| Penguin Rally – Rhode Island |
by Bob Collin The BMW club in Rhode Island holds it’s annual Penguin Rally on the same week-end as the Vermont Rally. Therefore I have missed this small jewel of a rally in the past years. Sharon found the rally in my MOA Newsletter and suggested that we give it a look this year. We left late morning on Friday on my R1150GS, with camping gear for two loaded on the back. The bike was a little front wheel light, but not enough to cause problems. I even took our “BIG” tent. The trip was about 230 miles and took us 6 hours and 30 minutes with a stop for lunch. The published directions were a little sketchy, causing us to wander around Wakefield, Rhode Island, until we came up behind an R100RT loaded down with camping gear. We checked and found out that he was headed to the rally and was “off course”. Together we combined clues and found our way down about 2 miles of good dirt roads to the rally. What we found was great camping at a YMCA Camp ground, good and plentiful food served in the Campground “mess hall”, and about 90 good people. This gave us a chance to have leisurely visits and story swapping with attendees. BMWRSM club members Randy and Donna Swanson are members of this club. The weather was hot and Sharon started off be buying a short sleeve red rally shirt. I got our tent up on the edge of a slight rise. I put in a GPS waypoint so we could find our way back and went out for a bottle of wine and munchies. Friday evening dinner was wonderful baked fish. Later we sat around the campsite on Kermit chairs getting to know our neighbors. There was a good showing by the Yankee Beemers and New Sweden clubs. Saturday morning there was a little rain, but not enough to keep us at home. Randy Swanson, a member of BMWRSM led a guided tour of the local area and beautiful Mystic, Connecticut. He also knew the best place for lunch. Saturday evening we had a great roast pork buffet. The presentation of awards and door prizes was very entertaining. This club is big on fun and humor. Sharon won a free pass for next year’s rally. The rally fee was $45.00 per person, which included two dinners and two hot breakfasts, camping, and a pin. We are planning on going back next year. I recommend this rally. It is unfortunate that it conflicts with the Green Mountain Rally. |