?XSEast 2008

[LadyBar10der]

kudos 2 Randy

Hey Randy,
Just wanted to thank you for the great job you did hosting 2008's East rally. It was great seeing some faces I haven't seen since Alex Bay in '02 ! Wow, it's been a long time since I've logged in here, I guess we all know who spends more time online these days ! ( Hi honey :-) !)
Anyway ... Bruce & I enjoyed our visit with everyone ... sorry I didn't stay up till the end Sunday nite, I was tired and needed some sleep !
Hopefully we'll get to see all of you at the 2009 rally if not sooner ... !
Stay well & ride safely all !
Peace out !
Deb

[mitch]

Home

Hannah and i just got home . Thanks randy for the great time! it was nice to see everyone and Hannah really enjoyed it. We did all back roads on the way home total KLMs 2852 Ks. They wouldnt let us take the bike up Mt Washington but thats ok ill just hafta take hannah back down to do that
Doug

[mooseman]

The NE Rally

Hey guys and gals. It was very nice meeting some of you this weekend (well Sat nite for a little while) (family stuff came first)
I met a couple of nice folks at the parking lot at the budget. I'm glad to see Doug made it back to NB Eh! I'll keep watching the forum to see what else is going on. Really wanted to meet Randy but he was playing mechanic somewhere in Monroe County.

Mooseman

[randy]

Rally Report

We sliced our own little piece of XS Eleven Heaven this Memorial Day weekend in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The weather was perfect, the roads were beautiful. Combine that with the best people I know and it makes for a party that you never want to end.

Preparations began around noon on Friday when Robert and I made a beer run so everyone could wash the road out of their mouths immediately upon arrival. We have our priorities, you know. We ran into Russ Nuthman and Sam Gresham in the parking lot and jawboned a bit, then shot back to my house to grab our bikes. Brent arrived somewhere in between with the banner and it was already hung when Rob and I got back.

Almost on cue, Gary, Dena, Marty, Sally and a few others rolled in and the parking lot quickly became XS-ively full. The rest of the night was basically standing around sippin’ beers and chatting until Gary Conboy showed up with his minivan stuffed with his 78E. He gave us a great show as a few guys helped him ramp it out and he re-assembled the gauges and bars. He had removed them for a few inches’ clearance. He has a hairy blanket thing on the seat that, in the dark without handlebars, made the bike look like some kind of animal with a motor. It snorted to life soon after, confirming my suspicion.

Dinner was had in small groups as people arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to see a large turnout of XS/XJ 11’s as well as many new faces. In all we wound up with 12 XS Elevens including one Midnight Special! Catching up and reminiscing of past rallies went on well into the night, long after this old fart could last.

Saturday morning it was kickstands up at 9, so some of us (me) were waiting at the door when the restaurant opened at 7. I highly recommend this restaurant, JR’s Grill if you’re ever in the Poconos. The food is great, the staff is great and the prices are great. Did I mention that it’s great?

The Saturday ride got off to a fragmented start, my bad. I didn’t wait long enough at one of the turns and the group got split. Fortunately, our paths came together soon after and we were back in formation, thanks to the Grangers’ radio work. We rode a Northwest circuit on 191 and 423, one that I’ve dubbed the “ten-lakes tour”. Waterways everywhere, very scenic and twisty. Only one slight mishap stopped us when Rman did a stop-n-plop at the hairpin intersection of 191 / 423. Nothing bruised but his ego, we were back on our way in a few minutes. Our lunch stop was a little mom–n-pop eatery in Long Pond called Mama Mia’s where it took freakin’ forever to get a sandwich. But, it turned out to be worth the wait, it was the best damn cheese steak I ever had.

Right after lunch we turned onto Buck River Road, one of my favorite in the whole region. Well paved, it has tightly snaked banked turns and great scenery, the kind of road that makes want to run it again and again. Our next leg took us along the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack with longer sweeps and steep rises and falls, the big lake on the left competing for every spare moment of attention.

