Love and hate and love again at the 2013 Owner's Event...

[daveinva]

Just got back today from Maggie Valley... whew, what a week(end)!

What I loved:

1. Just seeing all those Spyders in one place! After two years of ownership and only a handful of chances to ride with other Spyder owners, simply being in a place where everywhere I turned I saw a Spyder... that was something special. I finally didn't feel alone in my purchase/hobby/addiction.

2. A first-class event. BRP really pulled out all the stops, the GF and I were very impressed. Sure, it may have all been a marketing ploy, but what a ploy! (I'll have a lot more in another thread-- look for the one about my BRP focus group).

3. Great people. The riders, the BRP crew, all the people of Maggie Valley-- all super nice.

4. The location. My first chance to visit the Smokies since I was a wee little kid; it won't be my last. Love love LOVED the area-- beautiful scenery, better riding.

5. The food was darn good. Never woulda thunk it from the looks of J. Arthur's, but the food, especially that dinner, was a crazy surprise.

6. The ST. The GF and I each took an ST out for a demo ride. VERY nice machine. Mine appeared to be setup perfectly-- no stability or tracking issues, rode on rails. I was quite impressed. Only complaint is that it's a bit TOO much RT for my tastes: the ride and engine are so docile, I missed the "angry demon" my RS can be. Plus, I still can't get used to the wire throttle, it lacks that progressive analog feel I enjoy so much on my RS.

That said, I can easily see myself buying an ST some day, unless BRP comes out with something even neater...

What I hated:

7. Group rides. This was my first bike rally, and both the GF and I were looking forward to doing some group rides. We quickly realized, however, that group riding wasn't for us. I'm just too... spirited a rider to coop myself up behind a creeping chain of riders. We ended up doing the falls ride on Thursday morning at our own pace-- we started *after* the group ride and still managed to *finish before* the group ride. :yikes: Ditto the Dragon on Friday morning-- we both rode out at 6 am Friday to beat the rush to the Dragon, and ended up having the road ENTIRELY to ourselves: no traffic ahead or behind on one pass north, one pass south on 129. :yes: By the time we were leaving, the Friday Dragon group was just arriving. Again, to those who love riding with other people, more power to you, but we learned that big groups isn't our thing.

8. Inconsiderate riders. 99.9% of the Spyder (and all motorcycle) riders we encountered were ABSOLUTELY, INCREDIBLY, SUPER wonderful. nojoke I wish I could meet each and every one of them and shake their hand.


The handful of Spyder riders who weren't so nice, alas... I don't know what their deal was. Going 10 mph under the speed limit on the Blue Ridge Parkway but failing to use the overlooks to allow traffic to pass. :banghead: Or, tailgating within a *foot* of my rear bumper on the falls ride as we were all stuck in traffic, as if said tailgating was going to get you to your destination any faster.

9. Not fitting in. I shouldn't have been surprised, yet I still was: being under 40, I'm very, very, VERY young for a Spyder rider. My GF and I were easily among the youngest riders at the rally, often by decades. While everyone there was very nice-- everyone was extremely welcoming-- we simply couldn't help but feel out of place. I think it would be a nice deal for the next Owner's Event to have an option for a "youth ride" for folks under 40 or even 45 just to get to know the younger owners out there. As it was, we just didn't have a lot in common with most of the folks we met, other than our love for Spyders.

10. The monsoon on Thursday. Thankfully, we didn't get caught out riding in it, we had JUST gotten done by the time it poured down, but the only blemish on an otherwise perfect-weather weekend.

11. IT WAS TOO SHORT! Another day of riding would have been perfect. But I can see why BRP didn't spend more money, heh.

12. We couldn't make it to Lamont's barbecue. We had friends coming on Friday to stay with us at our rented house, so we spent Saturday and Sunday visiting Dollywood and the Biltmore, respectively. No more riding after Friday, sadly.

That said, to end on a high note...

What I loved:

13. I got to meet Lamont! Just for a sec, I caught him after the rain began on Thursday at the gatehouse. Lamont, I apologize for forgetting the ONE THING I really want to say to you: THANK YOU for such an awesome site in Spyderlovers, and all your hard work here. Spyderlovers is *literally* the reason I own a Spyder; without this site, I never would have learned enough to test ride one, and well, the rest is history.

