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Rally
Report
The Concours
Owners Group (COG) held their 2007 National Rally at Canaan Valley
the week of August 7-12. (in WV Canaan is pronounced ka-naan). Jason
Kaplitz, one of COG's 2007 Rally organizers said, "West Virginia
offers the best motorcycle riding on the east coast. There's little
traffic, great roads and amazing scenery, and that's why we chose
this area for our event." The club's national rally is geared
toward pulling more members together, to meet others of similar
interests and to explore new parts of the country. Kaplitz said
that this was the biggest rally the organization has conducted.
Participants came from 37 different states with some as far as California
and Washington, plus attendees from two Canadian Provinces, Bermuda,
and Europe.
More than 450
Kawasaki Concours motorcycle owners from across the country converged
on Canaan Valley Resort and the Potomac Highlands region of West
Virginia to share their enthusiasm for the Concours and sport touring
on the area roadways. Canaan Valley Resort resides within the 6300+-acre
Canaan Valley State Park, which also includes a 34-site campground
that COG used exclusively for the week in addition to the resort
lodge. Troy Cardwell, General Manager of Canaan Valley Resort, said,
"the group, which filled up the resort, had many activities
planned." Two Experienced RiderCoursesm sessions were offered
in one of the resort parking lots by the West Virginia Motorcycle
Safety Program and multiple on-road training mini-sessions were
provided by Stayin' Safe. Other activities included a poker run,
evening campfires, a paintball tournament, and a huge BBQ banquet.
There were nine
self-guided routes to choose from that allowed rally attendees to
explore the area. Maps and other literature were provided at rally
central to allow riders to plan their own rides using the available
routes as a base. Some routes were trips to specific area attractions
like "Fallingwater," architect Frank Lloyd Wright's most
acclaimed work, the Flight 93 Crash Site Memorial, the New River
Gorge Bridge, Seneca Rocks, Seneca and Smoke Hole Caverns, and the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank. For the train
aficionados there are number of train rides, including the famous
Cass Scenic Railroad. Even the "ride to eat" crowd was
appeased with interesting and unique area eateries. Rella's Roadside
Café in Hacker Valley, WV serves up old fashion West Virginia
home cooking. The Hütte (pronounced hoo-tay) in Helvetia, WV
specialized in authentic Swiss and German style foods.
The rally also
included a number of informational seminars. Rich Riczinger, the
COG Technical Editor, entertained and educated folks at several
"tech sessions" he facilitated, including one where a
complete carb rebuild was performed. Kawasaki provided two informational
sessions about the Concours 14. There was even a brief "GPS
Primer" seminar offered. Some special activities were planned
with the ladies in mind. There was a "Women's Breakfast"
one morning and a planned shopping junket to local shops and galleries.
The most exciting
part for most rally-goers was engaging in sport touring riding on
many of many of the area roadways. As Sue Slate, from ROK, stated
at the Thursday BBQ, "It was a tremendous experience for all
of the Kawasaki staff in attendance to be in the company of healthy
risk takers who respect themselves and their machines. The roads
were fantastic and were only surpassed by the fantastic riders who
attended and facilitated the 2007 COG National Rally."
Each year, a
few members of COG and it's European sibling GTR Club Europe (GCE)
pull off a remarkable effort called "Over the Pond" (OtP).
In even years a member from COG is selected to travel to the GCE
national rally somewhere in the EU, and in odd years a member of
GCE is selected to travel to the COG rally here in the USA. Since
this covert operation in not funded by either COG or GCE, donations
are pledged via mail and the Internet to assist the OtP traveler's
expenses. Someone lends a Concours to the traveler in the host country
and the OtP traveler is provided room & board at local member's
homes as they tour across the host country. This year Patrick de
Maqueville from St Loubes, France was the lucky individual selected
as the OtP traveler.
This year's
rally coincided with the introduction of the all-new 2008 Kawasaki
Concours 14, and Kawasaki played a huge role supporting the event.
Riders of Kawasaki (ROK) provided many, many items that were provided
to attendees in the rally packs and as door prizes. This was the
first time that demo rides were offered at a COG rally and many
rally attendees were able to sign up for a ride time slot over the
three day period the Kawasaki truck was set up at a resort parking
lot. There were more than a half dozen Concours 14 available and
the Kawasaki event staff prepared a very nice ride route that showcased
the prowess of their new flagship motorcycle. The rides went off
without a hitch, and not one Concours touched the ground. Sue Slate
stated that COG members "articulated their responses to our
new steed intelligently and openly. Their questions showed the strong
knowledge base that is and has been representative of Concours riders
and devotees since the bike first entered the scene back in the
80's."
Rally
Statistics
- New attendance
record... 400+ (Old record was in Ashville with 384)
- 37 states
represented
- 2 Canadian
Provinces
- 1 guest from
France
- 1 guest from
Bermuda
- No injuries
(woo hoo!)
- A few "gravel
in corner" incidents, deer taggings, and bear
taggings (photos
of the sleeping bear please)
Rally
Photos
(All
photos below are hosted on other photo posting sites. Do not be
surprised if many of the links stop working over time...)
Rally
Reports in Magazines
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