Have you thought about attending a rally?

[onesherpa]

Have you thought about attending a rally? Let me explain how it all started for me.

I got back into riding after almost 30 years. I bought an 800cc bike to commute to work and enjoy with my wife Mary. After one vacation 2 up and the bike loaded, Mary was all for a bigger bike. After some research I bought a 2006 Nomad. I came by the forum while trying to figure out why the Nomad would sometimes stall when I was coasting. Fortunately I found the solution on the forum and it was a simple matter of turning up the idle.

I must admit, I don’t post much on the forum although I visit on a regular basis. I thought the tale of my first rally might be worthy of a post.

So one day back in 2010 I was visiting the forum and noticed that there was going to be a rally at Lake George in NY. I thought it might be fun riding with some other riders. So I asked Mary if she was interested in going. To this day I remember her reply, “Do I have to wear chaps?” I told her I didn’t think so. She was also concerned that the other riders may drink a lot and raise hell during the ride. I said that if we didn’t enjoy riding with them, we could just go off on our own. So we decided to give it a try.

Well, the rally turned out to be a great time. I believe Larry from the Northeast US and Norm from the Canada East were our hosts. When almost all the riders have the same model bike, you can’t help but have something to talk about. I’m always amazed at how each rider personalizes their bike. The other thing I found is that riders of cruisers tend to be around the same age. Just another thing in common. And if you’re wondering what the ride was like, we road at a reasonable speed, there’s no alcohol during the ride, and the roads and scenery were fantastic. By the end of the week, we had made new friends and couldn’t believe the rally was over so soon.

We enjoyed it so much that we have attended:
2010 Lake George, NY
2011 Maggie Valley, NC
2012 Wellsboro, PA
2014 Lincoln, NH
2015 Eureka Springs, AR
2016 Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada

So, if you’re thinking about attending a rally, I say give it a try. I think you’ll have a great time. And if you go to the national rally in Lake George, I’ll see you there.