A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST TWENTY TWO YEARS
By Bob Jones and Char
Char and I were talking about all the past rally experiences. Many memories came to mind and a lot of them have all run together. Char asked, “Can you name all the rallies?” I chuckled and told her that I doubted it. She walked away from me and I thought no more about it. In a few minutes she returned with a list of all twenty two, up till then. I was surprised at her diligence, though I should not be because I have always admired her ability to stick with a problem or concern. This was a concern. We talked about the rallies and started discussing our remembrances. In only seconds one of us would recall something and then we would laugh about the remembrance. So many outstanding memories have been created over those twenty two rally times. Both of us will always remember that AVA members have become closer than many family members. Maybe the reference to “family gatherings” began back then
In order to keep the listing fresh in mind I list it here, mostly as a convenience to myself as Char and I recall way back when.
1990 New Hampton, Iowa
1991Harrisburg, Virginia
1992Cody, Wyoming
1993Knoxville, Tennessee
1994Ruidoso, New Mexico
1995Americade, New York
1996Kalispell, Montana
1997Eau Claire, Wisconsin
1998Boone, North Carolina
1999Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
2000Elkins, West Virginia
2001Red River, New Mexico
2002Adirondack, New York
2003Cody, Wyoming ??
2004Ashville, North Carolina
2005Durango, Colorado (a change in leadership)
2006St. Ignace, Michigan
2007Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
2008Bowling Green, Kentucky
2009Santa Fe, New Mexico
2010Niagara Falls, New York
2011De Gray Lake, Arkansas
2012Kanab, Utah
2013Logan, Ohio
The first rally was attended by maybe 40 people, mostly from the Illinois, Wisconsin area. One surprise was a couple from Pennsylvaniathat had pulled their camper to the rally site and yet another fellow that came all the way from New Mexico. Everyone camped at the rally facility of the Davis Rally. Did we give out a Long Distance trophy? Do not remember.
By the next year all of us were ready to hit the road so we contacted a group of riders in Virginia and held the second AVA rally in conjunction with them. They were a regional chapter of the Yamaha Venture Touring Society. A very fond remembrance is winning almost every category of the awards they developed, even the 50/50. One of our local AVA riders built his own trailer, which was “humongous” and we talked him into transporting all the left over AVA T-shirts and patches back to Illinois. That trailer was really heavy but his 1300 was up to the task.
The Cody rally was a very big adventure for everyone because it was the first time we were in conjunction with Rider Magazine. The magazine sponsored rallies for several years. It provided the AVA with an advertising venue that was impossible to develop on our own. That was the rally at which our present leader, Duane Ash showed off his dancing skills for all to see during one of the mass gatherings. The entire audience had a super laugh as Duane gave all of us a lesson in having a wholesome fun time and laughing at himself. The Kawasaki “Let the Good Times Roll” team was present with their beautiful traveling truck and its demo team. We were so proud to be a part of a wonderful venue.
The Knoxville, Tennessee rally was a repeat association with Rider Magazine and the Kawasaki demo team and provided the AVA with new participants from the Southeastern region of the nation. We got so confused that the rally patches we developed even had the rally listed as # 3. It took one of our later to be recognized attendees as a perfect attendance member to all twenty two rallies, Charlie Boyer of Pennsylvania, to point out the gross error. He mentioned the error sometime during the rally. Rather than develop new patches we suggested folks write over the “3” and make it a “4”. Charlie showed us his revised patch the next rally and it looked pretty nice. Char and I never made the correction on our patches.
Ruidoso, New Mexico seemed a long way off when the AVA contacted the organizers of the Aspencade Rally and arranged to attend in September for our 5th International Rally. The AVA members won several awards as individuals and as the largest organization in attendance. During the rally the AVA held a group dinner celebration and I remember telling the group that the winner of the AVA Grand Prize drawing would have the pick of anything in the AVA inventory. I forgot that an expensive SuperBrace was part of the inventory. Yep, that’s what the winner asked for. One of the drawing prizes of the rally was a chino doll that was about 3 feet tall. AVA board member Glenn Kuffer won the drawing and promptly gave it away in order not to carry it all the way back to Illinois.
Americade proved to be a wonderful experience. Several AVA members had attended Americade in past years and shared a lot of information with us about how things worked. None of us were prepared for the 30,000 or so attendees. The Americade staff offered the AVA a wonderful set up area right next to the Kawasaki tent.
