What do you like or dislike about Spyder Events ?

[SpyderAnn01]

I'm not sure what you mean, Joe. Could you elaborate a little? Thanks.

At Spyderfest there are several "host hotels" and each one has a person designated as the official host. CruzrJoe is the host at the Best Western and he schedules stuff for the folks st his hotel. It probably isn't a big deal at most rallies since they are usually located at only one hotel.

 

[Indiana Ken]

Been to only one.

Went to Spyderfest this year. Pulled the bike down on our trailer. 15 miles outside of Springfield, our trany bit the dust. Days latter and $3200, we got the vehicle back with new trany.

Good thing we had the bike for transportation. Oh ya, Springfield got one of the worst rains spelling ever. Diehard riders were still out, but please, it's dangerous to ride in pouring rain, and you can't convince me it's fun. Stayed in hotel.

Only good riding day, we got some lights put on by TricLED, and hit the road. Got 10 miles outside Branson and bike went into limp mode. Crawled back to Pitbull who took pity on us and thru it on a computer. Electrical codes, so back to the vendor village to TricLED. They took a look, and rewired what they had added in the morning then off we went for a long ride, with no problems.

Next day rain, rain, rain. Drive home - Rain, Rain and more rain.

So what do I want to see in a Spyder event.....

Less rain, but hey, who can control that. so..

Vendor Village inside to stay dry.
More technical and practical seminars.
Tire dealer with choice of top tires for sale.
In interesting location.
Hotels and camping available.
Sign up board so attendees who come from a same area can network easier with riders near them, that may continue when they get back home.

 

[UtahPete]

One main thing I've enjoyed is when the events are in SMALLER towns. Spyderfest was much better (IMO) when it was in the small town of Cuba. It just loses its appeal in a bigger city and no one likes riding in city traffic. Maggie Valley NC has also been a great place as was Durango. There's no need to try and be the biggest of the biggest, just have a nice rally in a smaller town with good rides, food and vendors and people will show up!

Good feedback. I didn't realize some of the rallies have been held in high-traffic areas. Thanks.

 

[UtahPete]

We live down south, and all the rallies are too far off! The one we get to go to is the Maggie Valley one! We like it! Down south, we have too few dealers (selling only 8 or 10 spyders per year) and no rallies.

Would a rally on the Gulf Coast in March or April be good do you think?

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Sorry

Originally Posted by Many brands I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.



We had the same experience at the Redwoods Rally. My wife said not again. The only friendly's seemed to be cptjam and SpyderAnn. Going to try Sonora next month.

Sorry if anyone has felt not a part of the group as we never want anyone to feel that way. My wife and I will be leading rydes to Ebbets Pass and Sonora Pass during the Nor-Cal Spyder Rally. Make sure you introduce yourself as we are always excited to find new people to ryde with. :yes::yes::yes:

 

[UtahPete]

Sorry if anyone has felt not a part of the group as we never want anyone to feel that way. My wife and I will be leading rydes to Ebbets Pass and Sonora Pass during the Nor-Cal Spyder Rally. Make sure you introduce yourself as we are always excited to find new people to ryde with. :yes::yes::yes:

You know, I just realized one of the things that is missing for me about the typical rally is the lack of information about who (the team) is organizing and running it. Along with pictures and a bio and maybe a quick friendly blurb about the team philosophy. I think that would go a long way to making people part of the event before they even get there.

Never done Ebbets Pass, but did Sonora Pass on my two-wheeler about 6 years ago. Spectacular.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

You know, I just realized one of the things that is missing for me about the typical rally is the lack of information about who (the team) is organizing and running it. Along with pictures and a bio and maybe a quick friendly blurb about the team philosophy. I think that would go a long way to making people part of the event before they even get there.

Never done Ebbets Pass, but did Sonora Pass on my two-wheeler about 6 years ago. Spectacular.

This is actually a great suggestion and we will see if we can get it added in time for the Rally in September. Ebbets is an awesome ryde, much longer and the road is stunning!:yes:

 

[UtahPete]

This is actually a great suggestion and we will see if we can get it added in time for the Rally in September. Ebbets is an awesome ryde, much longer and the road is stunning!

I did a google search - is this the website for SITR? It seems out of date ... http://spydersintheredwoods.weebly.com/ Same for the FB page that came up in the search.

BTW, it looks like 2015 rally had Fred Rau there as a special guest; I guess he is an official ambassador for Spyder now. I have been reading his columns for years; really would like to meet him.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

I did a google search - is this the website for SITR? It seems out of date ... http://spydersintheredwoods.weebly.com/ Same for the FB page that came up in the search.

BTW, it looks like 2015 rally had Fred Rau there as a special guest; I guess he is an official ambassador for Spyder now. I have been reading his columns for years; really would like to meet him.

Spyder in the Redwoods is no more it was relocated to the Redrocks Spyder Rally in St George Utah. We are now holding The Nor-Cal Spyder Rally which this year will be in Toulumne California at the BlackOak Casino. The new site is:https://sites.google.com/site/norcalspyderrally/home.

 

[UtahPete]

Spyder in the Redwoods is no more it was relocated to the Redrocks Spyder Rally in St George Utah. We are now holding The Nor-Cal Spyder Rally which this year will be in Toulumne California at the BlackOak Casino. The new site is:https://sites.google.com/site/norcalspyderrally/home.

