Well, it’s still monday, and it’s morning somewhere… And yer gettin’ a twofer, so what the heck!

Last weekend I ventured 200 miles west to the shores of the majestic Missouri for the South Dakota Airhead Campout. How do the half dozen known South Dakota Airhead members manage a campout? I was worried about that too. Being a retired early riser I’d already cleared the Sioux Falls Costco and buck fifty lunch by noon and thanks to SD’s 65 MPH 2 lane speed limits was at the campsite by barely 2, despite having lingered at the last town for coffee and a muffin. Found the designated campsite empty and was planning to give up, head home, and call it a good day’s ride at 5… When two guys with a couple little cafe’d 60s Hondas and an R5 Yammy 2 stroke showed up and verified that this was indeed the place.  Then an old timer on an R80 G/S showed up with his companion behind the wheel of a 3rd generation Westy. Before long a bunch more riders on various mounts showed up along with a “fishbowl” Westy and even our chief conspirator, the South Dakota Airmarshall!

Soon supper was being enjoyed and despite the high wind warning we had a great weekend. so how do the half dozen official SD  airheads have a rally attended by over a dozen riders? They get eclectic, inviting riders with similar interests to BS and use the state park’s intimate roads to enjoy their historic machines- I even got my first chance to ride a /2!  In similarly thinly inhabited North Dakota the local BMW club has long joined forces with the local Triumph riders group to bring their rally to critical mass… BMWMOA, there may be a solution to your declining rally attendance here.

Roger, one of my airhead friends and keeper of the best airhead garage in south Florida, got me into attending the Galena Rally again last year. The Galena Rally died and was resurrected a while back, and seems to improve every year- For a mere twenty bucks the BMW Motorad Club of Northern Illinois filled us up with two dinners and breakfasts each as well as organizing not one but two rides and shaking down every vendor in creation to stuff our goodie bags and provide near every attendee a door prize. The only downside was the greediness of the campground, demanding $20 a night for the privilege of sleeping on their grass and flushing their toilets a few times. Palace Campground, take a hint: Your real estate has so appreciated as tourist trap Galena has expanded all around you that you could let us camp for free at no loss. And the excessiveness of your $20 a night tent fee is demonstrated by the fact that we were pretty much the only tenters on your turf. Thanks to those excessive charges I rode through a pretty heavy rain to arrive on friday instead of avoiding the storm by arriving thursday. Palace Campground, drop the fee to something realistic and you’ll fill the place up and get more revenue!

Rally season’s winding down, least up here in these northern climes… Next up is the Dakota Classic. Then, in contrast to the BMWMOA “tolerating” my presence at their rally, the BMWRA’s Rally Chair has personally invited me to their rally. Looks to be a great rally in small town Harrison, Arkansas in the perfect weather of the first week in October… Invitation gladly accepted!