Then it was time to turn south and head for home base. We took 390 toward Canadensis winding through more mountains, passing lakes and rivers on the right. 390 is an especially challenging run, parts of which are blasted out of mountainsides with blind turns adjacent to rock faces and the road swiftly falling away on some turns. Yellow 10 and 15 mile per hour signs abound, making for an XS-ively good time. Around 4PM we made a stop in the Delaware Water Gap, where we got all of our XS’s in a line-up for a ‘birthday’ photo. Left to right, missing two people that I can’t identify (sorry):
Gary Conboy, 78E; Randy Rago, 79F; Darrell Newcomb, 78E, Chris Newcomb, 79SF; Ray (Rman), 79F; Earl Gilliard, 80SG; (?); Dean Robbins, 80SG; Wayne Reddin, 80SG; T.C. Gresham, 81SH; D. Potter, 81LH; (?).




Then it was back to the hotel for the group dinner. The menu was a choice of Prime Rib, Salmon or Chicken, each with salad and dessert included for $21.20. One of our hostesses, Nicki, provided some comic relief when I asked her what was for dessert she replied “see anything you like?” to which I replied, “what time do you get off?” and she shot back “about ten minutes after I get on”. That’s all I’ll write here.

As the dessert was served (the mousse, not Nicki), it came time for the awards and door prizes. Thanks to everyone who brought stuff to give away. Because of the 30th anniversary, Rob and I thought it was appropriate to do the awards in the form of certificates so the winners would have something to take home. Cheap but impressive. I think it was a big hit, but I hope we didn’t put too much pressure on the next host!

Wayne Reddin won both the Best XS and the Longest Distance; Dena Granger and Mark Stanton tied for Best Non-XS, so we had two winners there. Longest Distance on a Non-XS went to MaximPhil. Gary Conboy took the Harley Award, in spite of his attempt to avoid it by adding his own check box to the voting slip next to ‘rode’ / ‘trailered’ he wrote in ‘hauled in minivan’. Sorry, Gary. As I was corrected at the presentations, the award is for arriving ‘without touching the ground’. We hope you get a chance to give it away next year!

One last award that I added was the Youngest Rider Award. When I attended ’94 Americade with my wife and daughter, who was then 11 months and 3 weeks old, she won Youngest Rider. It is one of my fondest memories and I thought it would be fitting to have our own version. Let’s face it, the youth are the future of our sport and we should do anything we can to encourage them to enjoy it properly, right? As good a reason as any, I suppose! So, Hanna Mitchell took the Youngest Rider Award. What a trooper Hanna is, too, riding with her Dad Doug 682 miles one way! Go Hanna! Canucks nearly swept the awards! Maybe we should have a Canada Day Rally, eh?

Later, in the parking lot we chatted and drank as is the XS-ive tradition. We had two interesting beers this rally, one called Dead Guy, and the other Arrogant Bastard. Both are 7-1/2% alcohol, Dead Guy in a 12 oz, the Bastard in an 18 oz. One of either has an effect, but a whole bottle of the Bastard will have you looking for a place to sit down! It is now my favorite beer. Around 9:30 we were treated to a sideshow of sorts when a group of plastered wedding guests poured out of their car. One of them, hereafter known as the ‘Girl in the White Dress’ not only couldn’t walk on her own, she couldn’t hold on to her possessions, dropping something every step she took. She didn’t so much walk as fall forward, yanking her legs under her just in time, kind of like a puppet with no strings attached. With each item dropped and subsequent pickup, we were shown the world. If there was one, she wins Best Ass Award. Rumor has it she got even drunker and wilder later, but that was long after I hit the hay. I cannot report what I did not see (damn!). A very interesting evening was had by all.

Sunday our ride took us straight up 191 to it’s end in Hancock, NY winding through farmlands and along the Delaware River. I had an encounter on Beacon Hill Road with a squirrel doing the GEICO dance. For his next gig he'll be showcasing the Dunlop Elite II tread pattern on his back! After lunch, some of the group split for home, the rest back to base via 370 west, 171 south, 191 and 447. The tar snakes were biting hard on 447, but everyone made it through fine.

