James, if you are already on the road for several weeks, you may be more interested in what to do when off the rig. To me, it is a unique opportunity to see and talk with owners of rigs similar to yours and rigs that you might be interested in having. The swapping of ideas and information is invaluable. Many owners have come up with new ideas or twists on an idea than I had not considered.
As you know, sidecarists are strongly independent thinkers / doers / tinkerers. Sidecaring attracts that type of personality. A gathering of all different brands and styles of sidecars in one location is a special time. Then seeing all of the different mods people have made to their rigs can be eye-opening. To be able to talk with that person, pick their brain on why and how is an opportunity you cannot get off the internet. You might not agree with what they have done, but it will cause you to think and consider something new.
The rally scheduling and activities are icing on the cake so to speak, it's having in depth conversations with other riders and seeing their rigs that makes it all worth your effort to be there.
I want to see your rig and ask you a few questions.
See you in Couer d'Alene,
CCjon
How true. In '93 at the National in PA Crandell Weaver and George Wolfe 2 of the leading sidecar riggers of the time
stayed up one nite after everyone else went to bed. I sat there for 2 hrs just listening. you don't learn while talking.
" Did you ever try this ? yes it didn't work I did this instead. What about this. that's the fix." Great nite, learned more
then than all the books and internet. May they rest in peace.
fly
Fly, I hope you're coming to C d'A for the rally. Like others have said, the camaraderie at a rally is great. And it's a chance to meet others who we see regularly on this forum and other places via the computer but have never met in person. Kind of like, "Hey! I know you!" And there are some wonderful and scenic roads to be explored in the area. And small towns like Harrison, ID are a great one day destination. Lots of memories to be made.
Hi Tom, I wish we could make the national this year. Mrs fly just had neck surgery and once she can start driving again
I have to go in for eye surgery. I would like to meet you and put some other names and faces together. Maybe next year.
fly
For sure Fly. Just like farming- there's always next year. Best of luck to the two of you for speedy recovery!
Julie and I are planning to attend from Southern California. Coincidentally, I told Julie that I wanted to head up to Coeur d' Alene just a few weeks ago as we had decided against a long cross country tour this year. I got my copy of the Sidecarist today and it had the rally flyer in it. That settled it. We're looking for a campground as we will be hauling our tent trailer along. The fairgrounds doesn't have shower facilities so we are looking elsewhere. Looking forward to meeting everyone and swapping war stories.
Jeff
Jeff, Not sure who you talked to, I just got off the phone with the fairgrounds staff, there are showers there. She said not modern, but yes there are showers in the RV / tent camping area assigned to the sidecar rally.
Hope that helps.
See you in Idaho.
CCjon
What about if we can only make it for one day and not all three? How does that work?
Quote from CCjon on May 29, 2019, 5:38 pmJeff, Not sure who you talked to, I just got off the phone with the fairgrounds staff, there are showers there. She said not modern, but yes there are showers in the RV / tent camping area assigned to the sidecar rally.
Thanks for checking. I only went by what the website said. Julie is going to make the reservations Friday and we'll verify with them. I'd much rather stay on site.
Jeff
Quote from StrongBad on May 29, 2019, 5:43 pmWhat about if we can only make it for one day and not all three? How does that work?
Good question. There is nothing on the rally registration form about one day attendance. In the past, only a handful of people show up wanting a one day fee. I guess it would depend on which day as some days have catered meals and other days do not.
If you do not partake of meals or rally activities (there is a release that all attendees must sign), there is nothing to stop you from just dropping in and wandering around kicking tires. In fact, non-sidecarists are welcome to come see the rigs, talk with owners as they might be future sidecarists.
CCjon
I know it may seem like a discount is in order for single days but future rallies may depend on the cash flow. At the current cost, I would consider paying full boat for one day just to promote the hack life. M2CYMMV.
Jeff
Quote from StrongBad on May 29, 2019, 5:43 pmWhat about if we can only make it for one day and not all three? How does that work?
I agree with CCjon. If you're not partaking of any of the activities that cost the club funds and just hanging out and visiting, there should be no charge.
I'm not taking a stand on "day passes" or letting non-sidecar or sidecar curious folks in to look around. It needs to be remembered that organizing the event, renting the grounds and publicizing the event all cost money. If we didn't incur the costs that create the rally, that draws the attendees, there wouldn't be the "show", that people want to see. There is cost to the club that, while not incremental, is real.
We have this discussion every year in one form or another, "Is it fair to the folks who came and paid for others to come to the rally for free?"
Hmmm, maybe we should create a "NON-HACKER" day pass for sidecar-less people to come see, talk and learn.....
USCA rallies are held in places where monitoring or trying to control public access would be next to impossible for a group our size. Look at the number of security volunteers MOA needs to control access at their rally. (And look at what they charge now $$$ for their rally).
The USCA is a family friendly group whose passion is riding off-set three wheels. Hopefully all hackers would support the effort to bring information, shared rides and camaraderie at a national rally by ponying up the rally fee, even if they can only attend for one day. Many may not realize that USCA does not profit from its rallies. Any left over rally funds have traditionally been donated to a local children's support group or charity.
One of the unspoken benefits of rotating the national rally around the country is the amount of money spent by rally attendees in these smaller communities for lodging, food, gas, etc. Local vendors are utilized whenever possible for rally needs, thus putting more funds into the local economy. Though Couer d'Alene is one of the larger rally venues for USCA, most of our rallies are in smaller communities where a national gathering of any type is unusual and welcomed.
These smaller communities also appreciate the entertainment value a gaggle of sidecars brings.
So I'm trying to finish our planning, as riding our rig up to the rally and back home will be around 3,600 miles while visiting friends and family along the way both to and from the rally. The entire trip (including the rally) will take us 3 weeks. It sure would be nice to see some kind of schedule for this event, especially for the 25th & 28th so I can tell friends and family when we will be visiting before and after.
