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1st Annual "Springtime Fahrt in the Hills" for southern Ohio.

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
1st Annual "Springtime Fahrt in the Hills" for southern Ohio.

This April, we will be hosting the first annual "Fahrt in the Hills". The fahrting will start April 24, 25, and 26th. We have a small site dedicated to this little fahrting event hoping to prevent any confusion. We will be out in the Hocking Hills area (Logan, Ohio).

We have checked out the roads and set up the routes, but will go back out late next month to ensure there were no changes or issues. We hope the weather will be warm enough to have a great time and not too hot during the day. We should also not have to deal with any bugs yet.

If you have any questions, please email me: Cary@burgmanbrothers.com

The link for the rally is www.ohinkyscoots.com

We will be updating the site most every day, so check back often. We will be reaching out for some sponsors, so maybe we will have some great door prizes.
 
#4 ·
The first meeting will be Friday for the afternoon ride. We will have the first meet up Friday Evening after the first ride. Being our first time hosting, we don't want to try and do too much.
Myself and Sean will probably be heading out early Friday morning. I want to get the tent set up so I can leave my trailer at the camp site.
 
#6 ·
Its the hocking hills campground. I put the link on the webpage. I will probably reserve a group site tomorrow.
 
#7 ·
I have reserved a group camping spot. The site is G2, it is near the main road thru the camping area. The lot size says 8910sq/ft and allowed 20 people. If you wish to claim a spot please email me @ cary@burgmanseats.com. I don't guarantee the electiricity, but with some extension cords I am sure it can be worked out. I do have a larger tent as 1 or 2 others will be camping with me.

Since check in is not until 3pm, I may reserve a day early so we can avoid hauling a bunch of gear around on the afternoon ride.
 
#8 ·
If I camp I will bring my 5th wheel double towing. If I decide to ride then it will be a hotel.

I'm normally on call 24/7/365 so won't make any commitment yet. Usually they will let me know of flights nearly a week in advance so I don't make long range plans.
 
#9 ·
I suggest reserving the Baymont in now as you can cancel, I belive up to 3 days before the ride. There are not a lot of hotels in the area and they fill up fast.
 
#10 ·
FWIW Kimco was a nice sponsor for both rallies that our local scooter club held they even covered the price of either our lunch or banquet I don't remember which. I would advise containing them. Insurance companies are usually good sponsors. The hotel and/or campground that you plan on being homebase will usually comp you one or two rooms or campsites. Bike dealerships, banks, realtors, restaurants, I could go on and on. We even had a local Chinese scooter dealer and all bikes mechanic shop that even donated a scooter both years we had our rallies.
That's just a little food for thought. You can find a lot of help but it can also turn into a lot of work too.
Good luck with your ride event, I wish you a lot of success. I wish I could make it up there to join in on the fun.
 
#11 ·
I will be contacting some places for sponsorship. I thought it best to get our webpage up first so we can show some legitimacy. Now that the webpage is active, it's time to pursue some sponsors.

One thing I hope to convey throughout all of this is that we are hoping to put together a regular event. Not sure if we can handle a fall and spring, but at least an annual ride. We chose the name of the site as OHINKYScoots as we plan on moving the theme each time. However, it will be, but not limited to, in and around the Ohio, Indiana, & Kentucky areas. As was the Mid-Atlantic Rally, I do hope to build a relationship with some businesses so we can all benefit from it and make it memorable.

We are working on some tshirts for the ride. The details are sketchy at best, but we are getting there.
 
#15 ·
It is an all brands rally. They will need to be 200cc and up. A few years ago, Sean had mentioned hosting a ride, but things got in the way. So last fall I brought it up as I thought we were in a good spot to work on it together. Sean works every other weekend, so we lost 26 weekends before we started. The details fell into place and we are going to give it a shot.

There are 2 details I should mention as some things always seem to slip my mind.

1) We are going to limit the ride to about 40 bikes. This is our first time hosting and we do not want to be overwhelmed. We feel that the group size should max out at 20. Since we do not know who all will attend and who all could help with leading a group, it may be best to start slowly. Since we do not want to have 200 people show up, we will not be posting fliers. Based on the response from the other thread, we exceed 40 with no advertising.

