Welcome Planning Committee!

[Jake]

Hi Boys!

 

Welcome to the UnRally II Planning Committee Forum. If you can see this post, that means you have been voluntarily or involuntarily tasked and trusted with the successful planning and execution of the BMWRT.com UnRally II. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?!!!

 

Word travels fast, so many of you may know that the site selection process is completed, and the winner is Eureka Springs, Arkansas.color=blue>

 

Here's the group who should be with us so far:

 

Murrayg

Mike Snodgrass

PeterScottNJ

mjames

venturevoodoo

Sslisz

Brant Herbert

Recourses

Fernando Belair

and, me.

 

For right now, I just wanted to say hello and express my appreciation for volunteering your time for Un2. This forum is our little corner to express opinions, ask for help, float ideas, and generally brainstorm to make Un2 a great time for all.

 

Chime in, say hello, and stay tuned as there's more to come.

[David]

Hello to you! I'm 42, 5'11", brown hair, blue eyes, and I'm naked right now. (Oops. I thought I was on AOL for a second. Forget all that.)

 

On topic again, thanks to Jake for catching all the tomatoes on this. I already know it's gonna be good just because he's the point man.

[Mjames]

Hello to you! I'm 42, 5'11", brown hair, blue eyes, and I'm naked right now. (Oops. I thought I was on AOL for a second. Forget all that.)

 

I'm assuming then that the usual BMWRT.com rules of decency don't apply in this forum.

[EffBee]

Checking in, MassaJake.

 

As for:

In reply to:

---

I'm assuming then that the usual BMWRT.com rules of decency don't apply in this forum.

---

 

I saw the laughing smilie at the end. Good thing. Rulzizrulzizrulz. Especially with Fearless Leader swinging a freshly bloodied sword (don't ask, he had it coming).

[Yeeha! Stephen]

I'm Lurking here too... I mean Checking In.

 

Like I mentioned in the other "2003 UN" forum, I'm tagging along with BrianMc's group (Dallas BMW club) to Eureka Spgs. this weekend. Anything particular you want me to look for or notice while I'm there? They've got a ride planned for Saturday, but I guess I could nose around Fri evening or Sat evening.

 

MurrayG said something about being there Sat morning, maybe I can catch up to him and we could take some notes.

************************************************************

Emerson, missed you when you made an appearance at the IBMWR get together, they said I just missed you. This time I'll be looking for you Sat morning.

 

Here's their Sat Schedule:

SATURDAY, Oct 26, sunrise 7:31 AM / sunset 5:26 PM

08:30 AM, recommended departure time for suggested scenic route to lunch

11:30 AM, Lunch at the Ozark Café, Jasper, AR (on AR 7 in the city square)

**Note, time/place may change for inclement weather

3:00 PM, Bentonville BMW Group Visit

6:30 PM, dinner at Mama Serra's Spaghetti House, 1 block east of Wagner Inn

 

And their route plan:

SUGGESTED ROUTE TO LUNCH IN JASPER, AR

The suggested route includes a variety of scenery and roads, incorporating some of the favorite roads listed in the Arkansas Rider's Guide by Mario Caruso. The route is 311 miles, heading southeast into the Buffalo River and Ozark National Forest area. After lunch at the Ozark Café in Jasper, the ride continues a route northwest to the Bentonville BMW motorcycle dealership. From the Wagner Inn, we head east for Berryville on two county roads, south on AR 21 to Ludwig, east on AR 292 to Hagarville, north on AR 123 to Mount Judea, west on AR 74 to Jasper. The first leg distance is 166 miles; approx time is 3 hours, 15 minutes. After lunch, the second leg of the route continues west on AR 74 to AR 23 south of Huntsville. We continue north on AR 23 through Huntsville to AR 12 and AR 127 onto the BMW dealership in Bentonville. The second leg distance is 102 miles; approx time is 2 hours 15 minutes. The third and final leg continues east on CR 40 to AR 94 through Pea Ridge, east on US 62 into Eureka Springs. The third leg distance is 43 miles; approx time is 1 hour.

 

 

 

 

[PeterScottNJ]

Checking in. Jake, does this mean you are our fearless leader through this valley? I guess the reason I'm asking is that while I want to help in any way I can, at this point I'm totally clueless as to what I might be able to do.

 

So, I'm assuming that you, or someone who has gone before, has an idea of the various issues that need to be dealt with in this UN-endeavor.

