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OVERVIEW OF THE WEEKEND Rally Pictures
It was great fun!
We had about 15 Transalps (including a Frankenalp) and numerous "cousin" bikes. Folks came from Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and elsewhere. A handful of new folks joined the core group of repeat-attenders.
The weather was great for riding, despite dire predictions of three days of rain. Friday was a wet one for travel but everyone made it safely.
There were two main tour leaders (Joel and Lee) for Saturday. Many pairs and small groups went off to do their own thing -- longest reported ride was 300 miles. Everyone returned smiling. What wonderful roads this area has to offer and Transalps are just the motorcycle with which to most enjoy them.
The Ironhorse lodge common room was a great place to gather -- to dine and socialize. Friday night many of us got comfortable on the couches in front of a GIANT screen and watched the 2nd Baja 1000 race and the Ascott TT (thank you Carolyn for bringing those out-takes from On Any Sunday) and a hang glider fly-in and festival show (thank you Neal). Neal also provided the usual Saturday night outdoor show; this year he flew an electric RC bi-plane set up with LED wing marker lights out in front of the lodge.
No T-shirt this year but lots of mugs available for purchase. We still have quite a few mugs so if you want one, contact Cindy Baldwin at otter1127@yahoo.com. For the price of shipping plus $3 she'll send one along. Great gifts!
The camaraderie was wonderful and of course, that's what it's really all about -- besides riding.
1) We will return to Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge in Stecoah, NC for the 2006 rally.
2) The dates for 2006 are October 6, 7 and 8 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Although many folks arrive early, we'll plan on our first "official" get-together as dinner on Friday evening.
3) Each individual is responsible for making his/her own reservation. You can do this by e-mailing info@ironhorsenc.com. It would be helpful if you mention while making your reservation that you are part of the Transalp group. There's a choice of camping, cabins and bunkhouse.
4) John Powell of Ironhorse has volunteered to design our T-shirt for 2006 and help with coordinating communications between now and then. When the T-shirt is ready, he will need to hear from each of you with an order, your size and an advance payment. More on that later.
5) It was decided to continue the previous definition of who will be invited to attend the rally as present or past Transalp owners, friends of Transalp riders attending that event, or riders of close "cousins" of the Transalp including Africa Twin, Veradaro, NX650, XR650L.
-- Contributed by Senior TransAlper Pete Tamblyn