13a. Oh, I also got to meet Teddy, too

Anyway... it was great meeting everyone, thank you again for a wonderful time. I hope I can make another one of these real soon!!! :2thumbs:

All my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96568519@N06/sets/72157634186480758/

 

[lmfarmer94]

Great write up! Yeah my girlfriend and I were right there with you on being some of the youngest there. We met another couple Friday, Scott and Lisa, that was just but older than both of us. But even though we are 37 and 36, everyone made us feel like we fit in and age is only a number. We sat on the porch at our hotel, Applecover Inn, which was a really nice cozy place, and we talked with another really nice couple as well, Dan and Faye. It's great to meet new friends. Too bad you missed Lamont's barbecue, it was a lot of fun as well.

Marty

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I have to agree with you on most of your points but I'm sad that you feel like you didn't fit in due to your lack of age. Sometimes you can have very interesting conversations and can learn a lot from people you have nothing in common with.

 

[daveinva]

I have to agree with you on most of your points but I'm sad that you feel like you didn't fit in due to your lack of age. Sometimes you can have very interesting conversations and can learn a lot from people you have nothing in common with.

Oh, we did! We met plenty of great people, and made some new friends.

It's just a fact that we skewed the demographic waaaay south, that's all, and couldn't help but feel like odd ducks out.

 

[Bob Denman]

:2thumbs:
Age :shocked: is a fuuny thing... I've met folks riding Spyders that are old enough to be my Mom and Dad; they still acted like kids out on their first date when you get them talking about riding their Spyders. hyea:
Don't let your lack of years be an issue; there'll probably come a day when you won't be so glad to have accumulated them...

 

[NoJive]

That's one thing I noticed as well. I'm 39, and saw very, very few people near my age. Not that it was a bad thing, as I met some very nice people, just an observation. I went on the group ride on Friday morning to the Dragon, and had a very good time. It was my first group ride, and I was a tad nervous, but it went very well. One neat thing was the guy on the Ducati that would ride ahead, and hold intersections for us. Once we all got through, he would speed up ahead again. I heard the group rides on Thursday were a bit of a mess, but mine went great.

 

[NancysToy]

I think there are more young riders out there than these events would indicate. Let's face it, we retired old fossils have more time on our hands. I enjoy meeting and talking with the younger riders, and getting their perspectives, though. Don't let the white hair scare you off, you fit in as well as anyone. We may not listen to the same music, but we ride the same ride and share the same passion.

 

[Ronbo]

Likes and Dislikes at Maggie

On skewing the edge...
I will be 70 in august. I very much dislike being this old, but I really like being here. I really admire and am inspired by the people on this forum that are up and moving, and riding, and talking and lifting each other up while enjoying these wonderful spyders.

Enjoy these days that you are the youngest in the group, they will be gone in a blink, and you will join the older demographic.

 

[kawakii]

We have felt the same way when we attended Spyder Rally's only being 20 we always seem to be the youngest around but everyone we met was so welcoming, and made us feel part of the group. We just felt a little out of place being so young...won't stop us from going though. We also have learned from attending rally's we tend to like to ride by ourselves or in very small groups 1-2 other people besides us.

 

[wa3wheels]

Save your post and review in 20 years !

Just got back today from Maggie Valley... whew, what a week(end)!

What I loved:

1. Just seeing all those Spyders in one place! After two years of ownership and only a handful of chances to ride with other Spyder owners, simply being in a place where everywhere I turned I saw a Spyder... that was something special. I finally didn't feel alone in my purchase/hobby/addiction.

2. A first-class event. BRP really pulled out all the stops, the GF and I were very impressed. Sure, it may have all been a marketing ploy, but what a ploy! (I'll have a lot more in another thread-- look for the one about my BRP focus group).

3. Great people. The riders, the BRP crew, all the people of Maggie Valley-- all super nice.

4. The location. My first chance to visit the Smokies since I was a wee little kid; it won't be my last. Love love LOVED the area-- beautiful scenery, better riding.

5. The food was darn good. Never woulda thunk it from the looks of J. Arthur's, but the food, especially that dinner, was a crazy surprise.

6. The ST. The GF and I each took an ST out for a demo ride. VERY nice machine. Mine appeared to be setup perfectly-- no stability or tracking issues, rode on rails. I was quite impressed. Only complaint is that it's a bit TOO much RT for my tastes: the ride and engine are so docile, I missed the "angry demon" my RS can be. Plus, I still can't get used to the wire throttle, it lacks that progressive analog feel I enjoy so much on my RS.

That said, I can easily see myself buying an ST some day, unless BRP comes out with something even neater...

