Now that we have a couple of snow days keeping us in and off our rides (except for Alpine Star, of course, who has attached skis to his Triumph), we can spend a few minutes hashing out some events for next year. Here's some thoughts of things we can do:
1.
International Motorcycle Show at the Javits center, January 21-23, 2011.
Triumph Motorcycles returns to the IMS after a long absence. NY is one of the four shows they'll be attending, and they'll be showing off a bunch of new and upgraded models, including the dirty-er Tiger and the squinty-er Speed Triple.
There's already been talk about people attending the show, and it seems like Friday is a popular day. I suggest we set up a couple of meet times / places for the show itself, for those of you who want to wander with company, and then setup a dinner at a restaurant nearby for after the show. The show is open until 9PM on Friday, so we should be able to accommodate those who need to come after work.
Unless someone else volunteers, I'm happy to coordinate both.
2.
Spring Metro Triumph Rider dinner - location
TBD.
Last year we talked about putting together a dinner at a bike-friendly restaurant in the NYC metropolitan area on a Wednesday or Thursday night, so that we could have time to sit down for a nice dinner and conversation. We never got around to it, so maybe we can put a circle around a date now and make it happen. It will probably be in late March or early April to allow for better riding temps.
I had previously thrown out
Pal's Cabin in West Orange, because they have a bunch of private rooms, a crapload of parking, and a "vintage" feel to the place in general. It's fairly easy to get to from NYC, but it might be a trip for the LI peeps.
Does anyone know of a good place with parking in Hoboken or similar? Obviously NYC would be the most central but it is also a hassle on most weekdays. We could always take over the
Ear Inn on a Wednesday night or Thursday night, given that most bikers show on Tuesday… we could probably rope off the back room if we have enough people participate.
3.
Triumph Track Day - date, location, and school
TBD
Some of you are probably track veterans, but I am betting a large portion of the riders on this forum (especially the classic twin riders) haven't had the opportunity to ride on a track yet. Regardless of whether you have racing aspirations, riding your bike on a track is a great way to improve your skills and explore the limits of your riding ability in a controlled environment (no cars, cops, crap on the road, etc.)
We probably won't get a big enough group to rent a track on our own- it really doesn't make economic sense until you're up in the 40+ person range. However, if we get 5-15 people interested, we could probably "crash" an existing track day business and make up most or all of a single group (typically, track days split up each hour into three sessions for different skill levels or groups).
I personally have never done a track day on the East coast- I've only had experience with track schools (CSS and CLASS) and shop track days on the West coast (Willow Springs and Sears, aka Infineon Raceway). However, I am on a couple of lists with havey track day riders, and I've heard decent things about
Sportbike Track Time in terms of being responsibly run and friendly to all bike makes and skill levels. However, if any of you have any more direct experience and suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Many tracks are quite a distance, but we have a few in the vicinity (South Jersey and the Poconos) that could be long day trips vs. an overnight. Anyone interested? I remember the cost for a track day being around $150, but that was a few years back in California.
4.
Bennington Triumph Bash, June 3-5, 2011, Bennington, VT
Dan GSR and I went to this last year and had a great time. It's a rally that came together from a group of TriumphRAT forum friends a few years back, and although it's grown from there, it still has a very casual feel. The rally is based out of Bennington but they run several rides, aimed at different speed preferences, throughout the southern Vermont and upstate NYC area.
Last year, there were about 65 bikes there- the vast majority were Triumphs, but there were a smattering of other bikes / brands. Everyone was pretty cool, and I don't recall any major incidents on any of the three days of riding and socializing.
All of the information you need is on the website- play close attention to the lodging, there's both motels and camping available, but people have had really uneven experiences with both.
It can also be a fun ride to and from the metro NYC area- I'm actually going a day early (will arrive on Thursday, June 2) so I plan to make it a full four days of great riding!
5.
RATs in the Cats overnight trip - date and location
TBD
For those of you who can't carve out an entire long weekend for the Bennington Triumph Bash, we could do a mini version where we meet in New Paltz on a Saturday morning, ride a few hundred miles through the Catskills, stay somewhere cheap in upstate New York, and ride back through the Catskills the next day toward home.
The Catskills have some astounding riding, and the big problem (for me) is the fact that I have to ride 2 hours to get to the best of it, automatically halving my fun quotient for a day ride. A weekend overnight would let us get some great riding in without having to watch the clock too closely.
I know we have some Catskills area riders (Sal Paradise, I'm looking at you) who could probably suggest some great 150-250 mile routes, along with restaurants for lunch and dinner and possible stayover spots. If anyone's interested, post up and we can start looking at possible dates.
Anyone else have any ideas for events we should plan for?
My little ones B'day falls smack dab in the middle. This one would be a tough sell with mama...
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