Top of the Rockies Rally, Paonia, CO

[pjessen]

Come join about a thousand other BMW affectionados in the town park at Paonia, Colorado for the 34th annual Top of the Rockies Rally. There's tenting in the grassy park, vendors galore, and lots of laid back rallying with soon to be made friends from across the nation. Day riding is some of the best with little traffic on western slope roads.

For you with gadgets, bring em. We have charging stations for your batteries, and high speed wi-fi in the park!

See www.coloradobeemers.smugmug.com (http://www.coloradobeemers.smugmug.com/) for more information. You can register via PayPal, or download a registration form.

A goodly group of LT riders attend each year, BTW, and vendors for relevant farkles are on site. Paonia and vicinity has fresh apricot pie, several berry pies and other fresh fruit coming ripe at the rally. Western Colorado also has a burgeoning wine industry with excellent local selections available.

Register now at www.coloradobeemers.com (http://www.coloradobeemers.com/)

See you there!

Pete Jessen
2006 Rally Co-chair

[walilisseu]

Thanks Pete ... I've been thinking about MOA and this may be a 'saner' alternative, since I'm heading to CCR at the end of Aug. Your club's web site is awesome and has good info on rides, rallies, etc. I was just going to 'ping' our Rocky Mountain members to have them list their rides, rallies, etc.

Our club site
http://www.beehive-beemers.org/index.html
isn't nearly as comprehensive as yours, but it has a couple of our events, of which you already have the Red Rock Rendezvous listed ...

How about you 'other' members ... either write some of the info down on a reply, OR provide us a web site for that information. Guess we're talking about Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico ... I'll try and provide some additional detail(s) about our rallies and rides.

Thinking out loud, rides wouldn't necessarily be a thing you'd travel over to do, however, IF you're in the area ... join in!!

Cheers,

[pjessen]

Paypal is up again at the Top of the Rockies site, www.coloradobeemers.com

Thank you for looking!

[pjessen]

Well, we got the web site rebuilt to the extent we can with the software at hand. Check it out at www.coloradobeemers.com

AND, while you're there, sign up for Paonia!

Thanks for looking!

[doctorbeemer]

$40.00 fee for the rally is a rip off even if you are staying in another town for night. They need to charge by the Day. Just to many greedy people money money money. I was just planning to spend a couple of hours there anyway just to see whats its all about. I never show up to your meeting again.

[the1mavin]

All-
I stopped by Paonia today and the park wasn't as full as last year (but I was there on Saturday last year). The folks at the gate were kind enough to allow us to stop by the vendors area without paying the toll... We walked thru and looked at the bikes--I didn't come across any new gotta have farkles this time (but I bought a bag anyways). My LT must be close to complete :) Yeah Right :) There seemed to be more LTs this year--10+

Stop by and have some pie... It's a great "excuse" to take a ride.

Tim

[pjessen]

Thank you to all that came to the rally this year. With your help, it was one of the best and well attended in recent years. With over 1100 participants, we pushed the limits of our existing site, and are considering limiting the number somehow unless we can expand capacity.

Attendees came from all corners of the USA (38 states), plus three Canadian provinces. Yes, we had folks from Maine, Florida, Texas, California, and Washington! The Top of the Rockies has become a true national and international rally!

Our rally tee shirts sold out, though we ordered 100 more than last year. You’ll see more than a few at the MOA rally, I’m sure.

Temps were warm in the afternoon, but at least 10 degrees less than the front range, and the park was full of riders each day, sitting in the shade talking, napping, or catching a snack from one of the vendors. Of course, the beer is always cold and cheap!

Though almost every model of BMW is represented, there was also a great selection of other brands and models. There was no end to gawking and talking about all the many and varied bikes in the park.

Those of you that know anything about putting on a rally understand that all expenses are based on a four day event so the music (three nights) meals (two), and facilities expense (sanolets, trash pickup, security, etc.) are spread over the duration of the rally. You also understand that one doesn’t make money on a rally, you just hope and pray you don’t lose too much!

We welcome everyone to the rally, but everyone must pay the same. If $40 is too much for a two hour visit, then stay the hell away.

If you are knowledgeable about these events, you also understand that they are carried on the backs of dozens of volunteers that spend many hours making sure everything comes off right. This year was no exception, as we not only had great club volunteers, but many others from around the nation that stepped up and gave us a couple of hours here and there. Many thanks to them and their efforts.

Hope to see you there next year!

[pjessen]

Photos of the rally are available at http://coloradobeemers.smugmug.com/gallery/1714093

We'll be taking reservations for next year starting in January 2007. Looks to be another great rally.

[the1mavin]

Hey Pete,

That's pretty harsh - " If $40 is too much for a two hour visit, then stay the hell away"

I've just stopped by the past two years for maybe a total of two hours, both times the people at the entry let me in to see vendors without paying the fee. Both times I spent well over $100 at the vendors. I definetly understand where you're coming from but as a BMW rider I fall into the low income sector and if I had to pay $80 to get in (me and the SO) I wouldn't be able to support the vendors...

I will "stay the hell away" next year.

Take care,
Tim

[messenger13]

That's pretty harsh - " If $40 is too much for a two hour visit, then stay the hell away"

I've just stopped by the past two years for maybe a total of two hours, both times the people at the entry let me in to see vendors without paying the fee. Both times I spent well over $100 at the vendors. I definetly understand where you're coming from but as a BMW rider I fall into the low income sector and if I had to pay $80 to get in (me and the SO) I wouldn't be able to support the vendors...One could argue that, rather than "supporting the vendors", you're simply taking advantage of the organizers and all the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into putting on an event like that. Not to mention the "show specials" that are saving you money.

The rules were the same at the Georgia Mountain Rally. You want IN? . . . you pay at the gate! To which I say, "Amen.".

[eljeffe]

$40.00 fee for the rally is a rip off even if you are staying in another town for night. They need to charge by the Day. Just to many greedy people money money money. I was just planning to spend a couple of hours there anyway just to see whats its all about. I never show up to your meeting again.

You're a fucking loser.

Considering this is one of the best organized BMW rallies of the year, you're an absolute moron for posting this.