SFO 2016 - Oct. 27th thru Oct. 30th in Jemison, Alabama!

[wheatonFJR]

That's great news Pool Boy! We are still holding out hope that RFH will be able to make it as well.
I have updated the Current Attendees List in the first post of this thread. Looks like the "camping" list is beginning to outpace the "hotel" list.

Friday night entertainment

I have some exciting news to share with you. I am pleased to announce that I have lined up some excellent entertainment for us for Friday night. We will have an outstanding guitarist playing for us from 7ish to 9ish Friday evening. While there will not be a charge or a rally fee to attend, this will be a "pass the hat" event. There will be zero pressure to contribute if you don't want to, but I think once you see the talent that my friend Allen Barlow possesses you will have no problem making a meager donation to help offset the cost to the event organizer (moi). He will take your requests and his repertoire includes most any rock or blues from Elvis, to Led Zepplin, to Steely Dan to the Stone Temple Pilots, you name it and Allen can very likely play it - probably better than you've ever heard it played in person before. Trust me, you will be amazed at what this guy can do with a six string! This, alone, is a good reason to make sure you are at SFO this year.

As for our dinners -

Thursday evening - we'll just be winging it. Depending on how many are in attendance Thursday night we'll probably just pull out the grill and have burgers and hot dogs, or run up the road and catch dinner somewhere. We'll be playing this one by ear....

Friday evening - a very good friend of mine has agreed to prepare a low country/shrimp corn boil for us. He's a pro, but only requires free beer for his efforts. I don't yet have a feel for the costs, but again, we'll just be splitting the total by the number of attendees. As I have mentioned before, I will be making every effort to keep each of our two dinners to under $15. Although fresh shrimp is not cheap, we'll offset that by having plenty of good sausage in the boil as well. Sodas and (southern) tea will be provided, BYOB on your adult beverages of choice.

Saturday night - a co-worker of mine who does competition BBQ cookoffs has agreed to bring in his smoker on Saturday, and while we are all out enjoying our ride he'll be on site smoking Boston Butt and Ribs for us. This should be a real treat! Again, I expect the cost of this dinner, inclusive of desert and beverages, not to exceed $15. Again, it's BYOB on your adult beverages of choice.

We'll be shooting to eat around 6:30 to 7 p.m. each night.

DANG IT!!

Now yer getting me hungry...there BETTER be some good food porn for ussins that caint make this shindig!

 

[FJRBandit]

I was asked opposite questions today regarding the expected temperatures in Alabama at the end of October..... one person asked how hot might it get and another asked how cool might it get...

One of the main reasons this particular weekend was selected is because the month of October is really the most comfortable time of the year in central and north Alabama. Our average highs at the end of October are around 70 and the average lows are in the mid to upper 40's. Ideal for camping and for riding. That being said, there is always the possibility of lows dipping into the upper 30's and highs stretching to the upper 70's.

I would recommend that you prepare for riding temps starting out the morning in the upper 40's and be dressed in layers. A long sleeved shirt and lightweight jacket, such as a collared Columbia type fleece should be plenty sufficient in the evening. While October is generally the driest time of the year in Alabama, there is always the possibility of a cool rain sweeping through. Be prepared with the rain suit. That way if you have it, you know the law of averages, you likely won't need it.

 

[Coondawg07]

I'll be working on the 27th. Will it be possible to join up for the weekend? My apologies if this question has been asked. I'm late to the party and a lazy reader.

 

[FJRBandit]

Sure thing, Coondawg! With a name like that, you gotta be at an FJR rally held in Alafreakinbama!

Where are you located? Will you be camping, staying at a hotel or just local day tripping?

 

[Coondawg07]

I'm from North Alabama. A little town called Hamilton. I now reside in EXTREME North Alabama. A tiny town called Ardmore, about 25 miles West of Huntsville. I own a little piece of the Tennesse line in my back yard. I suppose I'll either want to camp or day trip. Depends on how much freedom my wife / new daughter will let me have.

 

[N4HHE]

I'm coming from Madison. Ride Coondawg's roads extensively.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Redfish Hunter is working himself to death helping flood "victims". I have to say that very few of the folks I have dealt with are acting much like victims. Everyone is working to fix their own problems.

A few pics of recent activities:











I cannot even think about playing on my FJR while so many people are working so hard to rebuild their homes. Hopefully I will have done enough to have some of those closest to me in a good place by the time SFO arrives. If not, I cannot go play with a clear conscience.

 

[hppants]

Good for you, my friend. I know you must be exhausted as this heat will not relent.

Most of my peeps are on their way now. House is gutted and dried, and sheetrock is hung, taped, and floated. They are priming/painting now and waiting for cabinets.

BION - the river is STILL above flood stage 3 weeks after the rain stopped. We really need another 2-3 weeks to drain every thing off.

SFO is still 7 1/2 weeks away. Plenty of time to (hopefully) clear your conscience.

 

[FJRBandit]

I know it has been tough on all of you in Louisiana, my friend! Many here in the Birmingham area have been very involved in organizing shipments of donated relief supplies and many, many more people donating those supplies. I know several people who have personally traveled to some of the hardest hit areas to lend their assistance in blood and sweat as well, my cousin and many from her church being among those. FJRBandit will be in Louisiana at some point in the near future to lend a helping hand as well. It's going to take a long time for many to rebuild, but you guys are a tough bunch and you will get through it. Just know that your friends in Alabama are with you.

