I love to rally. I love motorcycles and the folks that ride them and the best place to find a lot of both is at a motorcycle rally. I attended my first organized event just about 25 years ago and I was immediately hooked.
Since then I have hosted or co-chaired over 100 events including working with Michael Friedle and Josh Asher to put on the largest gathering of BMW motorcycle enthusiasts ever held in North America along with 14 years as Rallymaster for the Minuteman 1000, a 24hr endurance rally held in New England.
Working with the GS Giants I was looking forward to putting on a rally we called Rock Lobster. Scheduled for August of 2020, Covid postponed it to 2021, then were had to cancel when it became clear due to forces outside of our control that we were not going to be able to provide what we advertised.
Thankfully our good friends at the BMW Riders Association invited us to come participate as “junior partners” in their annual Rally.
Held in Waynesville North Carolina we tagged the RA’s Game of Roads Rally as the Game of Trails. Giants being Giants resulted in many members coming together to run some big bike trials, field events and provide the fun and comradery the GS Giants are known for.
From the GS Giants website:
The GS Giants got their start in a western Pennsylvania forest, in 2011, where a bunch of riders who didn’t know each other rode in and became lifelong friends.
Since then, thanks to the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, the club has grown into the international force that it is today. Over 15,000 people around the world, collectively in social media platforms and our website, form one of the largest Adventure Motorcycle Communities.
From experienced veterans to newbs, on any type of adventure motorcycle, you are welcome here.
One early and very popular event was the Gypsy Tours. These were ride ins to events where the Giants built big bike trials tracks. The GS Giants tracks have become a staple of GS Giants events starting with the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America’s annual rallies to the Giants own Go Big annual rally, The BMW RA Rally, Ribfest and a host of other regional events.
With the RA Rally scheduled I decided to host a Gypsy tour of sorts or what I like to call a Rolling Rally. A Rolling rally is nothing more than a few suggested routes to appropriately spaced campgrounds along the way to a common destination, in this case the RA Rally.
I did my first Roller to the BMW MOA Rally in Johnson City, TN. Called the Big Johnson Tour we enjoyed twisty pavement and catered meals at established campgrounds. For this trip we had the benefit of the Mid-Atlantic Back Road Discovery Route (MABDR). This is a very scenic mostly dirt route that runs from PA to Damascus, VA.
Our tour started with a wonderful BBQ dinner served by Tracy Shannon Novacich. One of the founders of the GS Giants, Tracy put out a wonderful spread even though she was unable to join us on the ride. She did spare husband Matt who laid out a wicked fun ride to our first night destination; the Little Orleans Campground in Little Orleands, MD. It was a hot day and we appreciated that our first night on the road was at an improved campground as we all enjoyed some time in the pool, followed by dinner under a pavilion.
Day two and the weather is perfect. We started early and enjoyed close to 250 miles of back roads to our next destination, the Peaceful River Campground.
Main route distance: 247. Paved 166
Routes are designed so riders can “mix n match” depending on conditions, their mood and distance to destination. Never be a slave to a .GPX file.
The Peaceful River Campground is a hidden Gem along the MABDR. It’s more of a long term spot for trailer owners with some nice grassy spots along the river than a daily campground. This means it’s ideal for a mid-week stop as it’s very quiet. I don’t have the courage to try it (or the MABDR) on a weekend.
After another hot day a soak in the river was wonderful.
Day three was to be our most ambitious day of the tour. While there are plenty of places to camp along the MABDR for a tour one needs campgrounds that can accommodate a group and take reservations while being flexible in the total number of campers. In some places such as Little Orleans it’s easy as they have group camping while in a National Forest Service Campground that takes reservations the rules regarding number of tents and such are enforced.
Our destination for the day was the Little Oak Campground in The Cherokee National forest. After finishing the MABDR our route continued south on twisty pavement before diving into the forest. By design each night, after riding all day we would arrive to a campground that was a little more remote with a little less services than the previous location. Where on Monday we had all the amenities including a camp store by Wednesday it was forest and pit toilets. We also never had the same amount of campers each night, riders were encouraged to participate at their convenience and pleasure with the campground fees split equally.
Food each night was a freeze dried meal. I fondly remember stopping mid-afternoon for some fresh meat and veggies, perhaps some rice too. A few of us would get out our gear and cook up a meal to share with the group. Now we boil water, put in a pouch for a bit and presto a nice hot meal with close to zero clean up. Among the many benefits are it’s easier to be bear aware when your dirty dish is a foil pouch. The reduction in weight from the food itself to the cooking gear necessary to prepare it is welcome.
Thursday morning I was up before dawn. We posted up about 135 miles from the rally with a route that was twisty and paved. I drove my sprinter with GS Giant gear down the week prior and it was time to get set up. I left just before sunrise and was at the rally by late morning.