Poll: Will you be attending the 2009 F800 Riders Eastern US Rally?

**Rob** · 03-03-09

It's now officially, official - the location for the 2009 F800 Eastern US Rally is in bright, sunny Cass, WV.

When is the Rally:

The Rally is Friday, August 28th and Saturday August 29th
The group dinner is 5:30 PM on Saturday August 29th.

Where is the Rally:

Cass, WV is located right in the middle of the Monongahela National Forest, is family friendly, easy on the wallet, and less than a day's ride to most areas in the South and Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Why did I settle on Cass, WV? Here's why:

Great Riding: The first selection criteria is that the location absolutely, positively needed to have great riding around it. The idea is that we, this time around, will have plenty of maps and pre-planned rides so that everyone can explore the area. Cass, WV quite possibly has the BEST riding of anywhere in the world around it. Good God, Rt 33 going through the Geo. Washington National Forrest is drool worthy.
Great Housing: The goal is to setup a central location for approximately 100 F800 Riders. We want hotels, camping, dining, and general kibitzing. An alternate hotel is required as well should be book the first... like last time.
Interesting: Great scenery and nearby attractions. Beyond roads the area features Steam Locomotive to ride, Radio Telescopes to explore, hiking, rock climbing, and uhh... spelunking. Lots and lots of spelunking.

So where in Cass, WV are we looking to setup shop?

The primary location will be at Boyer Station which features hotel rooms, camping, dining, and general shenanaganery. There are approximately 20 rooms there and camping for up to 200.
YOU CAN NOW START RESERVING YOUR SPOT HERE
- We have all 20 rooms reserved - first come, first serve for reservations.
- Mix of singles and doubles.
- Singles go for $38, double start at $49 and go up depending on count of people in the room.
- Camping is also available, complete with hot showers, private dressing rooms, and flush toilets for a whopping $4 per day.
- Call (304) 456-4667 as of now to get setup. (please be nice - they are great folks that run the place!)
- Please identify yourself as a member of the BMW F800 Riders Group.

An alternate housing location is provided by Mayberry's Sherpa Service. Ted, a great guy who also services such events as the BMW MOA Rally, will be providing tents to rent for the entire rally. Tents will include:
- A domed single (7' x 7') or double (9' x '7) tent.
- An air mattress
- A sleeping bag (2 for the double)
- A chair
- A pillow
- A clean towel each day
- Coffee in the morning
- Cell phone charging
- Each tent will have access to hot showers, private dressing rooms, and flush toilets.
All tents will be located at the Boyer, along with the main rally rooms.
Weather for the tents should be nice - a late Summer West Virgina day & night.
Rates for the tents are $100 for a single, or $150 for a double -- that's for both Friday and Saturday night!
Reservations can be made directly via Ted's website.

The alternate hotel is The Hermitage, a few miles away. There are approximately 50 rooms there.
YOU CAN NOW START RESERVING YOUR SPOT HERE
- We have all 10 rooms reserved to start with here - first come, first serve for reservations. These rooms are nicer overall than Boyer Station.
- Mix of singles and doubles.
- Singles go for $75, doubles go for $80. These rates will go down should we get more than 20 folks here.
- Camping is not available here.
- Call (888) 456-4808 as of now to get setup.
- Please identify yourself as a member of the BMW F800 Riders Group.

Dinner:

I've arranged for a group dinner at the Elk River Inn and Restaurant on Saturday August 29th at 5:30 PM sharp. The dinner has a maximum of 60 participants, we'll be giving out door prizes during it, and it should be a good time for all like last year.

You'll need to purchase your meal at F800Depot.com (look in the 2009 Rally Section) before August 14th. Beef, chicken, fish, and vegetarian are all options.

T-Shirt:

Once again, we'll be doing a rally t-shirt. He're is what were talking about:

You'll need to purchase your shirt at F800Depot.com (look in the 2009 Rally Section) before August 14th. Sponsoring Members get one for only $5, so now is a great time to become one.