2) There will be a $10 registration fee. If some sponsors donated cash, it will be different, but I am guessing most sponsors will donate items/services for door prizes. With any organized gathering, there are hidden expenses.
 
#16 ·
Cary "With any organized gathering, there are hidden expenses."

You hit the nail on the head with that statement. We had a patch and t-shirts made up but we also charged more than $10. We also had more lead time than you have left. But that's food for thought for next year. After doing two rallies I now have a lot more respect for those who organize group rides or rallies.
When we did our rallies we made sure that the ride leaders had communication with the sweepers and had them linked with one rider in the middle to extend the range. Also being linked by the middleman, if the group got split, (traffic lights or cars cutting in when not holding a tight enough group) the middleman can take over the lead for the remainder of the group until you catch up with rest of your group. I am in no way trying to tell you how to run your event, just passing along some things we learned.
 
#17 ·
Though I have not done dozens of group rides, we talked about the issues that occurred on them. The "easy to reach goals" are smaller groups and limited stops, especially congested areas. Those should not be a factor. We do not have the communication gear, so we will be purchasing some for ourselves. Hopefully some riders will have gear to assist with the ride. We have ridden without the communications and things went very well. However, if anyone breaks down I do not want them stranded in a strange place. in 2013, the maxi-scoots were in Kentucky. I happened to drift to the rear when Duster's front bearings went out. We happen to pass a dealer and they got him back on the road in an hour. We did not have communication with the group, but he was not stuck by himself.

We are working on a tshirt design. Not sure how fast this will proceed.
 
#19 ·
In 2013, the Maxi-Scoots were in Kentucky. I happened to drift to the rear when Duster's front bearings went out. We happen to pass a dealer and they got him back on the road in an hour. We did not have communication with the group, but he was not stuck by himself.
Thanks again to Cary for the Buddy Assist....& a good word
for the fellows at Tommy's Motorsports in Middleboro, Ky.,
for the quick fix-me-up at a very reasonable price. :p
 
#18 ·
Depending on how busy the printers are, usually they can get t-shirts done within 30 days. I doubt they are too busy this time of year. No matter how things go with your planned procedures the ride in southern Ohio after the long winter will make everything worthwhile.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I have to confess, I have been riding since 1972 with about two hundred thousand miles under the belt, but in all those years i have never went on a group ride. I am not sure how to do it! In fact, most of my riding (99.99 percent) has been solo.
Where I now live, on almost every Saturday during the summer months, groups of cruiser(mostly all Harley) bikes ride by my house. Invariably, they are riding closely packed together, sometimes two abreast with maybe ten feet between pairs of bikes. To be honest, that does not seem like fun and I would not want to do that. I am sure that is not the plan for our group, but if anyone can give me some advice on how to ride in a group, I would truly appreciate it! I wouldn't want to cause anyone else some stress over my lack of skill!
 
#21 ·
That is called riding parade style.... There are all kinds of videos with those kind of riders and their bikes crashing into each other because there is no where to go to avoid it when something happens. And that is NOT the way us scooter riders ride, though when at traffic lights & stop signs etc., they end up side by side.

Staggered formation is safest. That is; while riding on a single lane, every rider positions themselves to be on the opposite half of the lane from riders in front and behind. Often the lead rider is in the left half of the lane then the rider behind him/her is in the right half, next rider back on left, next on right etc.

Here are a couple links to better explain along with some commonly used group ride hand signals and group riding tips.
http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/Group_Ride.pdf
http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/riding/street/resources/groupriding.aspx

I don't remember where I saw it, but there were other good tips on group riding. But probably the most important is to ride your own ride. Don't feel pressured to stay with the group at traffic lights and stops. Normally there are ways for everybody to get back together as a group. For example the ride leader may find a place for the group to pull off to allow everybody to get regrouped or scheduled stopping points along the ride where all will meet for food, fuel etc. These sort of things should be discussed with the group prior to starting the ride.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Here's a video on safe riding in a group. Our local club requires all members to watch this before riding with the club. "Motorcycle Safety Foundation Guide To Group Riding"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erpkyD7SMfw
 
#23 ·
[quoteI have to confess, I have been riding since 1972 with about two hundred thousand miles under the belt, but in all those years i have never went on a group ride. I am not sure how to do it! In fact, most of my riding (99.99 percent) has been solo.][/quote]

I would not worry. We are not going to rush anyone. When we set up the routes, we will set up stop points to gather the groups back together. We want to be more casual in how we get there. I myself prefer a little space between me and the guy in front of me. Hopefully we can have a few with bluetooth communications so we can keep riding even though we are spread out.
 
