BMW Riders Association International
PO Box 510309
Melbourne Beach, FL 32951-0309
Phone/FAX 321.984.7800
Web Page Site at http://www.bmwra.orgOhio RA Fall 2000 Update
Bob Wood, State Director
4257 West 130th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135-4869
Phone: 216.252.7933 FAX: 216.251.5329
September 10, 2000
Dear Ohio RA Rider,What are you planning to do next week? I hope you will find the time to make it to the 28th BMW RA International RAlly in Lancaster, Ohio. See more on this below. Yes, the time is now! This opportunity may not present itself for another decade or more and it should be on your "Not to Miss" list. The last RA RAlly in Ohio was so long ago most riders couldn't even remember it. I think it was in 1983. It's been 17 years? That's about five years before my first Beemer. Well the Ohio District can expect a nice size turnout of guests for the mid-week event and judging by the interest at the committee meetings, we will have a genuine cooperative hosting effort on the part of our Ohio RA Chartered Clubs. I'm honored to have been a part of the organizational efforts and thank each and every one of you for your commitment during the last year. Again, I will put my neck on the block and predict more of the good riding weather we have had this summer for our big event. Not too hot, cool nights, and just enough rain to keep the roads clean. It's time to put it all aside and pack up the old steed -- we'll see you there.
As I mentioned in the Summer Update, our membership numbers are on the rise. We now have 307 members statewide and I expect to recruit a few more Ohioans by the time the National RAlly is over. With the growing numbers I would expect a few new faces at our off season brunches this winter. Don't be surprised if I walk up and introduce myself if I haven't seen you before. I'm known for it. Or, if you are a new member and live in Ohio, feel free to corner me, introduce yourself, and find out what our district is all about. You will find we are a very active district with quite a diverse list of events ranging from winter brunches to hotel and rustic camp outs. The entire list of future and past events can be found on our web calendar (See the address in the header.) or seasonal calendars in each newsletter. Don't forget you are always welcome at any of these events.RAlly 2000 - "RA at the Hocking Hills" - THE TIME IS NOW!
Pete and Pat Barnes had a great day and an excellent turn out for their RAlly Pack Stuffing Party last Saturday. We made up over 2400 RAlly Packs, boxed, and loaded them onto a trailer to be transported to the site. They were gracious hosts supplying us with soft drinks, pizza, and munches for our labors. This aspect is complete and the Registration Committee is ready for our many guests.
Next week, BMW riders from all over the globe will be converging on the Fairfield County Fairgrounds, in Lancaster, Ohio, for the 28th Annual BMW Riders Association, International Motorcycle RAlly. Yes, this grand event is scheduled from Tuesday, September 19th through Friday, the 22nd and we Ohioans are going to be hosting. The city of Lancaster has just completed a major renovation for their bi-centennial celebration and I can tell you first hand, this quaint little Ohio city looks great. So, the stage is set.
If you are interested in going just for the RAlly and riding, the Hocking Hills are only minutes from the site and beyond them is even more excellent riding in the southeast corner of Ohio. Look for the self guided tour maps (prepared by the Southern Ohio Beemers-SOB's) at registration. On the site, BMW NA has scheduled their demo fleet and we have several tech seminars scheduled as well. Numerous vendors have already registered so bring that plastic to burn for that end of the season deal. Among them is Tri-State BMW from the Cincinnati area who is bringing along all their apparel and accessory stock. There will be nightly live entertainment, door prizes, three nights of on site camping, and a commemorative RAlly pin all included in the $25 fee.
If you are considering volunteering some of your time at the RAlly, the registration tables can be a very rewarding experience. This is the best place to meet new riders from all over the country and the world. It is the place where riders initially go to enter the RAlly site and can be their first impression of our home state and its' people. You get to meet and greet riders who have traveled from afar, and some of whom, have very interesting stories to share.
On the state level, the Ohio RA has taken on the task of supplying ice for the RAlly goers. I have arranged for a booth to sell ice on site, and will be giving away free ice water for all attendees, compliments of the RA Ohio District. Ice sales will be located under the grandstands and open for ice sales from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Proceeds from the sale of the ice will go into the RA Ohio Treasury to benefit future Ohio RA member events. I still need volunteers to help man the Ice Booth and am hoping you will pitch in. If you are an Ohio RA member, you already know how active our state is. We sponsor three to four camp outs each year, have five off season meetings, and have our own district newsletter.
The time is now -- it's not too late to get involved. If you want to help with the "RA at the Hocking Hills RAlly" don't delay. Contact me, or RAlly Chairman Eric Nyrop to be added to the list. If the urge comes to you as you are registering, tell one of the volunteers you would like to help with the RAlly and they will direct you to someone who will assign you to a committee for a work shift. Volunteers are still needed for almost all the committees. Lets show the rest of the world what a great state Ohio is and what wonderful people live here.FALL EVENTS
If you have never attended the Halloween Camp Out you might want to check this out. This is truly an original "RA style" outing. There are no frills, just great roads to ride by day and a beautiful rustic campsite to enjoy at night. Then we add friendly BMW riders, maybe a potluck dish or two to share, a warm fire to ward off those chilly evenings, and a hot cup of coffee to start off a new riding day -- and you have it in a nutshell. If this interests you mark your calendar, dust off that old Halloween mask, and get ready to enjoy an autumn tour near Cadiz, Ohio. Details and a map are on the web site.
