The worst part of the rally.....

[2bikemike]

My only negatives are directed more at BMW Corporate than the MOA whom I thought did a great job at this rally.

1. Why only bring the new GT and GTL's for demo's? Yes they are new game changing models, but not everyone is interested in one. I asked a BMW employee about this and was told that they wanted to make a big splash with the new model and they had a strong demo program at the local dealers for the other models. That is all well and good, but what about those folks who live 100+ miles from a dealer or don't have a dealer in their state? Do you really expect them to drive hours for a demo and then have the dealer ask, "What can I do to put you on this bike today?" The rally is a perfect way to demo without pressure especially if you are not quite ready for a new bike, but just thinking about it. I think Paul Thorn summed it up nicely by saying, "I think BMW is stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime." Which brings me to.....

2. Why did BMW schedule thier event opposite one of the main music events, Paul Thorn? He is a crittically acclaimed national touring act and deserved better. There were several local "cover" bands that could have been scheduled opposite and no one would have cared. But Paul is a top draw, which is why he has been asked to perform for us 3 years in a row now. I did hear that German party band early on as I was camped on the other side of the fence and they sure sounded like fun, but they are a party band for folks to party to. OTOH, Paul is a serious artist with a top notch band and deserved to have his portion of the entertainment schedule to himself. Everyone seemed to agree with Paul when he made that above statement!

Otherwise a GREAT rally!

Rick G

I totally agree with what Paul said. Sadly,( for obvious reasons ) it'll probably be the last time he performs at a MOA rally!

[TedV]

Yes it was hot but only when we get full control over the weather/climate can we compalin to the organizers, until then they deserver our thanks for dealing with the heat as best they could. Besides it could have been raining all week.

I had a good time and am looking forward to next year.

x2 or have had a freak late/early snow storm

[Newstar]

x2 or have had a freak late/early snow storm

Why don't we just have the rally in Hawaii. I hear it's nice there.

[R80RTJohnny]

I guess a combination of the extreme heat and rooms with no air-conditioning made for a disappointing experience. I was glad to have accommodations at BU. Each room with it's own AC Unit was sweet.

While discussing with the wife on the way back (new helmets and intercom) we were wondering why there appeared to be a lack of a back-up plan for this type of weather event. Heat waves are not uncommon in the north-east in July. Best to have a plan and execute then let the events take over. Should there be provisions for "cool rooms" so that participants can get a reprieve from the heat. Maybe. Do we have the stats for how many participants required medical assistance (1st aid, ER). How many vendors required those same services. Should the organizers go into "emergency mode" and when.

I trust that the MOA will do a postmortem on this event and come up with a better understanding on running an event of such magnitude. I realize that this was the 39th but the dynamics from the first 25 and now (read much older clientele, persons with respiratory illnesses and other) requires/demands special consideration.

Good luck.

PS: The wandering orange water containers were nice but frustrating as sometimes they were there. Sometimes not.

PPS: Please ensure that the hoses attached to the water spouts are rated for "food use" .

[azgman]

How about waiting until the week before the rally and choosing the rally site based on the latest weather forecast? All you can do is play the odds on the weather and try to find a location that people will come to for great riding, and oh by the way, have a facility that can handle 6 to 10 thousand people!

As a potential option, I would support a fall rally or a rally in a higher elevation if held in the summer.

[maacova]

I left on Saturday also. First BMW rally. I will keep a better eye on weather predictions before I go to another one. Too Hot, No shade, AC could not keep up in buildings. I could not sleep at night because of heat. Enjoyed Paul Glaves sessions but that was hot also. No one could have foreseen that heat. Did not have much fun. But could see that it would be fun with cooler temps.

[fauster]

I was disappointed with the on-site Farmer's Market. And the fault lies squarely on my shoulders since I brought them in. I should have asked for specifics from the organizer instead of leaving it at "fruits, vegetables and baked goods".

To give the folks credit, they only sold items that were grown / produced on their farms. But the authenticity meant that their offerings were limited and they could only be on-site for a limited amount of time during Thursday and Friday. Saturday was reserved for their downtown location since they didn't have staffing to run two markets at once.

I'm thinking that MOA members would rather see a full produce stand selling everything from bananas to kiwi fruit instead of limited local items. Feel free to PM or e-mail me with comments so I can pass them onto next year's Food Chair.

That's how we make these events better - listening to constructive criticism and using it for the next rally.

[kgadley01]

Another great Rally!!! Thanks to everyone who helped make it a success. I was able to hook up with many old friends and make a few new ones. My only complaints (other than flame throwing cars) is that the area set aside for members with special needs was too far from the restrooms and in direct sunlight (not shaded) I know its hard to think of everything, but if we know in advance about the lack of shade, we can bring our own along.

[STATMATT]

I felt booing down speakers (by the audience) was in poor taste and a bad example and precident to set for future ralley attendees. However the host accelerating the speeches and posting the information on the web was great.

