NY State Rally Information

Greeting fellow HOG members,

I am Ken Kavanagh, Activities Director for Wurtsboro HOG, and I am going to the New York State HOG Rally in Niagara Falls this year. The ride for me, as for many of you, will be a long one – about 400+ miles and I plan to stretch it out over two days. Tour part of the state on Wednesday July 9th then stop overnight and continue the rest of the way on Thursday July 10th arriving in Niagara Falls around 4:00 PM. It doesn’t have to be a lonely ride though. My fellow members from Wurtsboro HOG will be joining me and I thought it would be great to have HOG members from other Chapters join me as well. Then I thought where would I stop along the way to refuel and eat? I thought why not stop at the many Harley-Davidson dealers that sponsor our Chapters and sell and service our great Harley Davidson motorcycles. To this end I have contacted some of these dealers and they said they would be happy to see us.

Now here’s my plan. On Wednesday July 9th a dealer in the different corners of the state would be the starting point – maybe serve us some coffee, juice and a bagel. We then travel to another dealer where we get a cold drink and fuel up. Then off to another dealer for lunch – maybe a hot dog and a soft drink. Then we will all meet at a dealer in the center of the state where maybe we’ll get a burger and a soft drink for supper. Maybe we’ll even party a little.

You all say this all sounds good but who would agree to all this and where would we stay on Wednesday night? Here comes the good part. I have spoken to various dealers and they are all on board with this. They look forward to seeing all of you. Here are the dealers that have agreed to participate so far:


Wednesday July 9, 2008

From the South

New Roc H-D New Rochelle NY Start – Coffee, Juice, Bagels

O’Toole’s H-D Wurtsboro, NY Break - Soft drinks, Fuel, Bio Break

Southern Tier H-D Binghamton, NY Lunch - Hot dogs, Soft drink


From the North

North End H-D Plattsburgh, NY Start – Coffee, Juice, Bagels

Lake City H-D Lake Placid, NY Break - Soft drinks, Fuel, Bio Break

Iron Block H-D Adams Center, NY Lunch - Hot dogs, Soft drink


From the East

Spitzie’s H-D Albany, NY Start – Coffee, Juice, Bagels

Van’s H-D Gloversville, NY Break - Soft drinks, Fuel, Bio Break

H-D of Utica New York Mills, NY Lunch - Hot dogs, Soft drink

Wednesday Night

Performance H-D Syracuse, NY I’ll let them explain themselves:

FROM PERFORMANCE H-D

Performance Harley-Davidson is officially welcoming HOG members to Syracuse with a pre-rally party Wednesday, July 9th. Essentially we want to be a meeting place for clubs from all over the eastern, northern, and southern part of the state. We are going to have bands, food, plus some raffles or contests. We have a local BBQ joint setting up, (Limp Lizard Lounge) we have a big stage on our back lot featuring local Rockers Smart Alec (www.myspace.com/smartalecband), and there will be some vendors such as a leather seamstress. The event will be hosted by TK99 DJ Dave Frisina. The hours are between 6-9pm.

Okay we made it to Syracuse but where are we going to stay? Well our fellow HOG Member, Red Davidson, from Syracuse HOG has taken care of that for us.

From Heidi Hackett at the WINGATE HOTEL:

Welcome Northeast Hog Members to the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel!

I am pleased to offer Harley Chapter Members this proposal and would like to personally introduce you to our hotel. I am excited to have the opportunity to partner with you and assist your organization with any travel needs.

The Special Rate we propose for the 2008 rally is: $79.00 per room per night, double, triple or quad occupancy.

Tax is additional at 13%, with only a 24 hour cancellation policy.

I have attached to this email our hotel property fact sheet listing all our amenities for your stay.

There you have Wednesday. I am working on dealers for Thursday and I will let you know who they are when I get them lined up. Where I need your help is in planning some interesting riding from dealer to dealer. I can put out a route from programs like Microsoft Streets and Trips but I bet you all know better ways of getting from Point A to Point B. Also, you don’t have to start at a particular dealer because he is the “starting point”. Just join us along the way. We’ll all meet in Syracuse on Wednesday night and then there will be different routes to Niagara Falls depending on your riding preferences.

I have tentative routes made up and I will forward them to you if you want. Once I have all the particulars pinned down, I will forward a flyer for you to distribute to your members.

Ride Safe and Have Fun,

Ken Kavanagh
Activities Director
Wurtsboro HOG