T-shirts will ONLY be distributed at the Rally. If you don't come, you wont get one. If you order it and don't show up, I'll be using it to towel down my F800S.

The Agenda is:

Arrival on Friday at some point.
Check in and pickup of welcome pack on Friday containing t-shirt (if purchased), directions to attractions, and some other fun stuff.
Depending on interest, a group outing the the Cass Railroad for dinner as they are running a special murder mystery buffet dinner deal - “The Murder of Lumberjack Johnny Parker”- very cool!
Saturday will be filled with some of the best riding on the continent.
A great attraction to visit is the National Radio Astronomy Observatory - the largest steerable radio antenna in the world! They're ready for us!
Saturday @ 4:30 is the group picture. Be sure to get to to the Boyer a few minutes early!
Dinner will be @ 5:30 on Saturday. We'll all depart from the Boyer to get there.
Sunday will be cleanup and goodbyes!

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO ATTEND:

Make room reservations.
Order dinner.
Order a T-Shirt
REGISTER! -- registration form is here: https://f800riders.org/forum/survey.php
Con other folks into attending!

**Luxamor** · 03-04-09

I like the location for riding and the terrain.
I did a mountain bike weekend in Elkins once - beautiful area.
Half the fun would be getting there, not to mention the possibilities for day rides.
Good idea Rob.
Nailing down the date will probably be the tough part.
With this much notice, it shouldn't be a problem for me.
I only hope we can get more people from other areas to make it.

**nelsonburns** · 03-04-09

Don and I will be there for certain. Love the looks of the place, with both a motel and camping. Great find!

The 28th is fine with us.

**dbee** · 03-04-09

I'll be there. Great pick Rob....

**BrENDURO** · 03-04-09

Cass sounds like a pretty good pick to me. I'm going to preliminarily mark those days on my work calendar.

How much are those hotels? I didn't find a price on their sites and I'm über-cheap

.

Thanks!

**Rob** · 03-04-09

Originally Posted by BrENDURO

Cass sounds like a pretty good pick to me. I'm going to preliminarily mark those days on my work calendar.

How much are those hotels? I didn't find a price on their sites and I'm über-cheap

.

Thanks!

From everything that I've read prior, we're looking at >$50 for a room, and >$10 to camp per night.

**Mike in Ohio** · 03-04-09

Date and place work for me

**windy** · 03-04-09

Sounds good to me.

**3power** · 03-04-09

Ahh that's my Anniversary weekend

**Rob** · 03-04-09

Bring her... or him... or whatever.

**BrENDURO** · 03-04-09

Originally Posted by 3power

Ahh that's my Anniversary weekend

Priorities. You'll just have to tell her the anniversary can wait

.

In case you didn't infer, I am, in fact single.

**nelsonburns** · 03-05-09

I take it she's not crazy about motorcycles? I think the rally would be a great place for an anniversary!

You could stay at a motel not too far away so you'd have some alone time - but come visit at least one of the days. After all, an anniversary is only one day!

And besides, romance is in the soul, not in the location!

**3power** · 03-05-09

Thanks for the tips . . . let's see what I can work out with her. She doesn't dislike motorcycles at all, but we have two small kids so she doesn't want to risk riding with me.

**Mike in Ohio** · 03-05-09

3power I have one word for you-motorcycle trailer for your car. Okay that's 5 words.

**RockBottom** · 03-05-09

It's been probably 45 years since my last ride on the Cass Railroad. I wonder if they'll remember me.

**windy** · 03-05-09

Ya fur sure dude! yust foolin.:p

**RockBottom** · 03-05-09

Originally Posted by windy

Ya fur sure dude! yust foolin.:p

*I* think I'm pretty much the same.

**nelsonburns** · 03-05-09

Ah, I understand about the small kids. My husband quite riding 30 years ago because of a near miss with his young daughter on the back. I am quite sure I wouldn't be riding if my kids were small - but my three kids are all in their 20s. They didn't understand why I took up riding or why I enjoy it so much - but I told them I bought a big insurance policy so they don't say much about risking life and limb!

