Departing at 5:30am on Saturday, I made a leisurely trip to South Carolina. Obviously not a timed ride as I stopped EVERYWHERE!!! All I had to do was arrive before the 6:00pm dinner bell was rung. No problem.
The rally headquarters for the start was the Marriott-Spartanburg. Centrally located in the downtown area, it was an easy find. Of course I had to find a place to park...
I rode in... seems that I found the place to park...NOT. Guess they intended the parking for rally riders!
After finding my way to the parking garage, I headed back to the lobby to see who was there and what was going on. The riders were all there. Many of the MTF, who can never pass up a dinner invite, were also milling around the hotel.
Tom Loudermilk, host of the Side Stand Up Motorcycle Radio Road Show had dropped by. He found himself in great company... David "Davo" Jones, all the way from Australia was a popular person!!!
After dinner, we all went our own ways, only to arrive back in the morning for the MTF breakfast. It was well attended and conversation was where ever you looked for it.
A few hours later... dinner. Can you say "FOOD". That was the goal for the day... eat...talk...east...talk....eat some more!
Monday was the reason for being there. 10:00am was the official starting time and the parking lot was organized for the start. The riders were all waiting for the word to go...
Jim Owen, one of the favorites to win the rally was very relaxed and ready to go. Would the third time be the charm?
The start was over before you knew it... a total of 4 minutes to get 100 bikes on their way!!!
Kevin Lechner was on his way, followed by Greg Rice, Richard Buber, Jim Bain, Davo Jones, Chuck Gittner, Art Garvin, Dave Nelson, and many more.It was a very interesting and exciting start. Check out the photo tab for more pictures of the event.
A trip well worth it... maybe next time I will be in it!!!
