Magna Owners Of Texas

Hey guys, I'm gonna' throw a spitball and see if it sticks anywhere. I know it's a little early to be talking about 2016 around here but big fun stuff requires big fun planning. I wanted to throw this out there early and see if there's enough interest to justify the effort that would be required.

At MOOTMaG '15 in Arkansas a few weeks ago, several of us kicked around the idea of taking MOOT on a little field trip to Colorado to show you my home state and the amazing roads and sights available to those not scared or in need of an altitude adjustment. I'd love to show you guys around my old back yard!

The main goal of this post is to see whether we can get enough of us together to make a longer haul MOOTMaG like this feasible. We can work out the details later, but I've outlined some of the logistics below to give you an idea of what I'm thinking. This isn't a commitment, of course, If you check the yes box I'm not gonna' hold you to it, but at the same time I don't want to have 40 people say yes and then only three show up to the big show, so please consider your answer carefully.


First, there's the format, we could do it a couple ways. There's the old base-camp and ride within a certain radius within a half-day's reach format that has served us well the past few years. There's plenty to see that way as long as we pick a good spot to base, which may mean driving further into the state to get to the event. The other way I see is to do it rolling road show style where we do a multiple day loop with stops in different places each night. This would offer us much more flexibility and allow us to see more of the state than the base-camp would allow and also makes it possible for a shallower rally point which cuts transit time to and from the event, but it's not without its drawbacks, the key one being that it would be more difficult for people to join and leave the group on their own schedules. For the most part, we'd all need to be there for the start and be able to stay 'til the end. Exceptions are possible of course but it just adds drive time for those joining or leaving mid-trip. Taking everything we need for multiple stops is a bit of an issue as well but I may be able to arrange a chase/support vehicle or two which would carry luggage and supplies, and might even be able to deal with stricken machines (but we know that won't happen, that never happens! :lol: )

Next, should we allot more time for a trip like this? The past few years have been a Thursday-ish through Sunday-ish affair which works well for those within a day's reach. For some, particularly those in the far reaches of Houston-land (or Florida - looking at you, Hoot), just getting to CO may require two days or more depending on how you're getting there and where we end up basing the event. What we may want to do is a Sunday through Friday event schedule which would leave the weekend days for transit. That would also keep our pleasure rides out of weekend traffic, which can be a "thing to avoid" (R) on CO's mountain roads as they can get quite crowded on the weekends. I know a week or more of vacation is tough to come by these days, so if need be we can keep it to just a few days so people don't need to spend so much of their precious PTO.

Time of year is another consideration. MOOTMaG has traditionally been held in late May and early June, but the weather in CO makes this timeframe a little gritty, particularly for those who consider anything under 40 degrees unbearably cold. Snow is a very real possibility, especially up in the mountains! Freezing overnight temps are the norm well into June in some places. July into early September offers the best and most predictable weather and road conditions. I might suggest sometime in late August. It could be the perfect respite from the Texas heat!

Finally, should we open invites to non-MOOTsters? Other groups like national Honda clubs, V4 Musclebike board members, Dave's Dedicated Riders groups, MOOT members' friends and family, and others may be interested in coming along for the ride. More riders and more bikes generally equal more fun and can mean lower cost per person, but bigger groups can be harder to manage. Logistical and safety issues should be considered.

I have many more questions to consider but we can do that later. The above should give you an idea of what an event like this might look like and whether or not you'd want to participate. If we have enough interest to continue, I'll organize more discussion on the matter and we can shape this into something that I'm sure we'll all get plenty of kicks and grins from!