What I hated:

7. Group rides. This was my first bike rally, and both the GF and I were looking forward to doing some group rides. We quickly realized, however, that group riding wasn't for us. I'm just too... spirited a rider to coop myself up behind a creeping chain of riders. We ended up doing the falls ride on Thursday morning at our own pace-- we started *after* the group ride and still managed to *finish before* the group ride. :yikes: Ditto the Dragon on Friday morning-- we both rode out at 6 am Friday to beat the rush to the Dragon, and ended up having the road ENTIRELY to ourselves: no traffic ahead or behind on one pass north, one pass south on 129. :yes: By the time we were leaving, the Friday Dragon group was just arriving. Again, to those who love riding with other people, more power to you, but we learned that big groups isn't our thing.

8. Inconsiderate riders. 99.9% of the Spyder (and all motorcycle) riders we encountered were ABSOLUTELY, INCREDIBLY, SUPER wonderful. nojoke I wish I could meet each and every one of them and shake their hand.


The handful of Spyder riders who weren't so nice, alas... I don't know what their deal was. Going 10 mph under the speed limit on the Blue Ridge Parkway but failing to use the overlooks to allow traffic to pass. :banghead: Or, tailgating within a *foot* of my rear bumper on the falls ride as we were all stuck in traffic, as if said tailgating was going to get you to your destination any faster.

9. Not fitting in. I shouldn't have been surprised, yet I still was: being under 40, I'm very, very, VERY young for a Spyder rider. My GF and I were easily among the youngest riders at the rally, often by decades. While everyone there was very nice-- everyone was extremely welcoming-- we simply couldn't help but feel out of place. I think it would be a nice deal for the next Owner's Event to have an option for a "youth ride" for folks under 40 or even 45 just to get to know the younger owners out there. As it was, we just didn't have a lot in common with most of the folks we met, other than our love for Spyders.

10. The monsoon on Thursday. Thankfully, we didn't get caught out riding in it, we had JUST gotten done by the time it poured down, but the only blemish on an otherwise perfect-weather weekend.

11. IT WAS TOO SHORT! Another day of riding would have been perfect. But I can see why BRP didn't spend more money, heh.

12. We couldn't make it to Lamont's barbecue. We had friends coming on Friday to stay with us at our rented house, so we spent Saturday and Sunday visiting Dollywood and the Biltmore, respectively. No more riding after Friday, sadly.

That said, to end on a high note...

What I loved:

13. I got to meet Lamont! Just for a sec, I caught him after the rain began on Thursday at the gatehouse. Lamont, I apologize for forgetting the ONE THING I really want to say to you: THANK YOU for such an awesome site in Spyderlovers, and all your hard work here. Spyderlovers is *literally* the reason I own a Spyder; without this site, I never would have learned enough to test ride one, and well, the rest is history.

13a. Oh, I also got to meet Teddy, too

Anyway... it was great meeting everyone, thank you again for a wonderful time. I hope I can make another one of these real soon!!! :2thumbs:

All my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96568519@N06/sets/72157634186480758/

View attachment 70020[/

 

[Phil]

Again Dave, nicely done. Like Scotty says, some of older pharts now have extra time and frankly, the financial state to allow us the flexibility to travel. Trust me, if I was able to in my 40s, I WOULD have done what you and your GF are doing.

Doing the math, the difference between a 20yr old and a 40 yr old is 100%. A 40 to a 60 (my age) is 50%. Thus the life experience gap is a bunch less and we really have more in common than we all see at first blush . AND, we're more likely to buy your lunch to make us feel younger!

But thanks again for helping the average SL demographic age!!


Phil, Tyler TX- from my iPad 7.5 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

Dave great write up! Here's a little perspective on what us old folks think! I can't believe I am this old, I still think that I am in my late 20's. I don't either resent or envy those that are younger than me but desperately want them to avoid the mistakes that I made but know that they most likely would resent or ignore my advice. I have been riding motorcycles for over forty years and love my Spyder more than all of them combined not because I am lazy or too weak to hold up a two wheel bike. It's because of the experience and knowledge of knowing what could happen out there in a world filled with terrible drivers, cell phones and other distractions. All of us "old" riders are still out there being active, taking risks, being in the weather, and living life just like those 40 years younger. We have not given up on life and don't plan to no more than you have! So don't feel excluded or that you don't belong. The folks riding Spyders that are in their 50's on up are not the same as the Old folks that you see on the street.

