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Not-A-Rally Meet - interest?

My 2cents: I think any of the following places would be great -
Paso Robles coz SO much varied great riding from there: the wine country roads, the beautiful backroads around Pozo and the Pozo Saloon which is a cool destination out in the middle of nowhere, 229, 41 between Creston and 46, Santa Rosa Creek Rd, road to Parkfield, 198 west of Coalinga even, and a pile of others. I think it would be impossible to not have a great time here.
Kernville/Lake Isabella coz just like Aldad said the roads around there are dynamite: Caliente-Bodfish (tho might be a bit goaty for Safety Bob's tastes), the road to Woody, Granite Rd, Old Stage and Jack Ranch from Glennville, Round Mtn, hwy 155 east of hwy 65 is superb riding, Western Divide Hwy north from Kernville. Would be really pretty in the spring.
There's always Visalia - haha!! Some of the same riding as Kernville plus more great Sierra foothill riding: Hwys 190, 180, 245, and a bunch of other back roads, all of which I know pretty well...... Every time I ride Hwy 190 I wonder how there could be a finer moto road on the planet - like 30+ miles of twisties and jaw-dropping scenery....
I like the idea of doing it in the spring, coz it's sooner rather than later and it would be SO green and pretty. Nothing says couldn't do it again in the fall.
Just my thoughts.
 
I don't know about Visalia, unless J is offering her house as party central (just kiddin')-but maybe the not so far away Three Rivers, the gateway to Sequoia, a funky small town with plenty of motels, might be good if we avoid the heart of the summer tourist season. Oh, and J, I've been on Caliente-Bodfish before you ever got up the nerve to go biking, so don't go "Safety Bob" 'n me......as long as it's still paved.

Kernville & Lake Isabella are almost next door. As others have noted, Kernville is way more scenic, though I suspect somewhat more expensive than Lake Isabella.

And here's another spot a lot further away from SoCal, but that wouldn't keep me from going. Namely, Fort Bragg, well north of SF on the Mendocino coast. Been through & stayed there several times. I'll likely do it again on the way to or from the Oregon National this summer. Dynamite roads & scenery in the area, plenty of places to stay & eat & stuff to do in town, & certainly cheaper that the much trendier Mendocino itself.

Personally unlike Todd I don't mind gong to a place 2-3 times as long as it's a good enough destination. I thought Los Alamos was that until the in town motel went to hell. Could easily alternate between a couple of places if we find we like them but want some variety as well. The value of repeating is that you know where you want to stay, etc.
 
SoCalDon said:
Jeanne and I drove up to Pahrump, NV to pick up a fiberglass egg travel trailer.
I'm assuming you bought the Casita??? How did it do?
I've been trailering since childhood...had quite a weekend with a rented Casita once.
 
GT-Rx said:
My only input is that it be someplace new each time, with good road options to and fro... I'm bored of the same 'ol places. Don, that could work. Jam, how about some place out by you? How about Lake Isabella?

Timing is critical... Outlaw Ride into AZ Rally end of April/May, and Oregon National end of June, then for me to Pike's Peak from there. Many Rallies on the schedule in Oct. including NorCal & New Mexico.

.....and the AMA Grand Nationals will be back in Prescott racing on the half-mile and mile on October 9-10.....I hope to be there!
 
Pahrumph, or for that matter more or less nearby & similar Tonopah NV would be great choices in that they are small towns with motels near bars & restaurants, & great roads. Not sure northern/central Cal folk would go that far, (though maybe would draw some Nevada folk) & personally I go through those & similar towns so often on the way to & fro other places while trying to avoid going through Vegas that, well, I'd rather go someplace else first, but keep them on the short list for the future.

I really like Paso Robles as mentioned by several or one of the many similar towns in that area as a good location between southern & central Cal, better than Kernville in that regard, but looking at temp charts probably should be no later than early June, or after mid Sept, otherwise pretty damn hot there. Also see there is a Motel 6 in town for those of us who are cheap-meaning most Guzzisti. Their rates are abou $70 for a single first weekend in June, but I have no idea what is nearby if anything or whether or not there might be much better and still reasonably priced alternatives, but it does provide a yardstick. Anybody have any personal knowledge about the town or in a position to check things out more closely?

What about first weekend in June, by the way? That is several weeks after Outlaw ride/Prescott, & several before the Oregon National. For those of you looking for something later in the year-well, who's to say we can't do that too? Except that if in the heart of the summer would probably have to be at or near the coast, like Morro Bay as already suggested, or nearby Cayucos, site if a prev Not A Rally. If in the fall, then Paso and/or Kernville get viable.
 
I would vote for either the last weekend in March or the first weekend in April as an annual date. It's off season most places and at least several weeks before the Outlaw ride or the Prescott Rally. It's a great time for the Central Coast area that can get pretty hot from June till October. The only problem is that occasionally either of these weekends will interfere with Easter. I may have a conflict this year with the last weekend in March but so be it. I think picking a date that works on an annual basis is the important thing.

I found a motor lodge in Paso that looks pretty good. The Melody Ranch Motel is right on the main drag a few blocks from Downtown. The rate for a double is $76.00 and there is 10% off for AAA members. One caution. The owner told me he ran a quiet family place and didn't want people getting drunk and loud. I figured if we were loud it would be at a bar and not the motel but it is something to consider.

The Motel 6 is near the 46 East exit along with several other motels. There are also a number of restaurants there but mostly catering to freeway travelers. It would work but isn't very appealing to me. You could walk to downtown from there, but it is a mile or a bit farther.
 