(http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr80/MOOT-Photos/V4_Jeff/IMG_3481.jpg) (http://s471.photobucket.com/user/MOOT-Photos/media/V4_Jeff/IMG_3481.jpg.html)

Jeff, three MOOT folks and a neighbor of mine spent a week touring Colorado in June 2009.  Spent two days pulling trailers to get there, with a stop in Canyon TX to ride Palo Duro Canyon one afternoon (about all it takes!).  Parked the trucks and trailers in a fenced locked facility in Alamosa.  Spent Monday night in Durango, Tuesday with my sister in Montrose, Wednesday in Steamboat Springs, Thursday  in Estes Park, Friday in Frisco (Jeff was riding a Valk, and they had a convention there), then back to Alamosa. Jim split from us in Montrose, rode to AZ to see his brother, then found us in Alamosa.  Did not rain on us until we loaded the bikes and left Alamosa going east, when the bottom fell out.  Water over the road in several places on the flat ground east of Alamosa.  Drove all the way home in one drive.  It was a great week!  Most tiring day was from Montrose to Steamboat, circuitous route past Black Canyon, over Blue Mesa Dam.  Very long day, but fun riding all the way.  Most boring ride was across the northern flat from Steamboat to pick up the Poudre River canyon down to Boulder.  Rode Loveland Pass three times!  Very little traffic (most takes the Eisenhower tunnel, except for trucks that are prohibited).  Would I do it again?  Probably.

Hey.. At least I got a mention!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Would love to do this (although it is a long shot - both logistically and reality)..
I have lots of friends in Colorado too... (Internet biker buddies like all of you folks)!

I will keep a watch and see how things progress...
Wifey is finally working a good job, so things are looking a little better on the home front..
We will need to buy a pulling vehicle and a trailer to make this happen, but that's on our list anyways..

You will let a Victory into the pack right??

Thanx for throwing the idea out there.. Wonder if we can do it just before Sturgis? Maybe some will go from this event to that?? What do you think?

That would be hard for me to do but I not opposed to it.

Would love to do this if I'm able.  How cool!

Lawrence, that's very close to what I'd envisioned for the rolling road trip type of event, though I think it might be better to stage the start/finish a bit more shallow to keep the transit miles down. I was thinking somewhere around Pueblo or Canyon City maybe. There are some fantastic roads in south-central Colorado in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range that I'd hate to miss!

If we go with the home base method, I was thinking maybe around Copper Mountain or Grand Lake, or maybe further south around Salida or Buena Vista. Those would give us access to some pretty amazing stuff in a day's reach and be far enough away from the heavily populated front range that heavy traffic shouldn't be a concern.

And yes, Loveland Pass is definitely on my list of roads to do. Actually, there are easily 5 or 6 and maybe more passes in that area that could pretty easily be done in a day, and Loveland might actually be the most boring of them (that's kinda like saying that the Blue Angels are the most boring aerial demonstration team, the bar's set pretty high).

Quote from: hootmon on July 05, 2015, 05:50:38 PM
Hey.. At least I got a mention!!! Woo Hoo!!!

You will let a Victory into the pack right??

Wonder if we can do it just before Sturgis? Maybe some will go from this event to that?? What do you think?

Hoot, a great deal of discussion in Arkansas was dedicated to the topic of "how do we get Hoot and Dobie to one of these things?" I'm sure nobody will mind you riding your loud heavy American show sled.  :lol: Shoot, I'll probably be on a Kawasaki...

Planning right around Sturgis is an interesting idea, but for those who would go to both, it means they'd have to blow even more vacation time and budget in one sitting. Then again, maybe that would be easier, especially considering the road miles to do MOOTMaG, then go home, then to Sturgis... Dunno, it's something to talk about. Honestly, I don't even know what time of year the Sturgis rally is held, I've never had much desire to go. Also, not sure if immediately after is the greatest time to plan a big ride. I know I don't want to ride that much after drinking heavily the week prior.  :shock: Yeah, I said that.  :lol:

Sounds like fun, I hope the schedule fits, and the Summer dates would be easier.  I guess I'd prefer July when there's a few more minutes of daylight. 

I would be interested in it but it would have to be later in june.  I am still in school, the first week of June i sour final exam week.

Quote from: v4_jeff on July 06, 2015, 05:36:17 PM

Quote from: hootmon on July 05, 2015, 05:50:38 PM

You will let a Victory into the pack right??

Wonder if we can do it just before Sturgis? Maybe some will go from this event to that?? What do you think?

Hoot,  I'm sure nobody will mind you riding your loud heavy American show sled.

