Scooting the Ozarks, Sept. 14-17, 2011, Eureka Spr

[Tressa]

When you get that new 2011 calendar out and start planning for a great year of riding, include STO. The Fourth Annual Scooting the Ozarks Rally will be in Eureka Springs, AR September 14-17. STO welcomes riders of all scooters, modern or classic, maxis to mopeds. Registration form and new host hotel information are now posted on the STO Forum scoottheozarks.proboards.com/index.cgi

[Tressa]

There are some changes in store for the rally this year, but one thing that won't change is that this will still be a "riders rally", where the focus is rides and scooters. The Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas offer some of the best roads for scooter riding you will find.

The first change is in staff. Lou retired as Rally Coordinator, and Tim Kring, formerly the Ride Coordinator, is STO’s Rally Coordinator. Roy (Smorkle on the STO forum), who attended past rallies, is Ride Coordinator. This is my fourth year volunteering to get the word out about STO.

STO 2011 is moving to a new Host Hotel. Tim has negotiated very good discounts at a nice hotel. See the STO Forum (link in signature) for details. On Sept. 17 there will be an Arkansas Razorback home football game in Fayetteville. While the stadium is more than 50 miles away, the hotels in Eureka host lots of the 70,000 fans that will attend the game. We suggest you get your hotel room reserved early.

Registration is still pro-rated, but the early-bird/lowest-price registration has been extended to include February. So get your registration form and fees mailed in before March. We are looking for STO 2011 to be even bigger and better than past rallies. Come join the fun!

[Tressa]

There have already been rally registrations sent in from 12 different states. Have you mailed yours in yet? Early-bird/lowest-fees registration ends Feb. 28. Also, don't forget to make your hotel reservations. Hope to see you in Eureka Springs in September!

[smorkle]

As ride coordinator I feel it is my obligation to come to Eureka Springs a few times before the rally and work out rides that I'm planning. This is one of those weekends.

I decided to stay at the host hotel for my pre-visit. I will have to agree that Comfort Inn is a much nicer place than where we've been the last 2 years. I just checked in and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

The room is pretty good. All of the area is clean. The wall paper and the carpet is a little dated but not atrocious. The painted areas of the room look to have been freshly painted and the window coverings and linens are new and nice looking. The heat works very well (It is March, after all) and there is free wifi internet, which is easy to access.

I had the continental breakfast this morning and it was pretty good. There was a guy down there serving quiche and then there was do-it-yourself waffles and other goodies. I had waffles and boiled eggs and Jen had the quiche. Both were really good. They have Orange, apple and grape juice, enhanced water (whatever that means) and milk as well as coffee.

All in all this looks like a good place for our rally and I'm glad Tim chose it.

[Tressa]

This is the last week to receive a discount for pre-registering for the rally early. comp.uark.edu/~tkring/STO2011Form.pdf Registration covers 4 days of fun riding, 2 meals (barbecue and pizza), show and shine, and more.

STO is growing every year. Over 70 people, from 16 states, have already pre-registered for STO 2011. For more info, visit the forum (link in signature). Come join the fun in Eureka Springs, September 14-17!

There will be a home Razorback football game the 17th, so hotel reservations should be made soon. If you plan to stay at the host hotel see the forum for instructions for receiving the STO discount.

[Tressa]

Less than 12 weeks until STO 2011! Have you mailed in our registration and made your hotel reservations? Comfort Inn is almost fully booked for Friday night. Deadline for making reservations at the STO discounted price is August 14.

New for STO 2011 will be a maintenance seminar by Jean Bartlow. He demonstrates removing, taking apart, inspecting, and reinstalling the clutches on a scooter.

The STO ride coordinator has posted a few proposed ride routes and will be adding more before rally time.

[Tressa]

With the twisting roads in and around Eureka Springs, it is a great place for riding scooters and motorcycles. But did you know Eureka has a lot to offer the rest of the family as well?

My daughter and her family took a vacation this week. With Eureka over 5 hours away, there are other places closer to home where they could have gone. Branson, MO is no farther away and larger, yet they chose Eureka for it’s more relaxed atmosphere.

They rode the Trolleys, visited Turpentine Creek, went to the Passion Play, shopped, etc. Even the 9-year-old and the 17-year-old girls had fun. My daughter even got a tattoo (her first) at Body Language.

So come to STO, and bring other family members along as well. Even if they don’t ride, they will be able to find things to do while you are out cruising the twisties.

[Tressa]

22 DAYS until STO 2011 in Eureka Springs, AR! Pre-register before Sept. 1 to save $10 off the "at-the-door" registration. Registration covers 4 fun-filled days of great riding in the twisties, Show and Shine, raffle ticket, 2 meals (pizza and barbecue), and more scooter rally fun.

Ride maps have been posted on the forum (link in signature), including files that can be used by your GPS unit.

There are other things taking place the same weekend, such as the All-American Weekend in Eureka Springs, and Razorback football game in Fayetteville, so be sure to make room reservations.

Hope to see you soon!

[Tressa]

You can see photos from STO 2011 here. Forecast for the rally was for rain every day, so attendance was not quite as high as expected. 85 people attended with 71 bikes.

First day of the rally there were a few scattered light showers, not a washout, so we did get some riding in the first day, followed by the welcome dinner.

Second day, Thursday started out cool, in the 50s, and cloudy but not raining. 33 riders started out on the 3-State Tour in 4 groups. (All group rides at STO are divided into groups of 10 or less.) We stayed dry, but temps didn't get over the mid 60s. At Pizza Night everyone had all the pizza they wanted.

Third day was the poker run. Still cloudy and cool, not raining.

Last day, Saturday was to start with the Show and Shine. Light rain started, and didn't look like it would end soon, so it was decided we would have more of a "Show and Drip". You could enter your bike "as-is" without cleaning and shining, as it would be sitting in the rain. Not many entered, but there were entries in all the categories. After the S & S was the barbecue, presenting the awards and giving out door prizes. We all managed to fit into the breakfast room for this and stayed dry.

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and most said they would return next year. Saturday was the only day that the rain was a problem (there was heavy rain that afternoon). It's impossible to predict what the weather will be as far in advance as a rally must be scheduled. I personally had a great time, and consider the rally a success. Hope more can attend next year.