**bicyclist** · 03-05-09

Great location! Boyer Station is the site of the Cass Rally. Last year, they said there would not be a rally this year, so I'm pleased with the excuse to go back there.

Here's my hammock at the site.

It's probably a better place for camping than motelling; the rooms are ...um... rustic, but not expensive. Don't be alarmed by the hill, most of the property is pretty flat.

**SHU** · 03-05-09

Originally Posted by RockBottom

*I* think I'm pretty much the same.

Just the same except for the glasses.

............shu

**RockBottom** · 03-06-09

Originally Posted by bicyclist

It's probably a better place for camping than motelling; the rooms are ...um... rustic, but not expensive. Don't be alarmed by the hill, most of the property is pretty flat.

Cass is not far from White Sulphur Springs so I'm disappointed that Rob didn't get us a block of rooms at the Greenbrier.

**nelsonburns** · 03-06-09

Well, there's a coil. Camping versus "rustic" rooms. If the hotel wasn't adjoining the campsite, I'd try camping, but I suspect the lure of having my own bathroom and A/C and heat will win out. Convenience over adventure!

Wow - what a place the Greenbrier is. I think the Paradise Row cottage for $725 a night would be delightful... No, it's not my style. I figure one look and they'd throw me out. If not one look, then the first time I use bad langauge. Don't think I could behave well enough to stay there!

**RockBottom** · 03-06-09

Originally Posted by nelsonburns

Well, there's a coil. Camping versus "rustic" rooms. If the hotel wasn't adjoining the campsite, I'd try camping, but I suspect the lure of having my own bathroom and A/C and heat will win out. Convenience over adventure!

Wow - what a place the Greenbrier is. I think the Paradise Row cottage for $725 a night would be delightful... No, it's not my style. I figure one look and they'd throw me out. If not one look, then the first time I use bad langauge. Don't think I could behave well enough to stay there!

I'll admit I have an obsession with luxury hotels. In fact, I spent Sunday and Monday nights of this week in the Pentagon City Ritz Carlton. But only when someone else is footing the bill!

**CB-800S** · 03-06-09

Bummer. I can't squeeze that mileage into a long weekend.

Sounds like a hoot!

**windy** · 03-07-09

Ah know datz rite,but tink,ifun you make dat ride you be Kingjammur. Try adding a day on each end,and really plan your ride.(fuel stops,food,strech breaks,motel etc.) I'd bet you could do it. In my yout I made runs from Sarasota,FL to NOLA for weekends.Dats 800mi each way before interstates.

**CB-800S** · 03-07-09

True dat windy. But iffen I put anudder day on de ends I'd haff to put anudder day on de ends of dat too!

At the moment I'm a highly unlikely. Ya never know though.

**Eddy G** · 03-08-09

Looks like a good location and a good distance for me. Just as long as the dates work out.

**Gus** · 03-08-09

Easy ride for us mid Mid Atlantic types

- sorry CB

. That looks to be a great choice of weekends since a lot of people will be 'saving themselves' for the long Labor Day one the following week and probably worn out from family vacations - ergo not as many tourists to avoid

.

**windy** · 03-11-09

So,is it a go for August 28-30. With only 13 people saying yes,why not go back to the Watstull Inn.It is easier to get to than WV and futher south for da folks from LA and right off I-81 for fast highway riding. I do still like Cass,WV. As the Duke said "were burnin daylight".

**zcool** · 03-15-09

Date and place look good to me. I haven't done any camping with the bike, but plenty with my truck. Should be interesting. Count me in.

**jtbvaca** · 03-16-09

Rob, I hope to be able to attend the 09 rally this year. I really enjoyed last years rally, it was great meeting some of the people, seeing the bikes and getting ideas for future modifications. The ideas you have sound good to me except the dates, this is also the time from for the Moto GP in Indy. I don't know about the rest of you guys but I love Moto GP I went last year and decided that this would become an annual event for. If there are others out there that would like a date change that would be great. Moto GP is kind of a big motorcycle event
Thanks alot Rob, you put a bunch of effort putting this thing together last year and it was great.