 

[ARCTIC]

We would probably be on the same page on this deal. I think it would be awesome to see all those spyders in one spot and would possibly like to do some short parade type of ride AND THEN........ I'm ready to go do some sport ridinghyea:

 

[bullant12]

Dave, I can relate to you. This is my second Owner's Event, and done 3 Spyderfest's. As one of your younger members as well (younger than you, upper 30's), I feel that most have a lot of experiences under their belts and my wife and I are newbs. But after all these events, it feels like age is not an issue and get along with most of the owners and participants. Heck, we even made best friends from PA (Clueless and his wife) and pretty much plan :spyder2: events around our schedules, stay in the same hotel and do our own rYdes. Since this was your first event, the next one will be even more fun and it gets better.

Sorry we missed meeting you (although my wife and I are bad with remembering names, so we could have meet at some point... who knows...:dontknow.

 

[bruiser]

On the opposite end of the demographics, the wife and I are the oldest in the RC in which I am a member. She is an associate member. Most of the group range from early 20's to mid 30's. A very few in their early to late 40's and one recently turned 50. The wife and I are 61 and 63 respectively. And, we're also the only Spyder riders. The only time we feel left out is when the talk turns to the current USAF. It's very much changed from when I was in. They do joke with me about high speed jets vs fabric covered bi planes :roflblack:

 

[cjackg]

On skewing the edge...
I will be 70 in august. I very much dislike being this old, but I really like being here. I really admire and am inspired by the people on this forum that are up and moving, and riding, and talking and lifting each other up while enjoying these wonderful spyders.
Enjoy these days that you are the youngest in the group, they will be gone in a blink, and you will join the older demographic.

Dave great write up! Here's a little perspective on what us old folks think! I can't believe I am this old, I still think that I am in my late 20's. I don't either resent or envy those that are younger than me but desperately want them to avoid the mistakes that I made but know that they most likely would resent or ignore my advice. I have been riding motorcycles for over forty years and love my Spyder more than all of them combined not because I am lazy or too weak to hold up a two wheel bike. It's because of the experience and knowledge of knowing what could happen out there in a world filled with terrible drivers, cell phones and other distractions. All of us "old" riders are still out there being active, taking risks, being in the weather, and living life just like those 40 years younger. We have not given up on life and don't plan to no more than you have! So don't feel excluded or that you don't belong. The folks riding Spyders that are in their 50's on up are not the same as the Old folks that you see on the street.

Since I recently turned 71 I have to enthusiastically agree with these very well written comments. Starting with our 1st RT in 2010, Spyder events have brought us together with a lot of really great folks and I never paid much attention to age until I read this thread... See Ya at the next one too!

 

[spyderrock]

I agree about the age thing..

Hey Dave great write up, I would have to agree with you about the age difference at these events. I am in my mid 40's and at the owners event last year in Colorado I felt very very out of place. I had problems with my rt so as soon as I got there the rt had to go to the BRP service tent so I sat there waiting to have it looked at. I am actually a little shy I tend to always ride alone I like the peace and quite, I met a couple from Oklahoma but they were an older couple we talked for a bit but that was all. I also met Lamont and Faran there last year and had a good chat with both of them. I would have made it the this years owner event but the weather here has been horrible to say the least, tornado warnings flooding just crazy. Im really in it more for the road trip than the actual events, I will never ride in a group ride again did years ago and they are dangerous. I am younger like you but I am retired liked most of the older crowd here(Thats a hard on to explain), so I have time to travel around to all these events. I think it's like Scotty said if some of you older folks see us spring chickens walking around like were lost don't be afraid to talk to us...we may not have as many stories as the older crown but the ones we do have may just make you laugh.

 

[Cruzr Joe]

That was a great write up, we are fairly new to the spyder world ( 1 year) and probably fit in the upper part of the median age group (64) and we have made some good friends with folks on both ends of the age spectrum, we enjoy seeing young people at these events because they tend to make things a little more energetic, but we also enjoy seeing the older folks because they add some older character and style. Wow, we really enjoy all the spyder ryders/lovers with very rare exceptions. Remember when you are riding to be courteous on the roads and be safe. Thank you for your synopsis of the Spyder world.

Cruzr Joe

 

[danlnc]

Great post Dave. I have found that riding in small groups or alone is my preference. We loved meeting everyone. Thought that a campfire one night at the Fair grounds would have been great. I have been to gatherings with other groups at camp sites and the best part was sitting around the fire at night, shottin the breeze. We are in the middle as far as age goes I am 63 and my wife is 47. We had a great time at the Applecover Inn sitting on the porch with a younger couple, Marty and Christy, these two were great fun and hope to get together with them again.