 

[FJRBandit]

I have a request I would like to make to some of you Garmin experts... let me say right up front, when it comes to mapping in BaseCamp - I SUCK! I can make a route in Google Maps and convert it to GPX using a "Maps to GPX" tool I found. But when it comes to importing that GPX to BaseCamp - I SUCK! BaseCamp doesn't take the detail from the original Google Map and I just don't have the time nor the patience to deal with it and learn it....

So, with that being said, if you can take my google maps link and convert it to GPX, get it into GPX format that matches my Google route and can then be shared with those that would like it, please shoot me a PM. Thanks!

 

[Uncle Hud]

FJRBandit posted: ... if you can take my google maps link and convert it to GPX, get it into GPX format that matches my Google route and can then be shared with those that would like it, please shoot me a PM. Thanks!

If it can be done, please post the procedure!

I usually resort to entering waypoints into the GPS, building a route, comparing it to the Google Map shape, adding a few more waypoints, and comparing it again to the Google Map shape. Repeat until satisfied or too frustrated to continue. (I will read EasyEd's BaseCamp tutorial. I will; really, I will. Just not now.)

...

LEARNED SOMETHING NEW THIS WEEKEND: If you have a route in your Garmin, and a fellow rider says, "Let me take you on a scenic route first", your GPS will route you back to the first waypoint and start your route from the beginning, exactly like you programmed it. Even if that means backtracking and/or riding in a big circle for 30 minutes. Which can be somewhat embarrassing.

 

[Morecowbell]

LEARNED SOMETHING NEW THIS WEEKEND: If you have a route in your Garmin, and a fellow rider says, "Let me take you on a scenic route first", your GPS will route you back to the first waypoint and start your route from the beginning, exactly like you programmed it. Even if that means backtracking and/or riding in a big circle for 30 minutes. Which can be somewhat embarrassing.

That Garmin behavior has been annoying me ever since I switched to a Montana 600 back in 2012. For years I used a Garmin Quest, and if you activated a route on that unit while you were somewhere in the middle of it, it quickly figured out the routing to the next waypoint down the line. Not so much on the Montana. It will stubbornly keep trying to route you back to the starting point. I just ignore the constant recalculating and press on in the correct direction. Eventually it gives up and figures out that I'm continuing on down the route. I always wondered if the Zumo units did the same thing.

 

[LKLD]

So, with that being said, if you can take my google maps link and convert it to GPX, get it into GPX format that matches my Google route and can then be shared with those that would like it, please shoot me a PM. Thanks!

Have you tried asking Ed? You'll probably have to promise to read "the Agenda", but I'm certain he could do it in 5 minutes.
If not, PM me a link, and I'll see if I can do it this weekend.

 

[FJRBandit]

So, with that being said, if you can take my google maps link and convert it to GPX, get it into GPX format that matches my Google route and can then be shared with those that would like it, please shoot me a PM. Thanks!

Have you tried asking Ed? You'll probably have to promise to read "the Agenda", but I'm certain he could do it in 5 minutes.
If not, PM me a link, and I'll see if I can do it this weekend.

Thanks for the kind offer LKLD! But I have good news to share - our good friend Tiger_993 has come to the rescue.

I provided links to four Google Maps routes and he has successfully converted them for us. Here is what I received from him -

I've done up a separate GPX file for each of your four routes and have put them in a folder called "SFO Routes" on my DropBox. Within that folder, there are two subfolders called "GARMIN Compatible Routes" and "Generic GPX Routes". Each subfolder has a GPX file for each route, but the files in the Garmin folder are the only ones BaseCamp will format correctly.

So if a participant is using a non-Garmin device, or using some mapping software other than BaseCamp, they may need the generic files as opposed to the Garmin files. But anyone using BaseCamp or a Garmin device will want the Garmin files for sure!

Here are the files and if you need any thing else, just let me know....linky.

I'll probably prepare a couple more routes, but if anyone is interested in the first four I have put together just click on the "linky" above and that will take you to the Dropbox folder Tiger was kind enough to prepare for us.

Now, I just want to know how it's done!!!

 

[hppants]

By my count, we are 7 weeks out and counting.....

Time to get your **** together, Pants.

Leave approved by boss.... check

Leave approved by SWMBO..... check

New tires..... check

New camping gear..... check

Brand new bottle of Rye Whiskey..... check

Brand new bottle of Tequila...... check

Discipline to not drink whiskey and tequila before SFO.........

.....

...... the jury is still out....

 

[FJRfarrier]

I just got my leave approved for this trip!

not that that was going to stop me from going.......

it just means that I will still have that job when I return. lol

using Pants' checklist.... I think I'm ready. lol.

New tires going on next week, in preparation for EOM - Hopefully I still have some rubber left after that adventure....

 

[stose85]

PRK vision correction scheduled for next week (plenty of time to heal) no more 20/700 woohoo!

Shoei RF-1200 arrived yesterday

Heated gloves, jacket liner, and pants arrived yesterday

Camping gear extras ordered

Things are looking good, excited for this trip!

 

[N4HHE]

New PR4GT front last month. Certain to replace rear before SFO.

 

[hppants]

Well allright!!!! This thread was drying out a little. Was beginning to think peeps were getting cold feet.

Very glad to read others are getting just as excited as I am!!!!

 

[wheatonFJR]

Man, I'm excited about it, an I ain't even gonna be able make this shindig!

Finally, a true Southren SFO!