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Spring Bike Week
#11
Im pretty sure there was another entity involved.  I had contact regarding other ventures I am involved with (not delmarvabikers) where advertizing was secured for the event.  Im fairly certain it was not the Born to Ride people.  I think they were acting as local promoters / partners of some kind but overall, I think there was someone else behind the scenes.

How did everyone feel about the event?  This is one slightly edited email (to bring out relevant points and keep the sender anon - used with permission) I received about the event:
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...Spring Bike Week had good points and bad points. It was the first time they tried this and it was a great idea...but the worst experience was the Bike Tour to different bars and Resturants in OC and surrounding areas. We had fun riding around..but most places required we by beer for a $1.00 or $2.50 or more for a coke to sticker your book. 99% of our group does not drink and drive..this was horrible..the event sponsers were promoting drinking and driving. You had  to get at the least 15 stickers that is 15 beers or more each biker. Not all places required this and gave us stickers even if we did not buy anything....examples: 707, Carousos on the boardwalk and Harborside treated us great !!...
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...the bad thing the drawing was suppose to go off between 12noon and 12:30..we had to wait until 2pm for the drawings. Also tee shirts...which by the way were $20.00 at Hoopers and $15.00 at Oasis....but if you waited until the last day of the event they went down to $10.00 at Oasis..now that is pretty normal. But they should have been same price both places. The design on the shirts were awesome..not the ones they gave for the tour, the ones you bought...
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...I wanted to also make sure everyone knows that the Red Knights had nothing to do with this event.....they just told me about it...they had no association with it...
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My thoughts...

Delmarva Spring Bikeweek.  Or Bikes to The Beach.  Ahhh, whatever...

Some friends and I all went over on Friday to check out the new show on delmarva.  It was pretty cool getting to meet Mike Ballard and his lovely wife.  They were so nice, I had to buy a TShirt and they even volunteered to sign and personalize it for me!  They are true bikers, or at least what I think of when I think of bikers.  Saturday around 11 when I drove past Hoopers, the poor people there looked mobbed.  Im sure they are used to it, but I couldnt help but feel bad for them and very lucky to have met them Friday before all the hoopla started.  I certainly hope they left Delmarva feeling good about having been here and will come back to see us soon.

I did check out the run deal, and when I saw those yucky TShirts and they told me I had to make a purchase at 15 different stops to qualify for a prize...  No thank you.  I told the girl there - "Thats insane.  Id be drunk before the 4th stop."  Another thing I found annoying was the over promotion of Fast Lane Biker and Born to Ride delmarva.  They were everywhere.  AND - I - MEAN - EVERY - FREAKING - WHERE!  Bleh.  Even at Traders, which I have always thought of as a true down to earth biker bar, there was a huge table setup right at the entrance with a couple 100 of those magazines spread out, and then even more inside the bar.  These ventures need to pay for themselves, and especially in a down economy thats probably a tough deal to make pan out, but comon guys...  A little less self promotion would certainly make the whole thing at least look a little less like one big advertizement.

Another annoyance was Oasis.  Dont get me wrong, I like the Oasis.  Ive been to some great events there.  And even did the vendor rig at one of thier events and would gladly do it again.  The bikeweek thing they do has grown alot and its getting better every year...  They bring in new and different stuff along with some traditional events every time so its fresh and still always feels like your old familiar watering hole.  The problem is parking.  OK, they have a small area to park in.  Sometimes demand outstrips supply and they need to kinda direct people on where to park so as to get the most bikes in.  What makes me crazy is the kids they have doing it.  Plain and simple - Parking at a bike event should be no different than a trip to Walmart, first in gets the best parking spot and so on.  These kids working at Oasis want to fill the back of the lot first, or put people in wierd spots where they could easily be blocked in.  Oh well, this has happened at like the last 3 or 4 events I have been to there.

Being a first year, you have to expect some glitches.  Hopefully they will be interested in the feedback they get on the event so they can improve for next year (if there is a next year).  The girl trying to sell me on the run pointed out that the tshirt said "First Annual" on it so that someday it would be a collectors item.  I looked at her a bit sideways and said, "Stranger things have been known to happen."

Just one riders humble thoughts on the subject...

Steven Winslow


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#12
Great info.  Thanks.  The drinking and riding thing will probably surface again.  Hopefully, it won't taint future events.
Ken

2010 Yamaha Raider
2008 Yamaha FZ1
2002 XL1200C-sold
2002 Yamaha FZ1-sold
JOIN THE AMA
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#13
There is more to this story then i am able to tell on the internet, but the next time I see ya
I will fill you in on more of the promotion details. Just remember, it's all about the mighty dollar.
Vietnam Vets M/C
Maryland
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#14
Thanks Gunner.  Most certainly, the almighty dollar.  I miss the old school biker events...  Luckily, ABATE still has some of those traditions, so they arnt completely dead!

Steven Winslow
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#15
(05-03-2011, 06:09 PM)Winslow link Wrote: Thanks Gunner.  Most certainly, the almighty dollar.  I miss the old school biker events...  Luckily, ABATE still has some of those traditions, so they arnt completely dead!

Steven Winslow


This is true.
Vietnam Vets M/C
Maryland
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#16
I went and had a great time. Were there good points and some not so good points? Of course, welcome to life. Ride on.
life's short, laugh often Steveo
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#17
i wish i could have made it down...however the group that headed down left the day after i got m y bike back together...didn't feel like doing 500 miles on the weekend or so without test riding it some first.


it worked out well anyhow i got to do a BACA (bikers against child abuse) poker run in south jersey that saturday and get some mile son it.

glad to see there was positives....there will always be negatives....but there bing positives means it might work out long run...
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