Hello All,
I'm quoting this from the BMW Owners of Alabama Yahoo Group...I haven't missed this ride for the past 10 years or so. Two years running I won the "Oldest Bike Ridden" on my 1980 Electraglide, then a fellow on a 1978 Goldwing bumped me for the next several years. It is a really fun day, as the parking lot fills with riders of all shapes and sizes, riding bikes from all over the US.
The Annual Last Ride of the Year to the Stagecoach Café in Stockton, Alabama for Stagecoach XIII will be on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 around lunch time. In recent years, we have had the event on the last Saturday of the year, but because that is the day after Christmas this year, we are going back to the original RTE date, which is the day before New Year's Eve.
Y'all are invited to ride down to lower Alabama and enjoy some tire kicking, tall tales, and good southern cooking provided by the friendly staff at the Stagecoach Café. There is no fee for the event, but you will need to pay for your meal and reward the friendly wait staff for their hard work.
For you early birds, I am waiting to hear from the Café as to whether or not they will be open for breakfast or not. If not, they will be [/quotopen at 10:30 am, but I am hoping they will open early for those of you that might want a late breakfast. I will let you know ASAP.
Along with the socializing, we will have four awards that will be presented to riders. The awards will be presented at 12:00 noon. You will have to SIGN IN on arrival to be eligible AND you must be present at NOON to claim it.
LONGEST DISTANCE
We want to encourage long distance motorcycle riding, so there will be an award plaque for the rider that rides the longest distance on a motorcycle to the event. This is the mileage that you have ridden on the way to the Stagecoach Café since you left home. If the mileage that you claim is gonna be sorta hard to believe, please be prepared to back it up with IBA type receipt documentation.
Note: The amazing Mr. Doug Graves has ridden to south Alabama from Washington state in the great NorthWet to claim this award (and participate in the tire kicking, tall tales, and good southern cooking) on a number of occasions, so if Doug is planning to attend this year, the rest of y'all will have your work cut out for you.
OLDEST RIDER
We want to encourage folks to keep riding motorcycles, so there will be a plaque for the oldest rider that RIDES a MOTORCYCLE to the event.
Note: Folks on trikes are most welcome to attend, but they are NOT eligible for this award.
OLDEST BIKE
We want to encourage keeping old bikes running and on the road, so there will be a plaque for the oldest bike RIDDEN to the event. There have been some great old bikes win this award in the past.
Note: riding to the event does NOT include trailering to the lot across the street, unloading, and riding in to the parking lot. Just saying...
YOUNGEST RIDER
We want to encourage new riders to learn to enjoy two wheeled adventures, so there will be a plaque for the youngest rider to RIDE to the event.
NOTE: passengers are NOT eligible to win this plaque ... because we know some of y'all are sorta competitive and we don't want to see anyone strapping a newborn baby seat on their luggage rack.
There is no website again this year, mostly because we still get 400 to 600+ folks without a website (thank you very much!), so please pass the word and let your local riding groups know about it. Folks will be arriving during the morning hours and the parking lot is usually empty by 2:00 PM. The food is good, the folks are friendly, and the weather can be sorta iffy. Some years it has been really cold, some years it has been warm, but either way we hope to see y'all there.
For those that have never joined us, here is a 2008 quote from Ray Fagan, one of the founders of the event, that sums it up pretty well:
"If the weather is good (last year was the first in ten years that wasn't) there will be anywhere from 500-800 bikes crammed in the parking lot for an event that may last four hours, if that. It's a spectacle you won't soon forget. Riders come from across the street, down the road, and two states away. They ride from Canada, Maine, Mexico and even Washington State to attend. Over the years we have been host to a who's-who of the motorcycle world and hundreds of their new and old friends. You never know who will show up. There is such a wide variety of bikes in the parking lot that it stuns the senses. To attend is like being immersed for just an instant into a boiling cauldron of "motorcycle". When it's over you stagger to your own bike, look at the now empty parking lot, and wonder if it was real or some sort of dream. Several people have tried to capture the essence of the event on film or in words, but so far nobody has really nailed it."
Hope to see y'all on the 30th.
John Harrison
Birmingham
IBA#203
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