New tours for 2017

Does anyone know of  tours for 2017 in the Michigan area
Thanks Retired

What do you mean by "tours"?

Some call them rallys

OK then.  Here's one in Minocqua WI with a great bunch of people next September if you don't mind a little riding to get there.  

Minocqua WI Maxi-Scoots Meet Up

The nice folks over at the Maxi-Scoots forum are having a Meet-up/rally across the lake in northern Wisconsin sometime in September of 2017.

Then there'll be Aerostich's Very Boring Rally in Duluth in August 2018. Beside being a nice rally it's a great excuse to ride to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi --ya doncha know.

Tim

We need something like that this side of the pond...

steve_h80 wrote:

We need something like that this side of the pond...

Um, what about the legendary Elefanteffen, the Dragon Rally in Wales, or the Stella Alpina? Then, of course, there is the Isle of Wight --but your scoot just might mysteriously fall over and get all the tupperware broken...

'Scootering' magazine has masses of rallies and rideouts listed every month - more in summer than winter, of course.

My other club, the X9 Owners Club, has a regular springtime weekend away and a few rideouts although fewer than in times past as members have moved on or joined other clubs!

The X9OC is all-embracing now for all makes of maxiscooter.

ModernVespa is an on line club with a very active UK section.

MaxiMuppets have rideouts, especially up North. They organized a rideout to France earlier this year to visit a military cemetery or two. It's not the first time they've been over.

As has just been said, the IOW Rally is famous.

You already have a Silver Wing, a computer or tablet to research destinations, book hotels, ferries, etc, the dates you've chosen to off to go somewhere, a current passport and documents, cash and cards in your wallet. If you're not one of those who can't ride anywhere unless they're part of a large group, as long you're your maxi is serviceable and has enough tread on the tyres for a tour there's nothing else to to do. (Apart from if you're in the U.K. hoping post Brexit exchange rates will improve in 2017).

Visited some of the UK in 1994 & 1997.  Blackpool, Lake District, Chester and Dover in 1994 and NI, Brighton, Leeds and Windsor in 1997.  And lodged in London for a week at Sussex Gardens (near the hospital).  Both great visits and all locations would make great areas for rallies.  Imagine a rally with The Mall included with a stop at Buckingham Palace.  How cool might that be?  A rally mapped out to visit some of the great castles in that part of the world would be quite interesting as well.

OK ... now back to "my" real world ... was fun imagining those trips if on a Silverwing. Taking in the Blackpool Dance Festival at Winter Gardens on a scooter has something strange/different about it.
Mike

sonuvabug wrote:

What do you mean by "tours"?

Get a dictionary.

Retired wrote:

Some call them rallys

And, some call 'em gatherings, meetings, get-to-gethers, confabs, festivals, round-ups, conventions... et. al.

So, do you know or not?

To me a rally consists of bike, tent, field, lots of people, alcohol, more alcohol, lousy food and live music.
A tour misses out the live music, lousy food and possibly the tent in field bit but includes a lot more travelling, less people (about 10 seems right) and going to interesting places.
Alcohol still features at the end of each days ride :-)

10 bikes on a tour! I've been on a few group tours in the past and within a couple of days there's the inevitable cliques emerging, lot's of bitching amongst riders or wives about starting within a day or so about who's bagged the best hotel rooms. Then it's who isn't paying their way at meals, who's reluctant to get their round of beers in etc. There'll be complaints about the selfish ones serving themselves with more then their fair share of food brought to tables, or from the ones that don't like 'foreign food'.

There's always one or two that aren't ready to leave the next day at the allotted time, the ones that have to regularly stop for a nicotine fix, the scroungers that think you're their mobile pharmacy, ATM machine, snack bar, tool kit, etc. The one's that say they aren't hungry at a meal stop, but will devour anything you've left on your plate in a heartbeat. Others who will happily play follow the leader because they're clueless with maps or route cards, too mean to buy a sat nav, but will criticise anyone they blindly follow if they take a wrong turn.

On camp or rally sites, there'll be someone from your group unzipping their tent flap in the middle of the night to stumble outside to take a long noisy piss outside your tent. Or loudly snoring or farting all night, stumbling over your tent guy lines in the wee small hours on the way to the toilet block.

I'm far happier touring on my own, or occasionally with Mrs M as pillion.

Tom G wrote:

sonuvabug wrote:

What do you mean by "tours"?

Get a dictionary.

I guess you didn't read my response regarding the Minocqua Meet-up.

I have ridden with the same couple of guys for years and we have always stuck with three people - means that when there is a disagreement on start times, itinery etc we take a vote - simple majority wins - has worked for a trip to Morroco and the Stella as well as several camping weekends, guess it might work as well with a larger 'odd number' but happy to go with it the way it is.

Hmm - got to work out how to 'ruggedise' the swing for the next Stella.

Steve_h80, you hit the nail on the head with that description of a rally! (mind you Meldrew's has a ring of truth too.)

Having ridden more than 1.5 million miles over 61 year period---I prefer riding alone, that way I make all the decision.I will not ride in any group=too dangerous. I have had 2 friends I could ride with, one died, the other sold his bike. We started in HD 125 days....awhile back.


Bike rallys----20-30 minutes at one usually enough for me-----awhile back when everybody rode their bike to gathering=ok. Then trailer bikers came in. I have lost interest

A long ago Eureka Springs, when everybody rode HELIX was fine---I rode there a couple of years ago and saw all of the trailers and scooters with training wheels....and kept on going.

Sturgis and Daytona=nice to see once and listen to all of the noise. But once is enough.

Worthwhile---Elephant Rally as long as you ride----Stella Alpina in Italy, nice if you want a pin you have to ride up the mountain, in dirt/mud/rocks---no trailer bikers, even trails type bikes seem to be ridden there. Nice hotels and good food in town.

Last time we went to the stella we went all the way up to the top of the col - by the time we got down the van had sold out of memorabilia -
we had to dig snow and haul the XT600s up the last bit but it was worth it for the views - the only people to make it up there during the several hours we were there were 3 Austrians who had done the same thing with a BMW GS (in keeping with the rally origins)
We played cricket with them in the snow - which was a laugh since they had no idea what cricket was, on a more sober note we built a small cairn under which was the ashes of my friend's friend, since he wanted to make the rally.
Didn't bother with the hotel as we had tents - found a spot and lit a bonfire, pasta and whiskey and chats - all good.