MoT 2005 -- The Usurped Thread (Chat Away!)

[yellowmininy]

Quote: Originally Posted by snid

Oooh... in a discussion with Ricardo, I think we decided that for me to get a "yellow shirt" I need to start lobbying to become the "Lesser Potentate of Miscellaneous Percussion Instruments". Either that or work on bringing back the apostrophe controversy so that I can then step in and "resolve" it and be the "Keeper of the Apostrophe's"

Ummm... Errr... perhaps, as I'm sure has been discussed before, a real informational 2k5 thread, and a way too long, way too hard to follow, scare the newbies away banter thread.

I think there are quite a few of us who joined in BECAUSE of the thousands of threads, not scared off by it!

BTW, I don't think there's an apostrophe in 'apostrophes'. (Sorry, I just can't resist!)

I'm not too close for recon purposes (400 miles) but willing to help for next year as needed.

[GadgetGav]

Quote: Originally Posted by mini1ang

Id vote for the later date! June is very busy in general. AND warmer would be NIce!! Maybe july 4th weekend!!

I think too many people would have other plans for a 'big' date like that.
As people have pointed out, there's no telling with the weather on the mountain, so we just have to take our chances there. We did OK this year in hurricane force winds, so there should be no stopping us!
The only reason I suggested a later date (in the '04 thread) was to avoid the bikers. The first weekend after Bike Week would be fine. The bikes wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that each Harley needs a huge pickup, trailer and RV as support vehicles!

[GBMINI]

Two threads - no.
Two years now one thread has worked. We have a limit of 200 MINIs so not much more than 160.
And everyone remember:
www.minisontop.com is the place for "just the facts" - the thread is the place for raucous fun!

(background emails from the yellow-shirts sort out the details offline so we don't really need a true planning thread, just a lively thread to throw new ideas into the pot for discussion)

[MaxaMini]

Between MINISonTop.com and a continually updated Lead Post on this thread we should have it covered. Did I just use the collective pronoun WE? Does that mean I have volunteered to to be a volunteer?

Quick, how do I cancel a post? Wow I wore a yellow shirt. I haven't had that much power since I was a Hall Monitor in 5th grade. I've come a long way in three years.

[rfinprc]

Ian convinced me -- nobody pays attention to the facts before the last month anyway.

As post #1 I'm willing to update the facts ... as I see them

I'll do so now.

[Theo]

Aaron, Ian, and All:

On the MOT Volunteer front:

My son runs web-hosting services and has volunteered to provide any help he can. Specifically, he offered (1) any alternative hosting that we might need, and (2) an online registration process which he has offered to create and host. I certainly wouldn't want to step on toes here (sorry for the reference, Brad) !!! The only thing I questioned was the fact that I would not consider someone registered unless I "was shown the money". I thought I'd pass along his offer anyway.

On the "I Enjoy Bikes...Don't Move the Date" front:

Carol and I spend a lot of time in the White Mountains during the summers. There are always plenty of cool bikes and bike people around. For those of you who might not want the date moved because you enjoyed the bikes/people...they will always be around that area. A quick trip to the Laconia/Weirs Beach region will reward you.

For Carol and me, the concentration of bikes and bike-related vehicles in transit on the highway was the only downside to the timing. We would support the event moved to the weekend after the end of Bike Week.

Theo

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Theo

Aaron, Ian, and All:

On the MOT Volunteer front:

My son runs web-hosting services and has volunteered to provide any help he can. Specifically, he offered (1) any alternative hosting that we might need, and (2) an online registration process which he has offered to create and host. I certainly wouldn't want to step on toes here (sorry for the reference, Brad) !!! The only thing I questioned was the fact that I would not consider someone registered unless I "was shown the money". I thought I'd pass along his offer anyway.

On the "I Enjoy Bikes...Don't Move the Date" front:

Carol and I spend a lot of time in the White Mountains during the summers. There are always plenty of cool bikes and bike people around. For those of you who might not want the date moved because you enjoyed the bikes/people...they will always be around that area. A quick trip to the Laconia/Weirs Beach region will reward you.

For Carol and me, the concentration of bikes and bike-related vehicles in transit on the highway was the only downside to the timing. We would support the event moved to the weekend after the end of Bike Week.

Theo

Go ahead and trod on some toes! From what I recall from conversations over lunch at MINI Meanderings last November, Codmeister was hoping to get some manner of online registration set up, but things never worked out. But maybe it would be worthwhile to have some manner of online form that would save all the reg details to a database and then the person just sends a check, or some such thing. Getting yourself set up to take online credit card payment via PayPal or whatever can cost some money (they take a cut on every transaction), so I don't know that we want to go whole-hog on that, but anything that takes a manual data entry step out of the process ought to be a good thing.

The bikers bring good and bad to the table. Yeah, a lot of them were friendly enthusiast types, which is cool. But the sheer volume is an issue, things like traffic and securing hotel accomodations would be easier on a non-bike week date. Plus maybe I would be less likely to have to deal with a couple of Quebec bikers making an incredibly dangerous pass, cutting me off, then flipping me the bird for honking at them while cruising on 302 like I did this Sunday. But the biker stuff I think is secondary to the Auto Road issues, and avoiding a repeat of that little mess is the #1 reason to move to another weekend. I can't necessarily fault the Road staff, things are going to run late sometimes and once they do, there's not much you can do about it. But being the only big event of the day for the Auto Road Staff to deal with would minimize the chances of that. Of course the "will we have the tent if we change weekends" question is a valid one and worth investigation.

