Anyone going to Fingerlakes Rally

[Maria V]

Just back and settled after the FLR weekend. Warm but beautiful weather and nice evenings. Great seeing familiar faces and meeting some new ones...like learning that Tony DOES have a wife and somehow Lisa puts up with him...

Thanks to Douglas' for their organization of cabin space, and hope to do it again next year!

[stevebmw]

Maria had such a good time, she had to tell us twice

I wish I could have made it, but the end of the month is always a tough time to get away when you're in retail. Maybe next year. Besides, this weekend I get the Travelers Meeting in North Carolina, and that should be a hoot!

[Bicyclist]

Yep, made it home alive at 11:30. Record time for me. The improvements to Rt15 have certainly aided travel on that road.

I've been to most of the Finger Lakes rallies over the past 30 years and spent most of the time riding the local roads. This time, I just hung out and unlaxed. Good time.

As with most rallies, their attendance isn't what it used to be. There were eight hundred some odd souls at the rally; most of em geezers. The average age of their club's primary members is now 61.45 years and the average of the visitors was close to that. Oldest rider was 81.

[Unity]

We had good representation at the Rally -- with 23 members registered, BMWBMW was the third-largest club in attendance! (Second was a NY club, with 24. The Canucks had huge numbers -- they always win. And cheer lustily when the results are announced.)

The cabin ended up with 10 inside and 5 outside. Clockwise: Flash! & Unity, Maria, Elsie, Shane, Dave, Ed, George, and Karen & Phil. In tents: Bill, Tom & Cheryl, and Tony & Lisa. Scattered around the campground and nearby motels were Mike & Janet, Jim, Phil, Roy, Jerry & Sally, and others I'm struggling to remember. Oh, and I mustn't forget George (BUA) and his trailerful of relict BMW parts.


Maria was proud of the sophisticated image we projected to the World.


Some of the encampment. Sgt. Bill's tent and sidecar rig were just out of sight to the left of the road/path. The bikes and people you see are ours and us.


Poor-Soul Dept. (Not one of us.)


Poor-Soul Dept. 2 (Back door of van belonging to one of the contractors who kept the bathhouses clean.)

--John

[PhilAger]

Thanks to John & Jodi for coordinating the cats on the loose. We enjoyed the camaraderie and the outdoors communing.
John forgot to mention Jim Ford was also in attendance, and obviously soliciting business. We meant to say Hey, but he was on the phone when we marched by...

Here's the big group photo as promised by Maria! You "Lil' Rascals" know who you are. Nice to meet Cheryl & Lisa! Ya'll come out to play again real soon, ya hear


Tony, Lisa, Karen and Phil had a terrific hike along Watkins Glen on Sunday morning (where we bumped into Jodi who was headed uphill).
Here we are at the top of the stairs having just commenced our hike into the Glen!


There are some more hiking shots in this here Photo Bucket... My first ever hike into the state park after many visits to the Finger Lakes BMW Rally. We'd Highly Recommend it.
http://s1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc466/philager/FLR-2012/
We parked at the Northern Entrance; admission was free for just these two couples on their trusty Beemers. The WG State Park Northern Entrance is at: N42 22 27.1 W76 53 31.9 off of route 409.
We then cleverly followed the water as it wended its way down toward Seneca Lake in town. Many more folks were climbing the 800 stairs in order to take the shuttle bus back to the park's entrance!

Hope to see many of you at next weekend's club picnic! Hint - Hint!

Sláinte! (Gaelic)
Phil & Karen
2010 F800GS,
2009 F650GS,
2009 Kawasaki KLX250S,
2008 Honda CRF230L, and
1975 R90S.
RIP, 2003 K1200LT w/129,124 mi.
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“…And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space,
‘Cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” – Eric Idle’s The Galaxy Song
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Dm7sQ1C1E&feature=related
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[Qijote]

Great pictures, Phil!
We really did have a great time. On Sat we rode around the Watkins Glen International Raceway with Dave and Shane and that afternoon visited the Curtiss museum in Hammondsport. Both were great.
On Sunday I went to church at St Mary's downtown. The church had the windows and doors open because it was very hot. During the homily a loud Harley passed in front of the church. The pastor paused for a moment, then said: "If Jesus were here today, he'd be a biker!" and raised his fist in a salute. We laughed and he continued with his homily. Then I rode out to Ithaca to visit Cornell Univ, visiting the only covered bridge left in the county.
It was great hanging out with all of you.
Roy

[sgtbill]

I made it back to Herndon around 4 PM having avoided Rt 15 except between Watsontown and Lewisburg and south of Gettysburg. Rode in some rain on those two-lane roads but it was pleasant. It was foggy going over the mountains on Rt 74 but hardly any traffic. Plus, you see amazing things on those roads...

