Last ISDT Reunion Ride? :-(

[wfopete]

Was told by reliable sources that this years annual ISDTRR in Arkansas will be the last.  My understanding is that the AHRMA steering committee made this decision.  I believe more information is posted about this on the Vinduro web site.



Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[Paul Danik]

This years Leroy Winters Memorial ISDT Reunion Ride will indeed be the last. Discussions took place among the principals involved with the event and the consensus was to make this years event, the 20th. Annual, the last.

Just to set the record straight, AHRMA has been informed of the decision, or at least the effort has been made to notify them as I am not sure the actual contact has occurred,  but they did not make the decision.

Hopefully a record turnout will occur to give this fine event a well deserved sendoff.

Paul

[thrownchain]

From what I gather from the Vinduro posts, this will be the last one under the current organising group. That being said there is some possibility that another group may take over the reins and keep it moving forward. There are some that want to keep it as an annual event.

[Paul Danik]

The dates for this years ISDTRR are October 29 and 30.

http://www.ahrma.org/ahrma_pdfs/Z-2016/Nationals/Cross_Country/Posters/ISDT_reunion_16.pdf

Paul

[brian kirby]

I believe the event will continue but in a different form. There will not be the focus on the ISDT/W Vets, no banquet etc. The AHRMA 6 day series will continue with the event we now call the Reunion Ride the last of the 3 in a scaled down form more like the other two ISDE events. I have also heard the 6 Day series will likely be renamed the Leroy Winters Memorial 6 Day Series.

Brian

[wfopete]

quote:Originally posted by Paul Danik

This years Leroy Winters Memorial ISDT Reunion Ride will indeed be the last. Discussions took place among the principals involved with the event and the consensus was to make this years event, the 20th. Annual, the last.

Just to set the record straight, AHRMA has been informed of the decision, or at least the effort has been made to notify them as I am not sure the actual contact has occurred,  but they did not make the decision.

Hopefully a record turnout will occur to give this fine event a well deserved sendoff.

Paul

Thanks Paul,  I am always tentative about posting stuff like this without knowing all the facts but with short notice I felt a lot of folks would like a heads up.  Thanks for filling some details and facts.  I talked to a couple of the Razorback Riders about this to let them know they may see a up-tick in entries.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[brian kirby]

Well, it's not really going away it's just going to be trimmed down so it does not take the organizers all year to prepare for it. A lot of work went on behind the scenes that most people never saw. I am confident it will always be a little different and more than just another race during the year, it just won't have the big banquet and so on.

That being said, I think anyone that has been to one before or has though about going to the Reunion Ride should make every effort to get to this one.

Brian

[slvrbrdfxr]

Hi all,
The last two years have been a blur for me and I haven't had much time to ride or keep up with the ISDT RR stuff since our club hosted it at the Zink Ranch in 2014. This event has always been a favorite for me after riding it for the first time in 2004. I was very fortunate to have a nice string of riding it for 10 straight years before having to miss last year in Ohio. Wasn't sure I was going to make it to AR this year either since our club is hosting an AMA National Enduro out at the Zink Ranch weekend before the RR and I've been spending a lot of time out there the last few months prepping for that event. After reading that this year will be the 20th and final ISDT RR in the current format, I'm happy to report that I'm planning to ride again this year and have some fun with all the folks that make this such a great event. As Brian said earlier, if you have ever thought about riding the Reunion Ride, then you should really make an effort to be there. Look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks !!
Dave McCullough
Tulsa Trail Riders

[Becky Hayes]

Hey All. This is Becky Hayes the Cross Country Coordinator for AHRMA. I will tell you what I do and not know about the Reunion Ride and "6 Days" series. First, I have not been contacted by anyone on the Reunion Ride Committee. If they have contacted another AHRMA official, I don't know. I received a FYI about this being the last from a Razorback club member. No one has contacted me about trying to continue the event or the series. With that said, I will try to continue the series. I like riding them. But let us face facts. The turnout of riders the last 2 years has been very disappointing.  A club cannot be expected to go to all the work of putting on of these events and lose money too. If anyone has some constructive ideas or is willing to step up and host a qualifier, please, let me know.

[skiracer]

Hey Becky. Great to hear from you on this site. For one treat it like the qualifiers score each day  offer points each day and charging two entries. And continue the 6 day series.  Everyone I have talked to love the format and the fact it is a three location series.

quote]Originally posted by Becky Hayes

Hey All. This is Becky Hayes the Cross Country Coordinator for AHRMA. I will tell you what It  do and not know about the Reunion Ride and "6 Days" series. First, I have not been contacted by anyone on the Reunion Ride Committee. If they have contacted another AHRMA official, I don't know. I received a FYI about this being the last from a Razorback club member. No one has contacted me about trying to continue the event or the series. With that said, I will try to continue the series. I like riding them. But let us face facts. The turnout of riders the last 2 years has been very disappointing.  A club cannot be expected to go to all the work of putting on of these events and lose money too. If anyone has some constructive ideas or is willing to step up and host a qualifier, please, let me know.
[/quote]

1976 MC 5 Original Owner
1982 Suzuki PE 175
1976 Penton 175 XC
1985 20' Hi Point trailer

[Richard Colahan]

An observation...
Seems like 2 similar events are being grouped together in this discussion.
The ISDT Reunion Ride
And the AHRMA CC Series "Qualifier" events.