Moto GP August 28-30 2009

**windy** · 03-23-09

My son went to Moto GP last year as well. From what I hear you need to start now to book a room or pack a tent.

**jtbvaca** · 03-23-09

It's true it's best to get a room early but, Indianapolis is easier than other places I have been for motorcycle races. The Moto GP at Laguna also has a shortage of rooms if you wait to long to make reservations.

**GitchM** · 03-23-09

Originally Posted by jtbvaca

Rob, I hope to be able to attend the 09 rally this year. I really enjoyed last years rally, it was great meeting some of the people, seeing the bikes and getting ideas for future modifications. The ideas you have sound good to me except the dates, this is also the time from for the Moto GP in Indy. I don't know about the rest of you guys but I love Moto GP I went last year and decided that this would become an annual event for. If there are others out there that would like a date change that would be great. Moto GP is kind of a big motorcycle event
Thanks alot Rob, you put a bunch of effort putting this thing together last year and it was great.

Moto GP August 28-30 2009

Agreed there, but I plan to hit the AMA Superbike races at VIR 14-16 August. I won't be pushing for another kitchen pass so soon thereafter. October was the right time of year for me.

**Rob** · 03-24-09

Dates for this are now confirmed. Hotels / camping reservations are setup. Please view the first post for information about how you can make your reservations.

**windy** · 03-24-09

I made my reservations at Boyer Motel, MotoGP will have to wait 'til next year. North west tour,head out to Montana,Idaho out to the coast Hwy down to the Bay area catch MotoGP at Laguna then east to Indy for MotoGP. Zoom Zoom.

**BrENDURO** · 03-24-09

Originally Posted by windy

I made my reservations at Boyer Motel, MotoGP will have to wait 'til next year. North west tour,head out to Montana,Idaho out to the coast Hwy down to the Bay area catch MotoGP at Laguna then east to Indy for MotoGP. Zoom Zoom.

I can't wait to be retired!

I've got a double room reserved at Boyer Station. Commandohorn and I will be traveling together.
Rob, are we going to have to fill out one of those surveys like last year, or is that unknown at this point?

**Rob** · 03-24-09

Yep. There will be a registration form. I need to get the remainder of the items worked out though before sending that out.

I also plan on announcing this via a broadcast email soon as well.

**Antman** · 03-24-09

Would not miss it after the great time we had last year at Buchanan, Virginia.
Made a reservation this evening, March 24th. Not filled up yet!
The owner was very nice and when I asked to make a reservation for the
BMW rally she said "Which one?" A near by club is staying there in May.
Thanks Rob for getting this together.

**romanr** · 03-24-09

This looks like a fun time. I'm making my plans to attend.

**bicyclist** · 03-25-09

I made my reservation today.

**Dan S.** · 03-26-09

I'm late coming to this, due entirely to my habitual incompetence with Computer 102, but just reserved a room - and got some directions from the office. Thanks, Rob.

**Rob** · 03-26-09

No, no. You're right on time. I'm actually going to be sending out an email notification to all 5000+ members soon!

**nelsonburns** · 03-27-09

Made our reservations for a hotel room. I've gotten a lot of really good information on camping - but decided that adventure can wait until... well, until later.

Looking forward to it.

**marty hill** · 03-27-09

IN! Reservation made.

**Luxamor** · 03-28-09

I just made a reservation for a double at Boyer Station for Friday and Saturday nights.
My brother and I will be riding down together.
The nice woman taking the call said there are still rooms available!

**romanr** · 03-28-09

I just talked to Barbara and confirmed our room for both nights. I hope it works out and I get to put some faces with the names. Thank you, Rob.

**Rob** · 03-28-09

Just out of curiousity - I'm thinking of contacting the tent Sherpa. Would anyone be interested in camping if the tent and whatnot was already setup for you?