November will find us at the Pioneer Restaurant in Utica for our northeast area brunch and in December we will be back to the Country Buffet near Dayton for the southwest area brunch. See the calendar in this issue for details and directions to all these events.SUMMER CAMP OUT REVIEWS
The RA Ohio Appalachian Foothills Adventure Summer Camp Out (June 16-18) near Peebles, Ohio was a huge success despite the soggy weather. Thirty-four members and a few additional friends turned out for the Second Annual Peebles Camp Out. I'm sure the weather held back quite a few riders. Yes, we were invited back and Chris and Randy (our gracious host and hostess) said they were up for it as a regular Ohio RA event. This one should also go on your "Not to Miss" list for next year. The roads in this part of Ohio are excellent riding, the camping was very comfortable with plenty of shade for everyone, and we enjoyed all the creature comforts one would expect at a much larger and more developed site. The shower even had hot water this year. There is a pool to cool off in, plenty of land to hike around on, and many interesting historical points of interest within a small radius of their place. My favorite part of camping out is always the evening bonfire where you hear stories bigger than life. We had quite a few flying those two nights and more wood than we could burn.
On Saturday night after a short door prize give-a-way, Randy ran the grill, which was laden with salmon and chicken. I don't recall seeing any leftovers. It was delicious, not to mention the numerous bottles of vino which were consumed before, during, and after dinner. What else is there to do in the rain?
I'd like to thank all the Ohio BMW dealers and friends of our logo who donated the many door prizes for this event. Since our attendance numbers were a bit low (about half) I know everyone left with something. Please let them know you appreciate their continued support of our Ohio RA Summer Camp Out by mentioning it next time you see them.
The RA Ohio Vintage Day's Camp Out (July 7-8) at the Mount Gilead KOA was also well attended this year with over 30 riders seeking refuge from the Mid-Ohio track scene. The site turned out to be quite nice with plenty of shade, a lake, pool, and our own pavilion. The Ohio RA supplied continuous coffee, beverages, and ice water, and several other folks brought other goodies to share as well. Somehow we found a mix of other brand bikes scattered amongst our site, which provided a different flavor to the outing. On Saturday, night Mark and Cindy Hoskey provided food for a cook out for all. I fielded no complaints and got a lot of positive feedback from those who attended. I would expect we would repeat this one again next year.LAST RIDE NEWS
I am saddened to have to report the sudden accidental death of Carl Carney of the Mountaineer BMW Riders of West Virginia. It was reported that Carl was struck while he was near his bike on the side of the road. He was in route to the ROK Rally near Erwin, Tennessee to meet up with fellow RA member Bob Elliot. Many Ohio RA members will dearly miss Carl. Our deepest sympathies go out to his wife and family.INTERNET NEWS
A couple of weeks ago I was surfing the net and decided to check out the Buckeye Beemers site -- I found something quite unique. Originally I wanted to see if they had posted any new information regarding the RA 2000 National. What I found was not only many new enhancements, but a link to a forum where members can air their questions, concerns, comments, or just post general items they think other members may be interested in -- such as trip plans or a tech question thrown out for advice. It is all run through a Yahoo owned service called eGroups and costs nothing to subscribe to except some time to fill out their application. It took me about five minutes to subscribe to, and ba-da-boom -- I was in. Now postings will be sent to my mail box and keep me in the loop with the Buckeyes. This is a sweet and simple enhancement to their web page.
As I signed on I couldn't help but think how this could be added to our own Ohio RA Web Pages. Ohio RA members would then have a place to post their questions, comments and suggestions on the state level. I might even read some of them. LOL. When the dust settles from the RA National I will try to get something similar going for our on line Ohio RA's. I am not sure if all of the forum features are compatible with Web TV, but I would think you could still get the postings mailed to your address.LOOKING AHEAD
Keep in mind; life in the Ohio RA doesn't stop after our Big Event this year. We still have our Halloween Camp Out and a couple regional meetings on our slate before the year ends. See the calendar below, or check the web page, for the date and location of a meeting near you and make a point of going this year. There will be five winter meetings total -- one in each quadrant of the state and one central. I hope to see even more new faces this year.
Our focus right now is the RA national. We are in the spot light and the entire BMW motorcycling community will be our guests soon. If you have chosen to volunteer, we thank you and hope you will find the experience a rewarding one. If you decide to just go to enjoy yourself we thank you as well, and hope you will help our motoring brothers and sisters find their way through our wonderful state. In any event, and above all, have a good time of it and enjoy. That's what it is all about -- the Right Attitude.Ride with the RA,
Bob Wood
Bob Wood
Ohio State Director
BMW Riders Association, International