May 2011
Chris writes:
The 39th BMW Club of Northern California’s 49er Rally is now ’history’. The weather was less than perfect but the company was GREAT. Good food, reasonably priced and a great 110 mile poker run.
Groeger Group and Mid-Week Riders included Dick Zunkel, Simon Hanson, Brent and Sue Hansen, both Jim Houts, Darryl Richman, Lars Swartz, Alan and Carol Huntzinger, Greg Hutchinson and others I’m sure I missed.
There were nice cigars, two bottles of Maker’s Mark, a truck-load of health food ’nibbles’ and great conversation. There was also a wiz-pot of rain in the evening.
One fellow appeared with two vintage, running motors which he rode’n ran for our enjoyment. A 1907 Pierce Arrow and a 1913 Indian. He had some very humerous ’lessons’ about riding these machines, lessons he learned the hard way.
Dick Zunkel’s 4 of a kind in the Poker Run was a tough hand to beat, but it was! Dick took 3rd Place and Chris’ Aces’n eights full house took 4th. First place went to a fellow with a straight flush. The poker Run was worth five cards without leaving the grounds. However, if you rode the route, and could answer five questions, you got an additional five cards (ten total), with which to fashion your best five-card hand. Bad news, Chris lost a hearing aid during the Poker Run, probably in Coarsegold. On discovery in Oakdale the riding group insisted we go look for it at one of the check points, then just 7-9 miles away. Four riders went looking but to no avail.
That evening (Saturday) brought a good rain, and people headed for shelter. Our group took to the large gazebo with nesting birds overhead. It was a tough choice, rain drops or bird drops!
Chris’ motor failed Sunday while showing the poker run’s route to Simon (fuel pump is the preliminary ’suspect’), and Lars Swartz hooked-up his trailer and drove out the six’er so miles to get the motor back to the rally site. Chris’s neighbor and sometime Mid-Week Rider John Guy brought-up Chris’ truck and a helpful group got it loaded-up. While waiting for the truck, with a helpful cluster of riders assemelbed (guys with tools, advice and knowledge), Chris’n Simon started to strip the plastic. Simon found the lost hearing aid, with a burned-off replacible tip, in the belly pan. Yeah Simon!
The Club honored Chris’ 45 years of membership and he was asked to speak to the crowd.
Attendance was somewhere between 500-600 people. The Club’s 40th has already been secured for Mariposa over the same weekend next year. The fairground staff were GREAT! There was never an empty towel dispenser, over-flowing garbage can or idle litter. No shortage of showers or hot water. There was a new caterer this year. The food, for once, was worth the cost! Great Rally!
Pictures
‘07 Pierce Arrow:’13 Indian
49’er Camp
Les Katz’ Tough Choice
Poker Run #1
Poker Run#2
Randy Johnson #4
Randy Johnson Last
Randy Johnson#1
Randy Johnson#2
Z Ortiz Hood Ornament