#24 ·
[QUOTE=
Bakeisback;. We do not have the communication gear, so we will be purchasing some for ourselves. Hopefully some riders will have gear to assist with the ride.

Cary; The two of us have the Scalia Rider Headsets allowing communication between 6 Riders We will assist an any way possible.
 
#25 ·
There is one question I want to answer that has been asked a few times.

Question: "How do I reserve my bike for the rally and how do I pay?"
Answer: For now, send me an email saying you are committing to the rally. I do ask that you give me your full name as well as your screen name on BurgmanRiders and BurgmanUSA. Also, please let me know if you have a communication device. I will be purchasing a Uclear 200 soon. I know it can communicate with the other bluetooth devices and has single point distance of about 0.3 miles and several miles when linked up with others. Some of you I know from doing business with, but others I do not know outside of the post on the Burgman sites. Next weekend I will post a list of names that have sent emails confirming their attendance.

I am not taking any money at this time. I am getting a design together and would like to get any orders on shirts so they can be delivered at the ride. I found a local printer that can do this at a good price. As of now, the price would be $15 for the tshirt. I hope to have everything ready to post at the end of the week(end of the month at the latest). Shirt orders have to be in the first week of April to be ready in time. I will have more details later.
 
#26 ·
One thing I forgot to mention. If any of you are coming from the north, south, or west and for whatever reason did not want to arrive at Hocking Hills until Friday, I have room for a few at my house. Since I have the extra bathroom and a family room, there would be room for a couch, futon, and a few on the floor. I do have a twin inflatable matress. My Friday schedule is to leave the house about 7am, take the freeway out of town, especially since traffic will be going on. Stop for breakfast, then coast on down the road. At a casual pace, its about a 3 hour ride to Logan Ohio. Since I am camping, I need to arrive around 11am so I can erect the tent, etc... before the afternoon ride. For some the long morning ride or an extra night in the hotel could cause an issue.

Again, if you might want to this, please email me at Cary@burgmanseats.com
 
#27 · (Edited)
Hey all, Just giving an update on the routes. The route packs are assembled just need uploaded to the rally website with the corresponding detailed info. They'll have a pdf with detailed directions and several formats of files for gps importing as well as a separate file for the areas other main attractions should you wish to go exploring.

Friday's ride covers 72.9 miles starting from the parking lot by the Baymont Inn with the first stop at Rock House along rt.374. After that, 10 miles south down rt.374 we'll stop at cedar falls. Following, head south until 56 turning east then down rt 93 to rt 50. Head east on 50 turning north on rt. 677 to Lake hope Iron Furnace. From there heading north on rt. 278 to Destination at Rocky Outfitters.

Saturday's Ride is 176 mi. starting from the parking lot at Lake logan beach on lake logan road not far from the millstone bbq. From there we'll head east on lake logan road and head north on 664 then head east on rt.37. Next, head north from New Lexington on rt. 345 til rt. 22. Then up to southern Zanesville to rt 719 turning right on old river rd. to begin the ride on rt. 555. We'll stay on 555 until we get to Bartlett to turn left on rt 550 to stop at the Marathon station for refueling/bathroom break/quick snack.

From there we'll turn left from the station to get back on 555 south and continue on until we reach Rt. 50. Then, turn right and head west on 50 until we cross the hocking river then head north on rt. 144. Stay on 144 until we reach rt. 329 and turn right. Then left on 550 followed by a right about 1.5 miles later to continue north on 329. Next make a right on rt. 13 then a left on 78. Then a right on 216/93 into downtown logan to end in the parking lot by Baymont Inn.

FYI, it's good to note that many places within the hawking hills area still accept cash only so please bring enough cash to cover any expenses while out and about in the countryside.
 

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