Subject: 2004 Virginia Guzzi Rally Report
Author: Lannis
Date: Jul 9, 2004, 7:44 PM
Post ID: 1717130141
The 22nd Annual Virginia Moto Guzzi rally is one for the books for the
120 rally-goers who came, saw, and conquered the highways and byways of
the mountains of Virginia. The little town of Buena Vista is a 3.6
mile, 2000-foot drop from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Parkway
served as the on-ramp to the rally for many of those who rode in from
all over the East Coast and points beyond to meet, ride, talk, eat,
socialize, ride, talk, eat, and socialize some more with friends old and
new.
The Guzzi crew had the �back Forty� of Glen Maury Park to ourselves, and
we put the big pavilion to good use, as it became the center for
cooking, selling, buying, swapping, eating, and (for some) sleeping. It
made a good rain-fly for a few tents, because a drenching rain greeted
the later arrivals on Friday evening. (Yours truly managed to get his
tent and rain-fly up JUST before the rain started, and stayed nice and
dry all weekend.) It's a tribute to the attitude and willpower of Guzzi
enthusiasts to see the smiles on the faces of those who pulled up to the
site in their streaming rainsuits and steaming Guzzis after a ride of
many a hundred miles, happy to be at their destination and in the
company of their compatriots.
Not all were racing the rain to get the tents up; some had brought their
RVs, and some were staying in the small, bijou, down-home motels in the
town. The forecast might have kept a few away, and we knew that some of
our regulars that we missed were off at the National Rally in South
Dakota the same weekend, but overall the attendance was good. Not quite
the 150 of last year, when blue skies were predicted all weekend, but
many more than the 89 of 2002, when weather was really predicted to be
bad but turned out beautiful.
The Pennsylvania contingent did themselves proud, with 22 attendees,
compared to host Virginia's 38. Next came Maryland with 16 riders,
North Carolina and Ohio tied with 8, and with 6 all the way from
Michigan. Five found their way over the mountains from West Virginia,
while Delaware, Florida, and Tennessee were represented by 2 each, and
we had one rider each ride their Guzzis from Indiana, Georgia, and
Canada (Phil Tunbridge, 705 miles on a Quota), with one jetting in from
California to join his family at the rally. Some of the riders from far
off who had not ridden in Virginia before expressed high appreciation
for the quality of the ride experience.
Friday night, rallymasters Ron and Alice Komoroski served up a delicious
pot of chili, long in preparation but short in the devouring. Ron took
up his position at the end of the serving line in his role as High
Priest of the Haba�ero, spooning a fiery mixture (on request only) on
top of Alice's milder brew. Some can attest that one big level spoonful
of spice is about all a normal man would want.
Friday night was surprisingly quiet, considering, and the rain stopped
for good about 2 AM. For early risers, coffee was ready with the
sunshine and birds by 6 AM, and soon after, most everyone was up and
either cooking breakfast over the fire or patronizing one of the
breakfast nooks in town. By 9:00, the maps were out and pencils tracing
out potential routes as people grouped up to sample the mountain roads.
The riding enthusiasm of some was inspiring, like David Edwards from
Indiana, who rode 700 miles in on Friday, several hundred miles just
cruising on Saturday, and 700 miles back on Sunday on his
clip-on-equipped �87 LeMans.
Gary Cobb mapped out a nice ride for the group �.at one point, there was
a half-hour period where we saw NO other vehicles, not on our side nor
passing the other way. (Hint - VA 251 out of Lexington, then county
roads 611 and 612 to the south�) Virginia has some great riding, or has
that been mentioned before?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, club shirts were on sale. Joe Kenny had
his Guzzi metal artwork laid out on a table for sale - head guards, belt
buckles, other Guzzi widgetry, and custom work by request. Carl Lucci
from Winchester Motosports came down to spend the weekend, and filled up
his truck and trailer with new Guzzis for all to see and admire (and
buy, if you're so inclined). We really appreciate his enthusiasm for
the sport and the support he's shown. Speaking of enthusiasm, Emily
Banks was in from Moto Guzzi USA, having swapped her Centauro for a
Breva which looked like a nice ride.
Saturday evening came around with a catered meal of ricotta-stuffed
manicotti, grilled chicken, southern-style snap beans, fried apples, a
salad, rolls, and several kinds of desserts. When it comes to counting
up how many to plan for at dinner, Ron always figures �Better way too
many than just one too few� and so everyone had all they wanted.
After dinner, everyone rocked back on their benches for the presentation
of awards, recognitions, and door prizes. There was a long list of
donators of door prizes, and most rally-goers received one. A $270
50-50 pot was split, the crowd gave three big �Hip Hip HOORAYS� for Ron
and Alice, and the award-winners received their trophies (the list is
below at the end of the write-up). A couple of notes: Adam Mellor of
Philadelphia received �Youngest Guzzi Rider� award for the 4th year in a
row, but fear not; Alex Hickman and I both have younger sons of riding
age whom we are grooming and training to take away the title for next
year (means buying another Guzzi but hey�). At midnight, Doug Stone,
�Most Senior Rider�, whose odometer turned over 80 years in April,
tossed his bedroll up on a picnic table under the stars and went
straight off to sleep; it's great to have been riding so long that you
actually prefer the �Iron Butt Motel� to a room or tent!
Sunday morning found some of the crew up early cooking pancakes and
sausage, and pouring orange juice and coffee for breakfast for everyone;
the ladies get to sleep in if they like �cause this is a men-only
cooking affair. By 9:00 or so, tents are being struck, RVs taken off
the jacks, and good-byes are being said. One group of four riders from
Michigan (Sam Heath and Dave Fagar on Guzzis, Diane Reid on a Triumph,
and Eric Dean on the mint R60/2) were waved off and we hope to see them
again next year. Hope to see everyone and more, in fact, same weekend,
same place, in 2005. A good time and you can't beat the company!
Awards -
Long Distance Guzzi (Homme) - Larry Borgmann - 2000 Jackal - 749 miles
from west Tennessee.
Long Distance Guzzi (Femme) - Patricia Gilbert - 1978 Convert - 444
miles from Ohio
Long Distance 2-up Guzzi - John Henry/Jan Morgan - 2001 EV - 456 miles
from Ohio
Long Distance Open Make (Homme) - Danny Swartz - 1999 Honda SE - 440
miles,Darlington PA
Long Distance Open Make (Femme) - Diane Reid - Triumph Bonneville - 629
miles from Michigan
Long Distance 2-up Open - Tom Sharp - BMW - 250 miles from Maryland
Senior Rider - Doug Stone - Virginia - 2004 EV - 4/26/1924
Youngest Rider - Adam Mellor - Philadelphia PA - 1985 LeMans IV -
11/26/1983
Special Award - Eric Dean for riding a naked /2 vintage Beemer from
Detroit
Chuck Galbraith award for Best Loopframe - Phil Gower from West
Virginia, 1973 Eldorado
Oldest Guzzi - Ian Adkins, Georgia, 1969 Ambassador, ridden in 508
miles.
State Reps in attendance - Bill Sharp - Maryland, Jack Arnold - Ohio,
Bucky Bush - WVa
And here's an attempt at linking to some on-line photos. I have the
photos on my computer and on the Kodak "Ofoto" site, but don't know how
to open them up so you all can see. If you can paste this address into
your browser it may work. Any advice appreciated.
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=47533371206&page=1&sort_order=0