I'm assuming you bought the Casita??? How did it do?
I've been trailering since childhood...had quite a weekend with a rented Casita once.[/quote][/quote][/quote]

Tim,

Yes, we drove it back home that Sunday.
I've been cleaning it up and replacing broken stuff.
Like a Guzzi, once you sort out a Casita, it lasts forever.

My Ford Ranger 4.0L 4x4 tows it fine.

Back to Topic;
Any place I can soke in a mineral bath and get a massage is tops on my list.

So my prefences are Bed/Hot Bath/Gas/Resturant within stumbling distance.
 
So my vote is for Paso, and the first weekend of April, even though that's Easter this year. Maybe there are enough of us that are childless/godless/have grown kids, that it would work out. Maybe less recreational traffic on the roads also, if everyone else is egg-hunting and eating ham.... The weather and scenery should be pretty fine right about then. The lodging Mark mentioned sounds fine to me, even the part about it being a rowdy-free zone. Most of us are all kinda old anyway..... If that weekend is bad for everyone, the weekend before would work for me also.
 
Easter not any kind of problem for me, but the child part of it is. Namely, my daughter is in competition show choir at her High School, which is a very big deal for her, hence for us, & that is right in the heart of the competition season. So, no can do mid-March-late April this year & probably next year too. After that she's off to college, so can do. Also otherwise committed (other bike & choir stuff) 1st 4 weekends in May.

Paso Robles Inn-the "cheap" rooms there on the weekend are $179 a night. I don't think so. Seems to me like the Melody Ranch is more our kind of place, quite reasonable, decent enough & much better located than the Motel 6. Course, anyone can stay wherever they want. The Melody is one story, so if we were to book several adjacent rooms we could congregate in the inner rooms, & likely not bother anybody, given the limited amount of noise most Guzzi "crowds" generate. The place has AC & a pool, & avg H/L temps for 1st week in June/last weekend in May should be about- 85/47. Seems to me that would be OK, esp since it's not very far to the coast if need be. However if the group wants to go late March-late April this year and/or next so be it, have fun without me, maybe we can do something else later in the year too.
 
Funny how this thread just kinda dropped dead. So, any of you guys gonna actually get it together somewhere, sometime in April (when I can't make it-that's why I dropped out of the conversation)?
 
The whole point of the "not a " Rally is the lack of planning. April, May, June, etc. is all the same to me. hang on while I check out the Melody Ranch.
 
Conteacher said:
The whole point of the "not a " Rally is the lack of planning. April, May, June, etc. is all the same to me. hang on while I check out the Melody Ranch.

Not exactly, speaking as a past not a rally "organizer." Eventually the time & place is planned so people know when & where to show up, but nothing else. Meaning no no rally fee, no T-shirts or pins, no vendors, no pre-planned rides, no bike show, no field events or anything else-except time & place. Just kinda looked like folks lost interest, so I was trying to get it going again, whether it takes place on a weekend that I can participate in or not. Any way, hope to see you at Pro Italia March 6 (other thread).
 
Looks like interest has waned. I have some weeks off the end of June, beginning of July. I am thinking about camping around Kernville for a couple days. I am going to research what is available. I will also check motels for Guzzi Bob. Let me know.
 
Oregon Guzzi National is last weekend in June, weekend before 4th of July-which I'm thinking would NOT be a good time to go to Kernville, or any other tourist driven area. I'd be game for anytime after the 4th, though... That time of year better be sure the A/C is working well, though at least it's close to the river & higher altitudes.
 
Spent Easter camping at Rivernook RV Campground in Kernville.
Not Motorcycle friendly. There is a campground on the town side of the river.
There is also the Kern Lodge, and the Riverview lodge walking distance from places to eat and perfectly trashy Soloon.
Check out this review from Yelp.com. Funny as hell.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kern-river-saloon-kernville

Apparently this is the place to be. Mind you I was already smashed by the time I got here, but still a bit nervous to be walking into this place. I mean, it was my first time in Kernville, I don't know what kinda hicks were running around this town.

To my pleasant surprise there was a good diverse crowd. There were these older bikers in the corner that were literally smashing beer bottles on the floor and getting boners for each other for some reason. Maybe they hadn't seen each other for a while. There were these young dudes with the sweetest fashionable handlebar moustaches. There were your regular trashy snatches running around. And best of all...THERE WAS SAILOR JERRY RUM! Once I saw it sitting there on the shelf, I screamed at the top of my lungs "FUCK YES! THEY HAVE THE JERRY! I AM DESTROYING SOMEONE'S LIFE TONIGHT!" Can you tell I was a bit excited? This is how excited I was:

Bartender: "Whut can I git you?"
Me (Drunker than shit): "Can you give me a Sailor Jerry and Rum?"
*Bartender walks away and comes back*
Bartender: Did you say "Sailor Jerry and Rum"?
Me: Yes, now make it snappy!
*Bartender stares at me*
Me: Shit! I meant Sailor Jerry and Coke!

At which point I proceeded to scream in excitement again. Don't worry, there was a band playing. I was so stoked about it that i got a few more people to become fans of the damn drink. I sold it like I was a car salesman. "Ya see, it's got this hint of cherry and it's so sweet. It goes down really smooth, NOW FUCKIN' DRINK IT!"

Back to the review...

The place was packed. Not packed wall to wall, but a good packed. Plenty of seats to go around, but still plenty of people to fuck around with. They had a shuffle board in there and a back area. I bought 3 drinks and got away with it for $10. How that happened, I'll never know. There's some other fun stuff that went down, but that's for my friends to know.

Either way, this is the place to go when you're in the area. Just make sure you get slammered to make it an even better night.
 
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