle. We got lucky on the weather and the campgrounds were great. Having a great National as the final destination was icing on the cake.

[QUOTE=robnye;480683]In some ways it was easy and in others very difficult. The necessary arrangements would be impossible in a NPS site for example. [/quote]

ok... the reason for this is you wanted to camp together, of course.

so, what if everyone sorta made their own reservations at the same park, set up their tents wherever and then partied in the middle? :evil

think the ranger would mind? :ha

thanks for the info, i have to weigh whether something like this would be possible from our neck of the woods.

ian

[QUOTE=Visian;480760]ok... the reason for this is you wanted to camp together, of course.

so, what if everyone sorta made their own reservations at the same park, set up their tents wherever and then partied in the middle? :evil

think the ranger would mind? :ha

thanks for the info, i have to weigh whether something like this would be possible from our neck of the woods.

ian[/QUOTE]

Most National Parks (esp out west) don't accept reservations.