The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => Ride Reports and Event Reviews => Topic started by: marcmax on January 17, 2014, 09:22:19 AM
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Off to the BMW NE FL Winter Rally. Clear sunny skies with daytime highs in the mid 50*f and nighttime lows in the low 30*f. Registration closes at 500 entries and it closed in two weeks this year.
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Just finished thawing out from the BMWNEF Winter Rally. First time I have been to this rally and it will be on the list for next year. It is held at Camp Blanding which is the training center for the Florida National Guard. This was it's 31st year and it is the only civilian activity that has ever been allowed on the military installation. That tells you something about the organizers of the rally and the caliber of people that ride BMWs, both top notch.
With over 100 acres of area there were plenty of fire trails for the GS crowd and guided rides through training areas that included complete villages to train for the current hostilities. It was an impressive site.
Rally Central was the headquarters building with a central conference room large enough to seat all 500+ attendees for dinner, etc. Vendors along the hallways and side rooms for discussions from Iron Butt Riders and preparing for the Cannon Ball Rally to a very nice presentation from the local BMW dealer on the new Wasser Boxer.
Camping was interesting as the night temps were in the low 30*f and day temps in the low 50*f. The campground was right on a lake and when the temps started to drop and the wind blew across the lake it made leaving the sleeping bag the next morning a challenge. The Florida Airheads brought in 4 cords of firewood and kept a nice fire going around the clock and had a coffee tent with three large coffee makers going non-stop. Add in the fact that the military opened the Exchange package store to the rally for adult anti-freeze and a good time was had by all.
Furthest attendee came from San Antonio, eldest attendees were a couple in their late 70's and the youngest was an 18 year old at his first rally.
If you are anywhere near enough to make it next year it is definitely worth checking out.