As a BMW MOA member, I was looking for events in my area and saw a BMW club in Massachusetts having a Rally just 30 miles from where I live. I paid the $55 which included food and camping and on a random Thursday, packed up my gear and headed to Woodstock NH. The Rally took place during Laconia NH Bike Week but the bike week here is nearly entirely made up on exclusively Harley Davidson riders. There’s one non-HD for every 20 HDs and the BMW riders know to simply stay away and that’s fine with me. I like to sleep w/o the constant straight pipes rattling my tent.
I have zero respect for Harley Riders. Let’s make that entirely clear. I think the bikes look really cool but I see a class of rider that chooses not to wear protective gear, half-helmets, drive like hooligans, blast music and rev their engine, trailer / tow their bikes to events or to the HD dealership and only ride when they have to. These guys also don’t wave or acknowledge non HDs and some of their bikes even have a ‘parade mode’ to reduce overheating when the rider will inevitably be moving slowly in a parade of HD riders revving and showing off.
Anyway, I had a great time and there were a few group rides taking place. I opted for the longest ride of 220 miles. It was such a blast. I’m really amazed that I was able to keep up with the group and take on some of those twisty roads w/o going off the road. There were 2 turns that could have gone poorly had it not been for my safety course training and at-home practice.
Here are some photos:
And two videos: