Parry Sound - Sport Bike Rally... Did I Miss Something???

[CBRJOHN]

It has to be closer! Parry Sound is way too far away to draw serious crowds. Make the city within an hour plu/minus 15 and your good.

Its hard to support something so far away.

Too Far ?,, Do you have a Pedal Bike

I don't get it! Are all you people forgetting about all of the beutiful roads to run in the Parry Sound regon?

Yes, but the roads are always there. and without the Police Presence that comes with the SBR... Cops were Everywhere

If someone posts ride to hit ALL the twisties in Muskoka, I 'm willing to bet there would not be one complaint about the ride or the roads (maybe just some sore *****)

You couldn't possibly ride all the good Muskoka roads in a single day.. I did all the good roads I know and it was a 2200km 3 day ride.. Quite frankly, those of us who do ride there frequently dont post the rides because every time the rides have been publicly posted they become crashfests. A lot of the roads have very little margin for error.

Problem with that though is that for the riders who like to ride, there simply are not the roads, and if you do find a few nice ones they are too short, and in between them you sit and wait on traffic light after traffic light.

You know we are talking about the Muskoka region right ? There are roads that are 40km -85km without a single stop. Normally very little traffic. You obviously don't know the area.

There are great roads in the area,, But what does that have anything to do with the SBR

[redninja]

Just got back from the Rally and had an awesome time all weekend(Fri/ Sat/ Sun). It is what YOU make it. There are a ton of awesome twisty roads. We did about 1300 km round trip with a bunch of friends. So don't tell me there are no twisty roads up there, you just have to go find them. As for Police presence, seen only 2 cop cars and that was in town only, nothing on the twisties anywhere.Will be back next year for sure. When you come up next year, look us up and we'll show you the ROADS.

[geller]

As for Police presence, seen only 2 cop cars and that was in town only, nothing on the twisties anywhere.

I must have been really lucky too, because the only cops I saw were on the 400 on Friday on the way into town then the escort leading the Thunder Run. Did anyone get pinched this weekend? (chime in).

[Triple]

I also had an awesome time on Saturday, apart from hitting a wall of rain and hail from a passing storm near Barrie! I put over 900 km on my Tiger (riding almost 9.5 hours with only two brief rest/gas stops), and explored some of the nicest backroads and twisties in the area. I was having such a blast, I forgot to eat!

I didn't even bother pulling into Parry Sound!

I was fortunate to have met a friend from work part way up (riding a Victory Vegas Jackpot), as my riding partner didn't show up. grrrr

Its all about the ride, not the destination.

BTW, Southwood Road is a little over-rated, and over-patrolled by OPP.

[thumpit]

You know we are talking about the Muskoka region right ? There are roads that are 40km -85km without a single stop. Normally very little traffic. You obviously don't know the area.

I would suggest you read my post again and see that it was in reference to the quote which i included.

But that's ok, I make mistakes too, cheers..

[piranha]

people replying here keep talking about the roads, twisties ect,, i'm not putting the roads down in fact i would love to go up there again and ride a good twistie. but my problem is if thay it what the sport bike rally is about it should be on the flyer. please remember i have never been there before, i do/did not know the area at all. i tryed to make the ride fun by taking highway 12 there..(only road i know well to get there). My problem is NOT with the roads but with the event its self.

You got to ride for 7 hours, how is that a bad day?

as far as riding for 7 hours... if i had any problem with riding 7 hours i would have just drove my car..

I feel people are missing the point of this post. I posted this as a review, in the review thread. It is comming from a rider who loves riding more then almost anything. A rider who was very excited, not so much about the ride there .. but about being at the event. the flyer or the people running the event never said anything about camping. I never seen the partying and having a blast others are talking about (if i had i might still be up there passed out somewhere in a ditch). for me it just seemed the rally NOT the ride was just a massive disappointment.

[WoBblyCaT]

I just got back from the SBR too and had a great time! It was my first time there. It's no Port Dover and it's no Ride for Sight. What exactly were you expecting?

Mind you, at first I was a bit disappointed like the OP but then I got to ride with a friend I haven't seen since last year, met a bunch of new people, camped with friends for 2 nights, got to ride some new roads (didn't see one cop), particpated in the Thunder Run, had thousands of people smile and wave at me (yes I know they were waving at me and not someone else! ) met the original owner of my bike, found out it has a custom Hindle Ti header that was used by Michael Taylor, and had deep fried cheesecake. No tickets, no crashes, no food poisoning. Met a bunch of new people. A successful weekend if you ask me!

I got the opportunity to speak with Tozer who I think was the main organizer. He told me the origins of the SBR was that a few friends got together and spent the weekend in Parry Sound, then invited more friends the next year. And so on and so on. With that perspective in mind, I'm pretty sure the spirit of the original "organizers" lived on in the group of people I camped with and the new people I met.

And for those that say it should be closer to Toronto ... why? It's not the Toronto Sportbike Rally. If that's what you want, plan it yourself. No one said you had to go to Parry Sound.

[rocketrc51]

Awesome time as always. Lots of twisties riding with friends all weekend. There were lots of events throughout the weekend. IF you registered or asked about it (while you were there), then you would have been given the schedule and probably had a good time. No offense, but ya you missed it. I have gone up every year for the last few years and it's always a really good time, which is why I come back. There are lots of people to meet and make it what you can. YOU decide.

[WoBblyCaT]

Sorry, I may have sounded a bit harsh in my reply. I think if you spent more time meeting and speaking to other people you would've had a much better time. In fact one of the new roads I took was recommended by someone I never met. We were both just looking at the map on the wall.

Also next time bring a detailed map of the area -- tonnes of twisties! Camp overnight at Foley campgrounds and you're guaranteed to make new friends! Eat at a local restaurant and say hi to someone who has a helmet at the next table and you'll make new friends. Get the idea now?

[Toz]

Just a quick correction tonight as im just unloading the whole family from the Rally .
I am NOT the originator of the Rally Wobly ,That was MIKE MALONEY and his ridding buddies 27 years ago.
I think I was talking about how my friends and I started comming to the Rally and how our group has grown with the Rally.
By no means am I the person in charge,,, just the ugly face that is not shy of a mic lololo.
There are posts that I would like to comment on in this thread but I need to wash my stinking feet . Ridding boots need a good air out or is it just my feet ????
Be back tommorow .
Cheers Toz
EDIT-- I just reread what you posted Wobly and I got it wrong ,Ok im titred .
Where were you camping at Folley close to us???

[Mark Duc]

OK - So I left kind of late, as this was really last minute. I rode on my own until the gas station on the 400 way past Moonstone. Met a group of guys that were heading to Parry Sound. Dude on R1 runs outta gas just before the Canadian Tire exit. We head to the CT gas bar. A random guy offers to lend us a gas can, and then the cashier at the gas bar lends one of the guys her mini-van to take the gas back. This totally blew me away(never seen this in the Tdot).
Anyway, we get gassed up, make it to the vendor area. Not that exciting, so we head to the landing strip to see the radar runs. Ended up leaving around 5 and headed home. I am not sure if the Collingwood crew are on this board. To Dave, Roman, and Doug, it was cool meeting you guys.
The long and short of it is, This is the sport bike rally. Not a bunch of Hardley Davidsons etc. Instead of complaining, organise something better.
Its tough to rally on a sport bike. Where do you tie the tent, the beer, etc.
I had an OK day. Will go again if the event runs.

[WoBblyCaT]

Where were you camping at Folley close to us???

We camped at Richmond Lake. That was my first and last time camping there. All the campers were great, but can't say the same about the people that run the place.

[RockerGuy]

I did not see one cop in sight while hitting the roads up there, plus I was going at it hard. Ask the guys I were riding with.

Saw a biker tapped his helmet on Southwood and did not see a cop in sight. Was kinda disappointing cuz I did the road a bit conservatively.

Oh yeh, here is my rough summarization in pictures:

http://gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=92386

[RetroGrouch]

I've only gone to the 2000 Rally, guess it was one of the last good ones. Had a lot of fun. Did the radar run, met a couple of friends, did Thunderun, hung out at the Dyno truck and rowdy campsite and had a blast riding home on all the roads. No way I'll go to it now from all these reviews.

[zooropa_chris]

I had a great time. Took all the goods roads on the way up there on Friday (didn't slab it up the 400). Sat there were 6 of us that did the Poker Run and hit a lot of excellent twisties. Sunday we started off with 3 hours of twisties before breakfast and then took more twisties on the way home again. I couldn't care less if there were any vendors or booths or anything. I can go to a bike show in the winter if I want to look at the booths. It is summer and the sun is shining, so the last place I want to be is walking around talking about riding. Just get on your bike already!!!!

I just laugh at the people who rode the 400 all the way up there thinking this was a big poserfest when it is really just for people who want to ride.

[~/\L! G~]

Well I guess it is what you make it.
We rode about 3 hours from Barrie taking every back road possible to stay off the highway. Hung out for about an hour, ran into some friends I had not seen in a while then took another 3 + hours riding a different way home.
If someone posts ride to hit ALL the twisties in Muskoka, I 'm willing to bet there would not be one complaint about the ride or the roads (maybe just some sore *****)

To answer your question regarding if you missed something.
Yes

too bad i missed out on your group DAve...Our group also took some great roads up!

Felt sorry for the dude who blew his tire and rad...it was a mess...i took pictures..but pressed the reviewbutton and it said "NO MEMORY CARD" ... I'm an expert photographer, remind me to take pics @ ur wedding anyone!

Also, i remember leaving Parry Sound and a bunch of bikini babes holdin signs saying "honk if you like bikini babes" and "bike/car wash by bikini babes" or something...AND i was the only 1 honking....lucky i didn't crash...lol...i really needed that bikini bike wash!!

rally was different...will stay longer and explore the events more!

[topendz]

It has to be closer! Parry Sound is way too far away to draw serious crowds. Make the city within an hour plu/minus 15 and your good.

Its hard to support something so far away.

Some of the best roads 2 hours out of the city are in the Muskokas...most of the reason it was so successful for years was its wonderful location. This is not meant to be a bike show, Timmies meet, Torque thrust nationals, bikini contest tacky show. It's meant to be a place where enthusiasts who like to ride can meet out of a big city from all over North America, ride some amazing roads, with some fun events to boot.

[zooropa_chris]

SBR at Yorkdale Mall!!! Poker Run will hit all the best on/off ramps! Slow races in the parking lot to replace the Radar Run! All the vendors will be there, so you can walk around all day and shop! Thunder Run will block traffic and upset TO like a Terrorist Tiger protest! No need to make a weekend of it, just drop by for 15 minute increments if you want! DON'T MISS IT!!!

It has to be closer! Parry Sound is way too far away to draw serious crowds. Make the city within an hour plu/minus 15 and your good.

Its hard to support something so far away.

[rev11]

I dont mind riding up there at all. My point was is that if you wish to draw a bigger crowd it needs to be closer and more of the tacky vendor stuff. To go to the SBR is an all day event just to get there. I like it but not all do. So please stop jumping down my throat.
Now what I would do is make the SBR in a small town just south of Barrie somehwere. That way you would attract the people who could only put in a half day ride for this rally. I think if yo udrew another 20% of riders this way and put all the tacky concessions guys in there than you increase the volume of people attending.

The thread was pointed at why it was a dissapointment. I was just giving my take on how to make it more commercial. I also think we need one big commercial meet such as the 13Th is to cruisers. This would make the smaller more riding oriented venues much more enjoyable.
I went to the SBR last year and it was ok. I would have went again but its easy for me as my cottage is only 45 mins away. I can go for a half day and be back in good order. Now lets face it, there isnt much to do there and is kinda boring. As well as how many times can you eat at DOn Cherry's with absolutely no bike parking. You need downtown venues with miles of eating places to entertain people.

Now thats just my opinion but if you guys would relax for two seconds and think about what I said. It makes sense. More accessiblity and more entertainment equals a larger venue.

[piranha]

I agree with rev11 200%... even having 1 spot for parking so you could at least cheak out the other bikes would have been nice.