No serious troubles, though Wayne had a leaking front reservoir that we took care of with one of my spare diaphragms, Ray’s rear brake needed bleeding, it was hanging up which more than likely was the cause of his stop-n-plop. Chris Newcomb arrived missing the set screw on his speedo drive, easy fix with a new bolt. Later, though, Darrell noticed that Chris’s rear drive was leaking, tried to check the fluid level but the filler plug was stuck (no, really?). Nothing that a torch and hammer wouldn’t coax out. Fluid was fine, so no worries. Darrell left with a copy of the rear drive service manual, (one of the door prizes). I’m sure it’ll be greasy in short order!

Monday morning was a couple of hours of making plans to get together soon and saying our farewells, by 9:30 all were gone except Floyd and Janel, saw their bike but I guess they slept in.

I had an XS-ively good time and would host again in a heartbeat. Alas, I know that would be a couple of years away at least. XSEast Pocono 2010? I like the sound of that. Thanks to all for the good laughs and good times. Keep an eye out for the photo album, I’ll post it in a few days, photos are still coming in!

[MaximPhil]

as Jim already posted we arrived home Monday night. Laxdad lead us to Elmira/Horesheads where we stopped for the night. Our visit to teh Glenn Curtiss Museum was very good. Well worth it if you are in the area. Thanks Randy for organizing teh Pocono Rally. Special thanks to Brent for leading the charge up from Atlanta.A pleasure to follow you anywhere to Ralph & Tracey for your kind hospitality (sorry i missed saying good bye at Hancock)
Honourable mention to Jetmechmarty for looking after my bike all winter and making it possible for me to come North instead of South to XSEast 2008. pity you could not come this year.
Maxim Phil

[madbiker]

Phil all is good . I'm sorry I didn't get say good bye there to talked to Jim and then I realized it was time to get ready to ride . Email me you snail mail address and I'll get a disk in the mail ratrhemiw@msn.com
Ralph

[Brent]

Re: Rally Report

Left to right, missing two people that I can’t identify (sorry):
Gary Conboy, 78E; Randy Rago, 79F; Darrell Newcomb, 78E, Chris Newcomb, 79SF; Ray (Rman), 79F; Earl Gilliard, 80SG; (?); Dean Robbins, 80SG; Wayne Reddin, 80SG; T.C. Gresham, 81SH; D. Potter, 81LH; (?).



The unnamed rider in the middle wearing sunglasses is Ted from Ontario Canada. He is often seen with Heather riding pillion behind him.

The unnamed rider on the end is Paul, also from Ontario.

Hope to see everyone again next year.

Brent

[randy]

XSEast 2008 Photo Album

OK, Guys and Gals, you can download the photo album here. Right click on the link and choose 'save target as'.

Beware, the file is 96Mb!

When you finish downloading, just doubleclick on the fille to run the slideshow. Enjoy!

XSEast 2008 Photo Album

[olebiker]

All I get is server not found. Darn I want to see what I missed.

[Scootstado2]

Originally posted by olebiker
All I get is server not found. Darn I want to see what I missed.

Ditto.

[hamjam]

Hi I have a bunch-o-pictures as well
the folder is 355 MB
and I haven't adjusted any thing yet so Randy can you accept a file this big or I can adjust the images or not and burn them to a cd and send them to you
Jim

[randy]

Guys, I just re-checked the link and it works, don't know why you have trouble.

Jim, You'd have to snail mail that cd. Send it to:

Randy Rago
15-03 132nd street
College Point, NY 11356

[Huron52]

took me a couple of trys to download it (my internet connecton)but it was there.
thanks again Randy!

[jetmechmarty]

"Server not found" every time I try.

[mitch]

Worked

Thanks randy great pics
Doug