Xs midwest 2015?

[alaskey2]

Not sure if I can propose this as a newbie, but what about a midwest rally? Something I can actually go to with my meager 5 days of PTO.

[natemoen]

Not sure if I can propose this as a newbie, but what about a midwest rally? Something I can actually go to with my meager 5 days of PTO.

He who suggests it, plans it!

They tried to do one for this year in Michigan but it just never really came together. 2 years ago there was one in Wisconsin, and then Minnesota before that. The Midwest one does not have a home like the SE one does.

[donebysunday]

There are so many good spots but first find out how many riders that want to go are close enough that it's a place inviting/interesting to draw them in.

[jetmechmarty]

The last few XSSE rallies were a huge deal. It's no small task to pull off. You can name a time and place and wing it if you want to. Those gatherings are always fun, but limited in size and return guests. If you're going to have no more than a dozen folks, you can do that, and it's fun. When the group gets bigger, much more careful planning is required. There's also a learning curve.

To consider:

1) Lodging- much of this group won't sleep on the ground and others won't attend if a place to sleep is too expensive. A place for folks to gather is nice, but at some rallies we just hang out in the parking lot.

2) Dining- You have to find a place to handle the group and you have to herd your cats there...on time.

3) Route Planning- You have to carefully plan fuel/pee stops and accurately guess how fast the group will move along. You have to ride the routes a couple of times and investigate facilities closely. If you have lunch reservations for 20 people, you need to show on time. An option is just lead folks to a place where there are a lot of eateries and spread out.

At XSSE, we have a motorcycle lodge that takes care of food, lodging, and meeting space, as well as entertainment space. We have planned the rides and offered a tee shirt. We also now have our own banner. Since 50 or more people show up for this thing, a lot of hours go into planning it. We even have to guess how many will show, as there are no advance reservations. We had to visit a lot of bathrooms looking for clean and more than one at a time facilities. Somebody had to shell out $1000 for tee shirts and hope to get it back!

The first step will be deciding how much time you have to devote to planning a rally. Decide how much you can do with that time. Do you have reliable help? Start planning from there.

[STEPPENWOLF]

Before planning a rally you might wanna try to get the local XS riders together and do a ride or two.We have our SWOXS group,southwest ohio xs first ride we had four,second we had 20 riders.Expect a few non 11 riders.It does take some time to get a good route planned,pre riding to check for any safety issues,gravel in the road etc.
Reread what Marty said and think about it

[madmax-im]

sage advice from a Rally Guru..and BTW the XSSE rally has been an excellent event...I dont know how its possible but each year is better than the year before...

[rdmcguy]

Midwest rally

It might be nice to have something maybe in the Kansas city area..if anyone from that area might set it up...might draw a nice group from Iowa,Illinois,the Dakotas maybe,Tennessee Kentucky...Colorado.Michagan,Wisconsin etc.
Organise it and they will come .......

[BA80]

No good riding near there. Trust me on that. Best to go south east and have one in north west Arkansas. Good riding there.

[MaximPhil]

Not sure if I can propose this as a newbie, but what about a midwest rally? Something I can actually go to with my meager 5 days of PTO.

Hi Alaskey,
Anyone can hold a rally anywhere they want. Whether anyone will turn up for your rally depends on many factors.
having attended between 1 and 3 rallies every year since 1999 I can share some of my experience of both attending and organising as well as helping with others.
Stay away from cities especially large cities.
I helped HamJam & Kurt with Toronto in 99 and while we had a great time we did learn a few lessons This was an early XSEast.
Since then we have established XSEast is held on the US Memorial day week end so time is fixed and location moves every year around the NE.
2015 is Lake George NY 2014 was in Summersville WV we frequently go back to WV
XSNorth evolved out of the reluctance of the Americans to venture too far north in May so happens in Late June or frequently early July to match Canada Day & Independence Day 2014 was Brockville Ontario.
XSSouth East evolved and blossomed out of a non-XS event held at TWO in Georgia. When TWO closed JeffH & Jetmechmarty found a new venue and have been rewarded for all their efforts by an attendance that has expanded every year. Their timing of late September and location in the heart of some of the greatest motorcycle roads in North America helps a bit
I have since helped with a few XSNorth and organised 2010 when we went to Minden Ontario.
End of history lesson

My suggestion is that you attend a few rallies to get a feel for what is involved. Herding Cats is an acquired skill
Much like the duck gliding across the pond: rally leaders are paddling like hell to make it work smoothly for the group.
Enough verbal diarrhea for one night.
Phil

[alaskey2]

Thanks guys, this gives me a lot to think about.

[Jerry]

2000 rally was in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and had a good turn out. Nice riding in the area, enough towns for food and gas stops. Not far from Brandon if you want to stop in for a show, (Dollywood, Grand Old Opry, many, many other venues.) In 2000 gas was $1.68 a gallon for regular and the road through Brandon was 2-lane. Now the gas is higher and the road is a 4-lane, but still pleasant countryside to ride through.

[BA80]

Not far from Brandon if you want to stop in for a show,

I believe you mean Branson

[Jerry]

Yup, Branson it is. Just got back from visiting family in Brandon, Florida, and fat-fingered the name. Thanks for the catch.