Kalispell, Montana was the last association we had with the very successful Rider Magazine rallies and it gave us an opportunity to meet an AVA member all the way from New Zealand. Martin Scott came to the United States at least three times to participate in the AVA rallies. It was always amazing that he and his wife would come all the way to the US and spend their entire time driving all over this wonderful country. It was amazing because they drove for a living in New Zealand. They owned a taxi company and spent all their working time driving. Martin showed me an Atlas he used on every visit. He had every road he had traveled highlighted with different markers for each visit. Martin saw many sites many US citizens have never seen.
For the rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin we teamed up with the Motorcycle Insurance organization. It was their first rally and proved to be less than spectacular. The AVA got to shine once again because we were by far the largest organization in attendance. After the weekend was over the AVA Board of Directors determined the organization was large enough and successful enough to host its own rally and did not need to continue asking the membership to pay another organization to direct a rally that we could do for ourselves, and probably do it better.
Boone, North Carolina was our first attempt at conducting our own rally. What a great time everyone had. That may have been the rally that had a 50/50 drawing won by a person that was down to just a few dollars to travel home. It was a great feeling seeing someone in need take the pot. We also experienced a food shortage during the final night dinner and award ceremony. A few folks got upset with that trick because they were short changed on the beef and mashed potatoes.
Mt.Rushmore andHill City,South Dakota offered the AVA a unique situation because the motel goers and the camping group were able to set up quarters on the same property. The awards evening meal was presented as two pretty nice size pigs roasted over a pit for a great many hours. The bones were pretty well cleaned by evening’s end. Many of us remember riding back to the rally site after a long day ride and being witness to a spectacular evening program of lights and patriotic music as we rounded the mountain and got to seeMt. Rushmore almost as bright as the sun. Hearts beat pretty fast and tears came to many eyes.
For the 2000 rally we headed east to West Virginia and so many mountain roads everyone pretty much got their fill. The state park offered superb accommodationsbut because of an over site the campers were located about 20 miles away. The campers had some challenging rides to and from the rally site and had to dodge a lot of deer during our stay.
We headed west to Red River, New Mexico in 2001 and encountered some difficulties for the camping segment of the members. An unfriendly camp owner of a pretty hilly facility just about got the best of several of our camper members and was maybe about ready to catch his lunch. Thank goodness cool heads prevailed. The rides and fine eats at the awards dinner almost made up for those inconveniences.
In 2002 we went to the Adirondack region of New York where a ski hill facility provided a lot of entertainment for the AVA. The area sports a great deal of nice riding roads with views of lakes, hills and valleys. Most everyone rode the lift cars for the spectacular views.
Cody, Wyoming became the home base for the next go around. We even tried to secure the same motel used eleven yeas before but a conflict prevented this. It would not have been large enough either. Everyone took advantage of the many sites of Wyoming and did a lot of riding in Yellowstone, watching a daily rodeo, and visiting the WildBillCodyMuseum.
In ’04 the rally was hosted in Asheville, North Carolina where many took advantage of the Skyline Drive, the BiltmoreMansion, and the famous Dragon’s Tail ride between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Durango, Colorado was the destination of 2005.There is something about the name that serves as a magnet to draw lots of cyclists to the area. The narrow gauge railroad that climbs the mountains into Telluride will always be a thrill. Many riders then do the same route the next day but on two wheels just to view the scenery again, and to do the curves. Everyone that attended that rally probably remembers the tremendous heat on the ride home after the festivities. If one was lucky enough to climb the mountains east out of Durangoit must be remembered how cold it got before starting down the eastern side. Every article of clothing was put on to climb the mountain then quickly shed most of it while descending the east side. A couple of riding days were begun at four o’clock a.m. to beat the heat of the next day.
St. Ignace, Michigan was our 2006 home base. The beauty of the area and the perfect weather made everyone feel welcome even though the rally attendees were housed in what seemed like a dozen sites. The rally was well coordinated and no one seemed to miss a beat. Everyone must have participated in about every event.
Rapid City,South Dakota was the next calling with an enthusiastic membership to celebrate the AVA rally in the West. By all reports everyone had a memorable time seeing the Presidents, Devil’s Tower, and a couple of wild west cowboy towns.
Bowling Green, Kentucky opened its arms to the AVA by offering an amusement park as the venue. Caves, games, bike shows, curvy rides, Abe Lincoln history, and the Corvette factory were all part of the package. Kentucky proved to be a wonderland to many that had not visited before.Too bad a Corvette was not the grand prize.
Bowling Green was the last rally Char and I attended on a regular basis. Now other members may pick up the banner and complete this listing.