Planning right around Sturgis is an interesting idea, but for those who would go to both, it means they'd have to blow even more vacation time and budget in one sitting. Then again, maybe that would be easier, especially considering the road miles to do MOOTMaG, then go home, then to Sturgis... Dunno, it's something to talk about. Honestly, I don't even know what time of year the Sturgis rally is held, I've never had much desire to go. Also, not sure if immediately after is the greatest time to plan a big ride. I know I don't want to ride that much after drinking heavily the week prior.  :shock: Yeah, I said that.  :lol:

Actually, it would be my wife on the Heavy American show sled (although it handles pretty nice and is pretty quick for being that heavy!)

IF it helps. Sturgis dates are: August 8th - 14th, 2016

Don't just plan around this for me.. Just a thought..

I'd like to make it more often.. It's been lean for us since I was laid off in 2009... Just starting to get things turned around now..
Someone suggested be flying out and borrowing a bike.. That's always another possibility..

Jeff I love the location idea.  I appreciate the home base method MOOT uses, the annual charity ride I do is a loop method.  Gets old fast.  That being said... a loop method with maybe 3 locations, 2 nights each location, sounds like a brilliant hybrid that I hope do someday leading the charity ride. :-)

I know school dates can be all over the place but I know they control my availability since I work at one.  Otherwise I would look forward to making it if my charity ride didn't conflict.  And that is in southern Utah/norther Aarizona and New Mexico so maybe I will just get 2 weeks straight of awesome riding in!!!!

Hop Along

Since this would be the first really long haul MOOT event to an area we have never tried before, I would like to recommend that it be kept as simple as possible and work off of a format that we have used for these events in the past i.e. central location as HQ rally point this first time.

My summer schedule packs in tight with work 30 days before school starts, so just in my case, I would need to be doing this around the middle of July to fit my schedule and the weather conditions.

With proper advanced planning, this could be a real bucket list adventure for our group. :cool:

Count me in.

Lawrence, has Colorado been almost 6 years ago?  Great, great trip.  I recall the storm as we headed home.  I also remember the deer that scared me and my Valk so bad neither of us could ride for about an hour, your sister's beautiful place, running down the great Curtis Hutson (ok, so he didn't know he was being chased and was pulling a trailer, but I still caught him after only 15 miles), the young Danish (?) woman solo biking across the state, Inzane in Frisco, Loveland Pass(es).  Wonderful memories.  Do you still see/ride with Bill?  If so, tell him I said hello.

Dave, I will do everything I can to make a Colorado trip in 2016.  Format of event is not really that important to me.  I would mention that CO can be very warm in July, and southwest CO plain hot in the lower elevations at that time of year.  Having a set date for the event at least a couple of months in advance would be most helpful.

Keep us posted.   

My vote was convince me. The more people I see saying yes the more convinced I am becoming. I hope that it can all be worked out timing is important I think July would work best for me.

Hoot

I'm going to pitch this again.

If you and the wife wanted to fly out to Colorado, I could bring an extra big bike for your use.

Quote from: Jerry G Turner on July 21, 2015, 02:45:06 PM
My vote was convince me. The more people I see saying yes the more convinced I am becoming.

Awesome, Jerry, I was hoping that would happen. You can always change your vote as you come more on board. Your yes vote may help to convince others to jump on the train with us!

Dave, I hear what you're saying about sticking to tried and true processes and reducing complexity. I agree, but I wanted to toss the other format out there for consideration. I think we could pull it off given my familiarity with the area, but plenty of fun can be had sticking to a more localized area. Just gives everyone more reason to go back to see other areas of the state!

It's sounding like mid July would be the best time for most. That's a bit on the early edge of predictable weather and road conditions but I think it would work. Again, this is all subject to revision as plans come together so don't sweat the details just yet.

Whatever you can make work. You're steering this ship next summer for Colorado.

Val and I are trying to work in a trip next year with our toy hauler. We want to park it in one location, spend a few days riding the good roads in the area, then move to another location and do it again. It would be nice if we could make it coincide with a MOOT event. We had a great time in Eureka Springs back in, what was it, 2004?

