What a week huh? Another Rally behind us, life slowly eases back into the normal ole day to day. I took a while to sort out my thoughts about this years get together because they were many and varied. In time I'm sure they'll all smooth out into a nicely flowing wave and eventually the excitement/anticipation of next years get together will return. It seems more difficult every year to.... well.. say goodbye.. to the moment .. to the people.
Through the years of hosting these events we have formed bonds with many of the members.. all have been good experiences and some have developed into relationships beyond the rally. Some are people that I call friend.. not a word to be taken lightly by me... and feel honored that they consider me the same. What higher honor could there be?
What's the problem then, you ask? The distance.. the lack of interaction.. the sorrowful feelings as you go your separate ways.. back to our lives. The longing for just one more day to be in this world.. the one we create for this moment. The inner self free from it's daily entrapments... able to just be ourselves and nothing more. Is that the link? the source of the bond?
Or is it the road trip? the open road travels far away from your comfortable surroundings to a different world.. the adventurer inside slips out leading us into the unknown. The gathering of adventurous souls for a trip back to the nature of our being.. the wanderers we were before our domestication.
I know.. deep thoughts for such a simple mind.. Ahh if only that were true.. but alas.. my curse.

A fellow searcher asks would these moments be as special if they were more frequent.. should we be more accessible to each other. Would it be the same? Would the same magic or kismet exist? Would it indeed? Questions to occupy a busy mind..

Cutting to the chase

All in all.. a great rally..
Overall attendance was 73 people.. that was through out the course of the rally with the first arrival, Shari(mert) arriving Friday, April 25th and our final guests, Ben and Tam (Benztech and Hondagirl) departing Monday, May 5th.

Our biggest ride was on Friday with 51 bikes..

We had one member go down on the big ride, he took a spill on hwy 17 proving that riding gear can make a difference. Luck is a good thing too and without a doubt played a major part but give the gear it's due.. it did what it was designed to do. A quick thinking group of members at the scene managed the situation and quickly had things under control. A combined effort managed the scene and got the fragmented pack home safely.. what an amazing group of people. Thank you all for doing exactly what you were supposed to do.
Of course it rained Saturday morning... but a surprising amount of folks turned out for the ride to the dealership. We were planning a long ride home but opted not to in light of the precipitation.
Saturday nights gathering was great, good food, good people and lots of sickles.. just don't get any better. The weather cooperated and it turned about to be a beautiful evening for a get together.

Special thanks

To all the folks who donated their time to making this rally the success it was.
The road guard/co-conspirators really shined this year.. their efforts made the whole process seem easy. The crisis management was top notch and all involved went the extra mile.. so to speak. Thank you all.. from the bottom of my heart for being here and doing what you do.
The people behind the scenes who made sure everyone was fed and made to feel welcome and as comfortable as possible through the course of the week.
Larry and Kathy Sheppard for creating the main course and deserts for the feast on Saturday.. once again you have out done yourselves.
To Phil (bonnyusa) for once again supplying the rally mugs and handling the rocker patches.
To Wojo for his superb delivery as Master of Ceremonies for Saturday evenings gathering. (I gave him 15 minutes to come up with a speech and the categories for the rally mugs.. and he delivered.)
To everyone who took time from their lives and families.. who traveled those many miles to visit with us.. thank you one and all.

Sponsors

Thanks once again to Brent and Jessica at New Bonneville/New Speedmaster.com for the very generous donation of the rally T's. Hats off and hearts out for you and your family.

To Fast Eddy.. a great guy with a big heart. The drawing for the door prizes is a blast and the items he sends are always crowd pleaser's. The addition of the grand prize this year was exceptionally generous. Now if we can just get him out here one year...

Machines in Motion AKA Triumph of North Georgia for feeding us lunch and the really cool discounts for the members here. Great people to know and to work with.

Summation

It's a hectic, physically and mentally challenging week but worth every minute to be able to spend time with some of my favorite people. The calibre of the folks who frequent this website never ceases to amaze me.. their willingness to help each other and their general good nature is what keeps us all coming back.
Good people here.. an extended family as it were, proven by the yearly gatherings of it's members. The Soutwestern, the Noreaster, New Hampshire, the big UK rally this year, the European get togethers and all the small meet and rides.. all part of what makes this a great place to be. Take care out there..

Till next time.. Chy