 

Anyway, hello to all

 

BTW, I was told there would be a "secret password". I'm disappointed that it's automatic and I don't have another password to document someplace

[Mjames]

OK. I'll start. Who wants to have Unrally 2003 in NYC?

 

I volunteer to be ride leader for a lane-splitting romp through the five-borough romp that no one (or no shock absorber) will ever forget.

 

Top seventeen reasons to have Unrally 2003 in NYC.

 

17. The women

16. Payapa King Hot Dogs

15. No deer except on menus and walls

14. Free sourdough rolls courtesy of ChrisNYC

13. The ride between topless bars is very short

12. Pot holes you can tell you grandkids about

11. The women.

10. My famous five-borough lane-splitting tour

9. So Pilgrim can donate his gun collection to the Met

8. The women

7. I can take Russell kayaking in the Hudson.

6. So RDFrantz can show us the correct "line" through Times Square

5. The women

4. Sock Monkey can visit relatives at FA0 Schwartz

3. We can all crash on VentureVoodoo's couch

2. No one here says "dang"

1. Did I mention the women?

 

 

[Jake]

Peter -

 

You, MJames, and VentureVoodoo are the "new blood" for the UN2. Murrayg hasn't been a committee hoon yet, but he's been to Gunnison, and knows the ropes well. Murray is also our Big Man On Campus as he lives about 35 miles away from ES. All the other participants have been involved in the Gunnison Gathering some capacity, and together we will steer through what needs to be done for Eureka Springs.

 

The focus on UN2 will be to keep things "Un" - that is, to have the rally intrude as little as possible into everyone's time there. It will be our job to provide the location, time, local information (hotels, camping), T-shirts, route sheets, and arrange for a daily breakfast (pastries, fruit, coffee) as well as a group dinner each night. Members arrange for their own accomodations, and have the time between the morning breakfast and the evening dinner all to themselves. It's a place to meet members, put faces to names, and decide which road to take for a day's ride, and with whom - then swill and swap lies around a campfire before heading off to bed. The only real organization other than what is outlined above is a registration on the first morning so we know who's there. Most of the "work" is done prior to the UnRally on the board, then the event takes care of itself. Vendors are a big no-no.

 

As far as individual responsibilities, we have plenty of time to figure it out once we collectively sketch out in our minds how things should go. Eureka Springs is a whole different animal than Gunnison, so I expect we'll have different dynamics. I have to believe our attendence could likely double over Un1 (roughly 170?) and we'll likely see more spouses and SO's. ES is a tourism town, meaning some members might want to go into town to browse and shop, while others will definitely want to get out of town and ride. It's up to us to provide the information that will help them formulate itinerary ideas through the board.

 

What do we have planned so far?

Well, our Fearless Proprietor has graciously donated his time to develop a separate website for Un2 so this one's gonna be slick. I am also aiming to do a recon ride down there on Nov 1st. Yehaa! Stephen has already done one, and he's going to go again this weekend. So, we're in information gathering mode. We also need to select a gathering place within ES - likely a campground like their KOA.

 

We also need to select a date. The post-Gunnision group felt it was important to have the members have input, so I am going to put a thread up this week introducing UN2 and to have a vote. We have other events we're trying not to clash with (Mayhem, Americade, BMWMOA, etc.) and considerations for the West regarding late Fall snow in the mountains, so our window is roughly May through Sept, with a pretty hot spell in the middle.

 

You and James are here to assist with the above, and also to have a special purpose. Our mantra has been "spread the love", and some members in the East didn't feel the love when Gunnison was selected as the location for Un1. Gunnison was perfect in every respect, and you have to start somewhere. The resolve was to move Un2 Eastward to pull in members from the East. That will be your special purpose, to bring in the East through your enthusiasm (no leg-breaking ok, this isn't Philly). I'll talk with you more on that later.

 

There's a few additional duties such as interacting with the local Big-Wigs. We had the Gunnision City Manager and the Chief of Police join us in the mornings and it was a big hit. We'd like to have the ES authorities see us coming as well. (fill 'em full of pastries, and tell them to put away the ticket books ).

 

That's today's nutshell! Fire away with more questions/comments.