Now...I've only ridden one of the ISDT Reunions...the 2003 event at Jim Hoelerich's farm up in MA. To say that was a special event would be an understatement. It is one I'll always remember. And I get the sense reading the comments in these posts that these Reunion events continue in that regard...special events that go well beyond just a neat course to ride.

However...regarding the CC Series "Qualifier" events:
I guess I'm a bit confused to hear about "everyone loving the format".
As Becky points out...that has not been reflected in turnout at these events during the past 2 years.
After a re-schedule, the 2015 MI event drew less then 20 entries.
Due to other reasons it was not held this year.
The excellent King Ferry NY event got about 40 entries this year.
As Becky again mentions...there's alot of work to put on a 2 day event, and just get 40 entries.

So...regarding the "Qualifier" series...I hear y'all about how neat they are (I agree...) but the number of entries that are actually showing up doesn't seem to back up that implied support.

I'll expand Becky's request for ideas with these simple questions:
Why is Qualifier turnout so low?
How can it be improved?

Because if it doesn't improve...these events are history.





Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[wfopete]

It's not just the Qualifier events that are hurting.  With a few exceptions (like Diamond Don's, WV and Unadilla), the X/C events in general have been getting a low turnout.  The last two (Hayes Farm and New Blaine) featured great courses but poor attendance.  If an event breaks 40 riders for vintage or PV they are doing well.  The 2015 Michigan Qualifier (which was a great event and fun to ride) was on the same weekend as the Ohio AMA Vintage M/C Days so to me, that one get's a pass.  In today's economy many people are simply not going to go to the expense to drive all over the country chasing points especially when there are only a couple entrants in their class showing up. The two kind of feed off each other because the only competition is who can afford to make the races; not the skill level of the rider. AHRMA's $75 joining fee is a instant turn off too.  I guess AHRMA is pretty proud of themselves to ask that kind of money.  

So far this year I've only been to two National PV MX events.  I was the only one in my class and my class was not even an age class (GP500), out of over 20 riders, I'm currently 4th in my class standings...crazy. Maybe I've need to be more careful on picking classes with more riders in them. The AHRMA MX events are turning into track days for me where I just evaluate the bike's performance and practice technique.  

Personally, I think it's mainly the economy as for the past couple of years I'm seeing low turnout for all sorts of events, not just the AHRMA events.  I mean even Glen Helen backed out of the 2017 MoN due to low fan attendance this year of course we didn't send the biggest ticket draw eithier with many of our top players staying home.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[Mick Milakovic]

Another factor is the average age of a vintage participant.  Those of us that rode through the 60's and 70's are nearing the end of our racing/riding careers and, while there are some new members trickling in, it's not enough to continue forever.  Pretty soon "vintage" bikes will all have disc brakes and power valves.  

I think regional groups will flourish for a while (like the midwest VMX guys), but even their days are numbered.  I'm going to continue to race for a while, but only time will tell.  At 62 I don't recover as well as I used to.  I'm still recovering from an ankle injury at White Lightning this year.

Mick

[Mick Milakovic]

Richard, I can't exactly say why ALL the qualifier turnouts are low, but the two in question, Michigan and King's Ferry are really in out-of-the-way locations.  Obviously, events in more centralized locations can draw from a bigger radius.  The 2015 ISDSTT that you helped put on was pretty central, and drew almost 100 riders.

More events in the middle of the country = more riders.


Mick

[wfopete]

quote:Originally posted by Mick Milakovic

Richard, I can't exactly say why ALL the qualifier turnouts are low, but the two in question, Michigan and King's Ferry are really in out-of-the-way locations.  Obviously, events in more centralized locations can draw from a bigger radius.  The 2015 ISDSTT that you helped put on was pretty central, and drew almost 100 riders.

More events in the middle of the country = more riders.


Mick

Nope, I respectively disagree. If we look at the AHRMA XC races you will see 10 locations for AHRMA XC events this year.  Look at the results for the 2016 XC races you will find the location theory doesn't hold water.  For instance DD (Texas) had a great PV turnout, Vintage turnout was decent too. The West Virginia Sky Ranch Enduro had a great turnout but the XC event not so much even though they were at the same weekend. Unadilla (New York) great turnout but King's Ferry was down.  The Hayes Farm right in the heartland was way down as was New Blaine (Arkansas).  

If you throw out the economy, I think a big factor (but not the only one) in the overriding success here is the uniqueness of an event and how well it's promoted.  If I'm going to drop hundreds of dollars in fuel, hotels and meals, I want the most bang for my buck.  That means lots of riding with a good venue surrounding the event.  I also think AHRMA hurts attendance by bumping the cost of some XC events if you don't pre-enter.

Barber and Arkansas (ISDT Reunion Ride) are yet to happen.  I predict Barber will be a low turn out as the XC pre-entry list TOTAL is only 55 entries.  That's vintage, PV and pre-modern. Why?  It's toward the end of the season and if you are chasing points the race may be over by now.  Barber is cool but they cater more to the road racer crowd, it's also a "hassle" (parking, rules) and past off-road experiences at Barber have probably turned folks off.

Now the ISDTRR I think will be a good turnout.  Again, it's unique and it's the final one..  Arkansas isn't everyone cup of tea for off road riding but a lot off riders mark the ISDTRR as a "Must do" on thier calendars.  Most folks that ride the ISDTRR get thier fill of riding that weekend.

That's my 2 cents and I didn't look at MX numbers.  So I may have missed some glaring factors (like weather) so feel free to shoot holes in my theory.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good