RALLY ROUNDUP: Boise, ID July 6~9th!

- Greg Feeler & Jerome Eberharter Rally Co-Chairs

In just a few weeks we’ll be hosting the first national BMW motorcycle rally ever held in Idaho. We think you should come and see why Idaho is called “America’s best kept secret”, and while you’re here enjoy a really great rally As winter has melted into a beautiful spring here in Idaho our work is bearing fruit, and we have a full schedule of events, seminars, riding opportunities, and rally features planned for you.

Our event list starts with a tour of local wineries. You’ll take a bus so you can enjoy the ride while tasting some excellent local wines and dine on the included lunch.

For those who like to get wet, you can sign up for a local river rafting experience in the mountains north of Boise. It will be a refreshing way to cool down and enjoy the Idaho outdoors.

If you’d like to combine more riding with your adventures, there will be an “Idaho lunch ride” about 100 miles (one way) north up scenic and twisty Highway 55 to Tamarack Resort near Donnelly. This is the first major destination resort built in the U.S. in several decades and they are anxious to show you around and feed you lunch. This is limited to the first 100 riders – so sign up soon!

There are a lot of fire roads and logging trails in Idaho, so the GS folks will have much to explore, get good and dirty, and then come back to the rally for a shower and story telling. For the pavement types, we have a special gift for everyone: a tank bag sized ride book listing about a dozen great local roads. Some of these will take you over some seriously tight, twisty, and technical roads, others are mountain sweepers, and still others get you out into the big open spaces that much of the west is famous for. Some will take a few hours, while others are more like an Iron Butt version of a “day ride”. You won’t be able to take them all even if you use one for the route home. Our sneaky plan is to get you hooked so you’ll come back to Idaho another time.

If you want to sharpen your riding skills, you can get a bargain price ($45) on one of the best ERC (Experienced Rider Course) classes in the county, put on by the Idaho STAR program. You can also try your hand at Police riding skills during the Boise Police Department’s Chills & Thrills motor officer presentation.

We have a big selection of seminars covering a wide range of topics. There will be tech sessions, discussions of motorcycle and vehicle safety programs, what it’s like to ride in the Iron Butt Rally, world touring information including south-east Asia, Europe, and the lands “down under”. There’s even a rumor about a New Zealand motorcycle tour being given away!

Naturally, we’ll have food vendors and some good entertainment in the beer garden, and great vendors with all the latest stuff you really do need! There will also be free WiFi Internet access over most of the rally site, plus a Cyber Café for quick checks of e-mail. This is a great benefit provided by the fine folks at Clearwire Wireless Broadband. Don’t forget the flea market for bargain hunters. The home of the Boise Hawk’s baseball team is within walking distance of the rally site, and they will be playing home games Thursday and Friday evenings.

Some other important things you should know:

• You can pre-ship your gear by UPS for pickup at the rally site, plus ship things home. Be sure to carefully follow the instructions!!!

• Because of the July 4th holiday, we have a very short setup schedule which means we just can’t let early birds in before Registration opens at 8:00am Thursday morning. The only exceptions will be folks who volunteered in advance through the volunteer page. We can always use some more good hands, so give this some thought!

• If you are camping – there’s a lot of nice, level, grass and much of it has shade, at least during part of the day – more than is indicated by the rally site maps. There will be a lot of room to spread out.

• You can get a good idea of the site layout and organization by taking a look at this Rally Map.

To help folks discuss this event, ask questions, or hook up with riding partners, the BMW RA has setup a member forum. This hasn’t gotten the publicity it deserves – yet – but over time will become a hub for ‘RA members to keep in touch. Right now you can use it to for better trip planning. Just go to www.bmwra.org/forum, setup an account and start posting away! You should also keep checking the web site for details, and don’t forget you can e-mail our Rally Coordinator with specific questions.

Hopefully, this overview has given you a very good idea of what to expect and more than enough reasons to attend. Those participating in the Peaks Of America Tour (www.bmwra.org/rally/poa.html) know it all begins in Boise! There are a lot of great motorcycle roads in Idaho, and on the way there and back. Oh, have I mentioned we’re holding an excellent rally right in the middle of what will be a truly memorable ride? Pre-registration is open, so sign up now! See you in Boise in July!