Sounds like a fun trip.  Indeed at least early June can be trouble up high.  Vail Pass June 5, 2008.
(http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b553/RevRyder/Frisco%2008/2161697990080494746fozEhD_fs_zpsdd7e4e8b.jpg)

Fortunately, we were reasonably prepared for everything except the black ice that closed the pass while we were up there taking pics.  DOH!
We were attending a COG Rally in Frisco.  This year we'll be heading to Helena, GA. Y'all would certainly be welcomed if you'd like to come along.


(http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b553/RevRyder/Frisco%2008/2090987230080494746xNMWux_fs_zpsbea7c68b.jpg)
(http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b553/RevRyder/Frisco%2008/2097961940080494746eLzEGT_fs_zps111dc331.jpg)

I haven't been logging into this forum in a while, but saw this post and read through it first.

I am *definitely* interested in a trip to Colorado and would love to meet up with MOOT folks again.

My Magna died on me after a trip to the Tail of the Dragon, so going on this trip would be subsequent to obtaining a new ride (something I've been saving up for since my Magna died) and finding the time (vacation / PTO) and $$$ to make this work.

So I'm voting that "I'd have to be convinced" for now and crossing my fingers.

-Snoopy

Quote from: snoopy on January 03, 2016, 06:42:00 PM
So I'm voting that "I'd have to be convinced" for now and crossing my fingers.

er, voting is closed.

-Snoopy

It's January 2016

Time to start kicking this can around again.

MOOTMaG 2016 Colorado or someplace else?

I'd love to see this happen.  Colorado has some tremendous riding!

Okay, guys. After taking your input and thinking a bit about the best way to arrange this MaG, here's what I propose:

The Format

Either the standard Thursday(ish) through Sunday format that we've been using for the last few years...

OR

Monday through Friday giving the weekend on both sides for transit to and from the event (recommended)


The Place

I suggest that we base out of the Frisco/Silver Thorne/Dillon area. That's one of the most inexpensive areas where we can find the type of lodging that we've gotten for the last few MaGs, and an area that I know very well and can organize a number of half and full day rides around. There are plenty of areas nearby with local sights, sounds, flavors, and experiences for all to sample either as a group or on their own. Shopping from antiques to outlet malls are abundant for those so inclined. At the junction of Interstate 70 and US Highway 24, it's also very easy to get in and out of.


The Time

I propose the last week of July (25-29) or the first week of August (1-5). This gives us the best chance of catching some great weather. All the paved passes and summits should be open, road conditions should be good, and minimal risk of encountering significant snow at higher elevations. For those wanting to loop this trip in with Sturgis, the later week would probably work best. The rally is a fairly easy 462 miles from this area.



I'm going to let you guys kick this around a bit and make suggestions if you have them, then probably in a week or so I'll post a final plan with an in/out poll. I'd like to start calling around for lodging at the beginning of February so it'd be nice to have a good idea of how many we'll have.

Let's change our altitude, Texans (and Floridians)!

Quote from: v4_jeff on January 13, 2016, 12:10:25 PM
OR

Monday through Friday giving the weekend on both sides for transit to and from the event (recommended)

This option makes sense for travel so ...

Quote from: v4_jeff on January 13, 2016, 12:10:25 PM
I propose the last week of July (25-29) or the first week of August (1-5).

I vote for that first week in August.

Throwing my hat in the ring... either time frame looks great.  Assuming I don't move back to Ohio by then.
Though I might want to bring my new DR650 instead, ride the dirt roads and trails, and catch up with y'all at the end of the day...
Hop Along

Who now has FOR SALE:   :-o
'73 CT90
2005 CRF230F plated and road legal

Well, my upcoming surgery has nixed this year for a trip for us. I go in on Tuesday the 22nd of March. They say 1-2 weeks in hospital after the procedure, and 3 months for full recovery, so that lets me out. Damn, really wanted to try to make this one. If it works out well, maybe try it again next year?

If I travel that far I was planning on staying for a more than three days, so I'm good with either the three day event or the M-F event.

At this point I'm open for either week, but I have the first week of August blocked out on my calendar.

Sorry. I just realized this was an old topic and that everything is set.

I'll lock the topic.

Info on MOOTMaG '16 can be found here (http://www.magnaownersoftexas.com/forums/index.php/topic,6063.0/)