[Mjames]

T-shirts

 

Well, I conceived and marketed a half-million novelty t-shirts to K-mart a few years back, so maybe I can join Venture Voodoo's T-shirt sub-committee. Also, I do "slogans" for a living, so maybe I can work on one for the rally...let's see..."you tried the UN-cola...now try..." Well..needs a little more work. Speaking of which, have we thought of pepsi underwriting the whole thing and cargo shipping us and our bikes to Tahiti? OH..no commercial involvement...forgot.

[murrayg]

Sir Jake: Murrayg of Bentonville, AR. at your service. Any onsite hotel stuff you want done, I can do. Any road review you want done, I can do. Anything you want locally I probably can do accept, mjames is going to have to take care of the women issue on his own. I'm a fully domesticated male having been married now for 18 years with two daughters.

 

Please remember that Arkansas is very green for a good reason. In the Spring we get a fair amount of rain. Not sprinkles, nor mistings, but down pours. In the Spring we also have tornadoes. These pests are more likely to occur in the flat lands of Central Arkansas(Little Rock)Southeast(Pine Bluff) and Southwest Arkansas (Texarkana)than in Northwest Arkansas, but they are not total strangers up here.

 

The second week in June typically is drier and less hot than later in the month. At any rate, I think our riders will be entertained by the riding. There are a few roads to test the best of you and once on the truly backrounds few LEOs except around the little towns. Jake, we will need to let riders know that when the speed limits drop going into the little burgs they should be obeyed unless a rider wants to make a donation to the little town. I know our folks like to take long rides and so we can play in Southern Missouri, Northeast Oklahoma and still be on squiggly roads. So once again, Sir Jake, I'm at your service. I can't wait.

 

Oh yeah, I'll be in Eureka Springs this Saturday too. Eureka will be a great hosts. Enough resturants and goings on to serve as a nice back drop. There is also Beaver Lake with a dam with picnick benches and grills that we maybe able to use for a evening get together not very far away. Beaver is beautifly and their camp grounds all around it. We are gong to have some serious fun and good riding too.

 

Jake, if you come down in November you can stay at my house. You'll enjoy the ride to Eureka, I guarantee.

[Jake]

Murray/Big Stephen:

 

If you boys have a chance next weekend, see if you can take a quick look at the KOA, and similar camp sites. I'm not sure if that RV camp site (E of town) is dedicated to RV's only, or if they can accomodate camping. I've already received word from the KOA that they'd love to have us, and have a pavillion for a gathering place for dinner. If we go in Spring, Murray's comments point out a need for rain shelter, so please keep an eye out for something accomodative.

 

Oh, and sample Bubba's BBQ. We need a meal report to see if they are fit for consumption and inclusion!

[Voodoo]

Daves not here, man.

[snod]

Just checking in. My work situation this year will make it difficult for me to do any work that will require daytime communication. (no work email and can't make personal phone calls) I will do what ever I can to help out.

 

I agree that vendors are not wanted. Last year I used "sponsors" for the morning breakfast. We may wish to expand that idea a bit this year.

 

$.01 regarding timing. I think that fall in NW Arkansas is more reliable than spring. Fall will make it more difficult for me personally (work, inventory season) but may be a better weather choice. The fall colors are always a plus.

 

 

[Yeeha! Stephen]

"Real direction will likely materialize next week after Yeeha! Stephen returns from his second recon trip....

If you boys have a chance next weekend, see if you can take a quick look at the KOA, and similar camp sites. I'm not sure if that RV camp site (E of town) is dedicated to RV's only, or if they can accomodate camping. I've already received word from the KOA that they'd love to have us, and have a pavillion for a gathering place for dinner. If we go in Spring, Murray's comments point out a need for rain shelter, so please keep an eye out for something accomodative."

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Well Guys,

I failed my assignment on the latest mission to Eureka Springs. Never made it to the KOA… and though I rode by and Smelled it, I never got to Bubba’s BBQ. It’s all MurrayG’s fault!

 

Before I explain, may I say that if we could have scenery like this past weekend, I would like to change my vote for the Un ’03 to be in the Fall. Awsome colors! Someone in the group said they lived in the Northeast for a while and the colors we saw, rival New England's.

 

And… by the way, the drafting of MurrayG to plan out some ride routes for the ‘03 was and is an Excellent move.