And I still say you folks are all wrong on the "we only need one thread" thing, but I've waged (and lost) that battle too many times to bother trying again...

-Ricardo

[DUCTTAPE]

Quote: Originally Posted by MGB Boy

. I can't necessarily fault the Road staff, things are going to run late sometimes and once they do, there's not much you can do about it. But being the only big event of the day would minimize the chances of that.
-Ricardo

What if we start the 'festivities', albeit informal, gathering and maybe an early lunch sooner after the Kank ride? I cruzed over into Maine and rode Rte 113 (which I recommmend to ALL. One of the best roads I've ever been on. Rivals the dragon in that you can actually look at the scenery. But, I digress.) Had I ended lunch and hung out on the grass with all of you I would have been just as happy. (I'm always happy hanging out on grass, but I digress again.)

That way, we can hob nob and socialize and maybe eat in shifts and spread the stuff out over the afternoon.

d

[Theo]

Quote: Originally Posted by MGB Boy

{snip}...Getting yourself set up to take online credit card payment via PayPal or whatever can cost some money (they take a cut on every transaction), so I don't know that we want to go whole-hog on that...{snip}

-Ricardo

I think he is looking to investigate some kind of payment service specifically for non-profits that may be less expensive that the traditional route. As you say, at least the data entry is done once even if we don't go the payment route.

Theo

[ice]

I am surprised by this talk of moving to another weekend. I am opposed to that. Winslow's original idea of MOT was to watch the latest sunset of the year from the highest peak in New England. So, if you change the weekend away from the solstice, why not change the location to someplace away from the evil bikers that are causing you such anxiety?

[rfinprc]

Quote: Originally Posted by Theo

I think he is looking to investigate some kind of payment service specifically for non-profits that may be less expensive that the traditional route. As you say, at least the data entry is done once even if we don't go the payment route.

Theo

We're not a non-profit, and becoming one is not trivial. Also, in general, if we spread the work a bit, so it's not so much on Steve, I think a manual systemof payment and registration is adequate. We expect to be limited to 200 cars, so it won't grow totally out of hand.

I'd be willing to adapt one of many databases I already have to handle this registration. I'm a big fan of "keep it simple." Let's put all the time and energy into foolish off-topic banter and finding ever more obscure micro-brews to share.

[rfinprc]

Quote: Originally Posted by ice

I am surprised by this talk of moving to another weekend. I am opposed to that. Winslow's original idea of MOT was to watch the latest sunset of the year from the highest peak in New England. So, if you change the weekend away from the solstice, why not change the location to someplace away from the evil bikers that are causing you such anxiety?

(I can't ever deccide whether or not to respond to multiple posts singly or multiply, hence the dual posting)

Onward -- In the case of next year, the solstice falls between 2 weekends, so we have a choice. The biggest reason to choose door #2 is to avoid the excessive crowds at the Auto Road from the foot race. Loosing the bikers (they're never all gone) is either a fortunate or unfortunate side effect.

Okay, wait for it...

If we talk about moving anything, I'd like to suggest changing the optional early leg of the event -- do something other than Cadillac. Each year we have the central event at Mt. Washington, preceded by something different, with a good 3-5 hour drive in between. Of course, I can't think of a good alternative to Cadillac at the moment.

[GadgetGav]

I don't think anyone called the bikes evil... And as Rich points out, on most years the longest day will not fall on a Saturday, so there's always a choice to be made. We could move it to a different mountain, but since most attendees live within a reasonable drive of that mountain and it's got a road going to the top, it seems like as good a place for now.
We're never going to be able to fit in around everyone's school and personal vacation commitments. I say we should just try to make life a little easier by avoiding fixed events like the foot race.

[yellowmininy]

Quote: Originally Posted by rfinprc

(I can't ever deccide whether or not to respond to multiple posts singly or multiply, hence the dual posting)

Onward -- In the case of next year, the solstice falls between 2 weekends, so we have a choice. The biggest reason to choose door #2 is to avoid the excessive crowds at the Auto Road from the foot race. Loosing the bikers (they're never all gone) is either a fortunate or unfortunate side effect.

Okay, wait for it...

If we talk about moving anything, I'd like to suggest changing the optional early leg of the event -- do something other than Cadillac. Each year we have the central event at Mt. Washington, preceded by something different, with a good 3-5 hour drive in between. Of course, I can't think of a good alternative to Cadillac at the moment.

How about Lake Placid as an alternate start point? I wonder if they'll let us take Minis down the bobsled run?

[harveyjoseph]

Just a few thoughts. Bikers are not so bad (I am one with my other personality), I enjoyed bike week and didn't need an SUV... and I enjoyed all of the people at MOT'04. The weekend is perfect, we have to motor kinda slow in a large group anyway (except for the bear notch loop!!!) and everything worked absolutly GREAT (thank you to all that organized the event)... We missed all the Turkeys and chicks on 91, we missed all the dear on 302 and we missed all the moose on the Kamanagas so it was good for all!!!
BTY I have some free time to take up so who do I contact to help with MOT '05????

Again thank you all for a most wonderful weekend...