Announcing the
2017 Nor Cal Spyder Rally! ​

September 12-14, 2017 ​

Boy, that's good to know. Have you asked Katlyn to remove that old website and FB page? It's pretty confusing.

Is this the FB page? https://www.facebook.com/groups/1067880999899285/

 

[jcthorne]

Our biggest peeve with most rallys is the lack of preparedness and safety for the group rides. We pretty much avoid the group rides as they often get lost, don't know the way and most do not even have a proper safety briefing on how the group is going to ride. No hand signals, no mention of order, tap outs, staggering, lane change or signaling.

We generally form a smaller group of our own and ride the route with friends we know and have a short safety discussion before hand. Have seen far to many problems and near misses on the disorganized group rides. Lots of room for improvement.

 

[Copperman]

Would a rally on the Gulf Coast in March or April be good do you think?

Spyders on the Bayou is held in March in Houma, LA. I've been there twice and it's a very nice event.

 

[newbert]

I'll be attending my first event in about a month (Spyderquest), so have no experience so far.

But, one thing I'd like to see is an informal workshop on just basic maintenance - how to access all the panels and battery etc.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Our biggest peeve with most rallys is the lack of preparedness and safety for the group rides. We pretty much avoid the group rides as they often get lost, don't know the way and most do not even have a proper safety briefing on how the group is going to ride. No hand signals, no mention of order, tap outs, staggering, lane change or signaling.

We generally form a smaller group of our own and ride the route with friends we know and have a short safety discussion before hand. Have seen far to many problems and near misses on the disorganized group rides. Lots of room for improvement.

JC at the Nor-Cal Spyder Rally all group rydes are conducted bu "Trained Road Captains." All Road Captains have gone through a training session so they are aware of the following:

The Route: we require that all routes have been pre-Ryden within the week so that we know about construction and other road conditions before we take a group out on the ryde.

All rydes are led by a trained Road Captain, and there is a trained Road Cpatain serving as a Sweep to assist with any mechanical or physical issues that occur within the group. In most cases these two Road Captains are also in direct communication with each other. With very large groups we split them up and put 4 Road Captains with the groups as lead and sweep.

We always conduct a safety session before before each ryde including the route, the destination, the stops along the way and Turn Signals. When I lead a ryde I signal every turn with turn indicators and hand signals. I comminicate with my sweep to make sure they are seeing all of the signals make it back to the back, and we reinforce the need for this when we have a fuel stop.

We also explain a concept called "bread crumbs". We tell all ryders that if they are with the group and we are making a turn, if they can't see the motorcycle behind them, they should stop at that turn in a safe place where they can be seen by the following members of the group. Our groups never make a turn without leaving this bread crumb behind. It has only rarely been an issue, but is very reassuring if some one has had to fall behind for whatever reason, and we have never lost a Ryder. Of course we discuss proper formation and staggering. On occasion if we have someone who is not conducting themselves in a safe manner we will excuse them from the group. Zero Tolerance for Alcohol on our rydes.

So JC come join us in Nor-Cal so we can compare notes.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Good deal. I'll have a chance to check it out next month. I usually avoid group rides also for reasons mentioned but I'm willing to give it a go and see if my experience this time is better than in the past.

Look forward to meeting you Pete!

 

[ABQSpyder]

I personally - have found it VERY hard to "break into" the group. (Sacramento, ca.) Nice enough folks -- just felt I and my Wife were outsiders.

Yes I know what you mean. Had this happen to me more than once start talking with someone bannering back and forth someone walks up Hey ? And your yesterday's news walk away and don't even acknowledge your alive or introduce you. So they walked away talking to there long lost friend! On a positive note Meet a couple in Springfield couple years ago in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We must have talked for a hour or more best experience at a Rally I've had to date Sad I know some people have been going to these Rally's for years and made great friends but I have to imagine there are a lot of people who go once and never go back!

 

[Deanna777]

Likes:

Meeting other spyder owners, going on rides in area, visiting venders, catching up with other spyder owners that we have met at other spyder events or various rides, enjoying the scenic country rides, seeing what other spyder owners added for upgrades/farkles.


Deanna

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Well

Yes I know what you mean. Had this happen to me more than once start talking with someone bannering back and forth someone walks up Hey ? And your yesterday's news walk away and don't even acknowledge when they walked away talking to there long lost friend! Meet a couple in Springfield couple years ago in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We must have talked for a hour or more best experience at a Rally. I know some people have been going to these Rally's for years and made great friends but I have to imagine there are a lot of people who go once and never go back!

ABQ, come on up and we will do our best to change your mind! But you have to be willing to come out and ryde with us and take time to meet as many of us as you can, oh and come bowling with us and the Team from BRP!

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Bowling

 

[Big F]

My dealer is building a huge new building to house Dr Powersports. The owner wants to turn it into a destination for Spyders.The pictures attached are the new building.
1) what do you like or dislike about Spyder Events ?
2) do you travels to dealers to see what accessories they have?

Thank you you in advance, I want to know your thoughts

where are you located in Iowa?????? we are NISR "nicer" (Nebraska Iowa Spyder Ryders) and always looking for new ride routes. are you aware of the Spyderfever rally coming up in Council Bluffs??? go to our website or find us on Facebook.
BIG F - Founding member of NISR