Like the riderless pony making its escape on Rt 34 south of Carlisle. The pony was running in the northbound lane with a saddle mostly still on and the reins dangling. It ran between the stopped vehicles and went down a side road. After traffic started again I saw a stirrup in the road a few hundred meters further and then a very annoyed rider with riding helmet, whip and a scowl stomping along the road.

I hope she was able to find her pony.

[Chiba]

Sounds like a good time! Maybe next year we'll join y'all.

[sgtbill]

I stopped for gas at a Sheetz near Holly Springs PA on Rt 34. A pair of Harley riders had stopped to don rain gear. One had a helmet and the other did not. I ended up behind them as we exited the station heading south. I had to believe the rain on that guy's bald head was stinging but he took the lead and was "saving lives" with his loud pipes. He had placed the stuff sack from his rain suit on his saddle behind him and it started to slip aside and covered his license plate. His riding partner was between us. About a 1/4 mile from the station at about 45 MPH the sack flew off the saddle onto the road. His partner swerved a bit, stuck down his foot and captured the stuff sack. He had his foot on the peg with the sack flapping a little. I was very impressed by his maneuver in the rain at speed and without braking and gave him a big thumbs up.

A few hundred meters further he decided to get the stuff sack off his foot. Leaning over and reaching down proved a bit more of a trick. I think he hit a bump or something because he picked up a bit of a wobble which transitioned into an oscillation. He was able to get over to the shoulder and into the grass where he performed a very nice low-side third-base slide at low speed. His bald, helmet-less partner didn't notice the acrobatics behind him and rode on south. I had eased off the throttle while giving him a thumbs up for the original stuff sack save and was able to stop. He was able to separate from the bike and ended up standing, then stomping and I think there was some cursing... I helped him pick up the bike (still raining pretty good). Damage seemed minor and his partner showed up right after he re-started the bike. I discreetly got back on the highway before the helmet-less one asked "What happened?"

[Maria V]

[quote="stevebmw"]Maria had such a good time, she had to tell us twice quote]

Fixt. Stoooopid internet connection.

[Flash!]

It took me a while, but I finally loaded the pictures I'd taken at Finger Lakes. I thoroughly enjoyed the Rally, and all the BMWBMW folks there. Maybe NEXT year I'll get over to tour the glass factory. If you're not already satiated with pictures, they're here.

Jody

[Dave K1200LT]

I also had a great time and enjoyed everyone there. Also, seeing so many sidecar rigs. The ride home was wet at times. We stopped just before noon to remove rain gear at a Rutters on Pa 94 near Hanover. With dry weather on us we continued on. I had to make a stop to adjust my helmet strap, Shane continued on and I didn't ketch up. It started to rain again as I approched Reisterstown on Rt 30, Hanover Pike. I stopped at a red light on Hanover Pike and Butler Road less then 2 miles from home. Before the light turned green a Jeep Wrangler came sliding around from Butler Road and slamed into the side of me. My left foot was on the peg which took the hit and broke off. The LT and me were knocked to the ground on the right side. The Dr. said I've used another of my nine lives. Broken toe, fat ankle, skinned shin, brused shoulder and neck pain. The LT will go to the shop Friday for estimate. I'm so thankful Shane wasn't in front of me, the Wrangler would have gotten both of us. Glad everyone else made it home safe.

[Flash!]

Dave, that's terrible!! I'm so thankful that you weren't hurt worse. I'm also hoping the Jeep driver stopped to render assistance. What a bummer!

Jody

[Dave K1200LT]

Dave, that's terrible!! I'm so thankful that you weren't hurt worse. I'm also hoping the Jeep driver stopped to render assistance. What a bummer!

Jody

The Jeep driver stayed by side and called for help. He broke into tears when his mother arrived an huged him, he was 16.

[Unity]

Dang, Dave, that's scary. I'm sure glad YOU are the one telling us about it. Heal quickly and well.

--John