 

Met up with Emerson early Saturday morning at the Motel HQ for the Dallas Lone Star BMW Club, Fall Colors Tour, and he lead us on a short route to the lunch meeting location. We were a little early for the rest of the Lone Star guys so we did a small loop around the Jasper area. (Ar 74, Ar 123, Ar 314, and Ar 7) That loop, though less than 50 miles around was one of the most scenic I’ve ever seen. I hope he includes it in one of the routes he sets up for Un ’03. After lunch we rode the back way to Bentonville BMW, also a route I hope he includes in the Rally. Though he rode a style that oozed “Someone familiar with his home Turf”, I could see that Emerson was holding back, trying not to lose some of us, for we had a few slower riders in the group. Including me, as much Gawking as I was doing. Rode to Bentonville BMW, and at that point MurrayG was near home so we let him report in and we found our own, easy way back to ES. By the time I got back to ES it was getting dark, and everyone was complaining of hunger. Try as I might, I couldn’t get anyone to ride back to Bubba’s BBQ. Tired of riding for the day, the group walked to the Italian place next door, where Pasta was shared and Wine was toasted. During the evening someone suggested that though it's out of our time frame, the RT.com-ers have a relationship with the IBMWR folks & we should consider scheduling the '03 tacked on to their Branson Blitz in April. Little to early in the year for me, but I said I would pass it on-fwiw.

 

For a place that claims to be a Little Swiss Alps, Eureka Springs sure has a lot of Italian food places. I've sampled 2 of them now and and I'm not disappointed.

 

I did have time Fri. to get all the Names and Numbers of all the Hotels and Eateries from the phone book. Just from the Yellow Pages there are 64 hotel/motels listed, 37 of which are on the main drag through town, HWY 62 ( East and West Van Buren). There are 56 eateries listed in the Yellow Pages, with approx. 75% of these being Dinner/ Family type restaurants. About 20-something % are Bar & Grill types with a very small %-age being Fast Food burger type joints. I only noticed one chain fast food place, Mickey D’s. There are some quick chicken places and a couple of burger places but no World Wide names to speak of. Many of the Family type places have the “All You Can Eat” buffets in the evening and I found a couple of Breakfast buffets that do the same. Friday night, I had Beef tips w/rice, carrots, corn, peas, potatos and onions, Crab salad, rolls, and Bread pudding all off the buffet at the Forest Hill Restaurant Steak House and Gift Shop. By the way the steaks looked and smelled great but I wanted the All You Can Eat. They also have a wood fire pizza oven that was turning out some mighty fine looking pizza-pies!

 

Got a taste of the Tourist traffic while I was there too. The fall colors were at or very near peak this weekend and the Gawking tourists were out in droves. Thank goodness that they mostly stayed to the main roads and not to the routes that Emerson lead us to. Hwy 62 either side of ES for 10 miles was bumper to bumper & 20 mph in the afternoons. YUK!

 

Here are some other #s I got.

 

Eureka Springs City Hall 479-253-9703

Police Business 479-253-8666

Fire Business 479-253-9616

Visitor Bureau 479-253-7333

C of C 479-253-8737

ES Hospital 479-253-7400

 

Mayor

Beau Zar Satori

Through Admin.Asst.

Kimberly Dickens 479-253-9703

 

Police Chief

Earl Hyatt 479-253-8666

 

County Sheriff Dept. 870-423-2901

 

The Eureka Springs area just went to an additional Area Code. Some local #s have the new 479 ac and some have the old 501 ac. So if the new 479 doesn’t work please try 501. The #s I have for the Hotels are from a pre-change 2002 phone book, and the Area Codes aren’t listed. I don’t have a scanner, so I’m going to have to type up a hotel list with the Numbers. But first I’m gonna try to look them up on the Net and see if they have AC’s listed.

 

 

 

 

[Jake]

Thanks Brutha!

 

Sounds beautiful. David, Myself, and PB are taking aim on ES for next weekend, so we'll be able to get the camping recon done, and I ain't leaving until I eat me some Bubba's.

 

Much of the lodging information you have is available on the web (good point about area codes), so before you go crazy typing everything out, maybe all we really need to do is to provide links for our future Un2 website.

 

I sure wish Fall Foliage happened early enough to have the Un2 during that time - too much risk of snow in the passes. Heck, snow is predicted in Chi-Town later this week (tryin to muss up my fun - I'll drive if I have to )

 

Dontchya gotta love a Police Chief named Earl Hyatt? Sounds soooo western!

[Mjames]

Much of the lodging information you have is available on the web...

 

Good point. I'll also be speaking to the visitor's bureau as soon as we set a date--maybe they will have some suggestions as well as point us toward some places they may offer group discounts.