Having been in Iraq, I'm nervous around crowds anyway. I kind of felt the etching of mob mentality and I chose to go down to the exit and wait for the finish there. This way if anything erupted I could move safely into the bleachers where no one was at.

I think passing out water bottles was a good idea, but I think the smarter move would have been to have each attendee grab a water bottle on the way into the bleachers. In the future find a stage that is not going to have the attendees facing the sun but to have the sun to our backs.

Looking at it from a sponsors point of view, it is important to be recognized for their donation of one of the grand prizes. Maybe they could have a grand ceremony hopper where all of the "must be present to win" prizes would be entered a day prior to the grand ceremony. This way if someone knows they aren't going to stay for the ceremony, they don't have to enter their ticket into that hopper and wait for names to be called of persons that are not there.

The other way to do sponsor messages would be to incorporate them into the Revzilla event video. This way there is a timeline adhereed to and you don't have to do so many exchanges of the intercom/microphone. I think the real event turner was when they had the kids event cordinator speak. Some of the audience knew he was a slow talker that goes on and on... if he had pre-recorded a quick message, and that message was tied back to the GS-Giant message things would have went smoother. The next would be for the drawing. Post a picture of what is being drawn on the screens. this way advertising is concurent to the actual ticket draw.

Some of the ralley statistics could have been posted on the video-screen in a sort of powerpoint scroll while attendees were finding seats. those stats are entertaining and fun. And didn't need to take up time during the closing ceremony.

Or to do a pre-event awards. One of the jesters in the crowd was saying something like stop giving yourself awards and lets get on with why we're all here. So the bleachers started filling up about an hour prior. maybe that is the time to do the awards for within the MOA. Not everyone will be there, but it will at least be a growing crowd for the acknowledgement.

Having someones arm in the ticket barrel as an element of suspense was irritating. Unfortunately several ticket pullers were guilty of that.

I've cross posted something similar on my local club boards.



STATMATT

[xp8103]

My 12 year old son and his YB friend went to the volunteer table Friday afternoon and signed up with the ice detail. The signup sheets were there and I certainly don't blame them, who could? The nice lady staffing the volunteer table thanked them for stepping up to pitch in and help and instructed them on where to go. When they got to the ice table, they were told that no help was needed, the person there apparently thinking that they were just trying to get into the freezer to cool off. He was also apparently unaware that they had in fact gone to the volunteer table first to sign up.

They ended up going back to the Yankee Beemers tent and helping out with the 123 details for a couple of hours.

I'm glad that the person running Ice was satisfied with his level of volunteer staff but perhaps some better coordination between the volunteer table and the various chairpersons would help in the future?

[R80RTJohnny]

Another great Rally!!! Thanks to everyone who helped make it a success. I was able to hook up with many old friends and make a few new ones. My only complaints (other than flame throwing cars) is that the area set aside for members with special needs was too far from the restrooms and in direct sunlight (not shaded) I know its hard to think of everything, but if we know in advance about the lack of shade, we can bring our own along.

After putting on so many rallies of a national magnitude and a wealth of knowledge from hundreds if not thousands of regional rallies the MOA should be able to think of everything. Think of it has having a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Point) manual for rallies. A Quality Assurance system of sorts.

[Brettendress]

Hats off to the MOA and the all that made the RALLY happen. Yes it was hot and I didn't sleep and thought I was going to die but man they stepped up. Free water, water stations everywhere, warnings etc. I believe everyone went out of their way to make what they could out of a really tough situation. I am one of the wimps who left Saturday morning and I'm 46 and in perfect health. Still took it's toll on me Thursday and Friday but again. Thanks to all who kept it together.

[markap12013]

I thought it was a very well run rally and thanks for volunteers in carts handing out water and encouraging hydration.

I was surprised and dissapointed that there were no hand washing stations outside of the porta-pottties. A pretty major oversight in my opinion... I realized that some of the potties had sinks in them but they were generally non-funcitonal and "hit or miss".

I may have overlooked it but a listing of the area restaurants with a bit of a discription would have been good and possibly a minor revenu generator by allowing them to place descriptive ads in the rally booklet.

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds were great along with Paul Thorn and the Highway 101/Hi-power jam session. Was a bit dissapointed with Shooter Jennings in comparison with the others.

[bluejazz]

We really can't due much about mother-nature regarding the heat accept use common sense and stay cool as possible in those conditions. Having said that, my only issue with this year's rally was, the lack of vendors for people who do more road riding as a pose to off-road riding. It seemed to me that the major of vendors were catering to the GS crowd and there's nothing wrong with that, I just would have like to see more of the vendors for my type of riding. I know the after-market is just getting started for the GT & GTL so hurry up already!

[xp8103]

Here's something I neglected in my first post. While I knew there was a river running along the town's main drag I did not know, until Saturday evening, that if you took the right "Y" as you entered the fair grounds it would take to you some prime swimming holes. That would have been priceless information to have and pass on to folks as I was working registration Friday evening (along with passing it on to my son and his friend!) Apparently some knew of the location but it was not wide-spread enough.