Looking Back at Quincy
By 10 A.M. on Memorial Day Monday, the only folks left on the
Plumas County Fairgrounds were planning to stay for another day
and avoid holiday traffic. The sun was shining, the grounds had
dried from the spectacular Lightning and Thunder Show that
captivated us all during the night -- our one precipitative experience
on the grounds over the weekend. Another '49er Rally had ended
and the last BMWs were leaving the valley that cradles Quincy in the
contrast of the surrounding snow-capped mountains.
Looking back over the weekend, the 1996 Rally Committee had
launched a number of '49er Firsts that helped create a seamless
Rally:
Our Rally Caterer, Paul Alvarez of the Quincy Round Table
Restaurant, shared his culinary flexibility with a break from our
traditional evening meals. SOME were heard to say this was the best
rally food yet!
Darrell Decoe, owner of the long time favorite Morning Thunder
Cafe in Quincy, contributed two firsts to the Rally. One was the
premier of the Thunder Cart, Darrell's custom built espresso cart that
served that precious morning jolt from the porch of the Mineral
Building. The other was the dinner menu offered Wednesday
through Friday nights at the Cafe. In addition to the regular
breakfast and lunch fare, the evening meals were a real treat.
Our rally committee had two first-time chairpeople who took on
the toilsome task of pre- and gate registration. Hats off to Jennifer
Shaw who worked with Club President Bill Jarvis in handling all the
mail-in pre-registrations, and to Ludwig Beicken who got quite an
aerobic workout along with wife Inga in the busy management of our
front gate.
Not on the rally committee for the first time, former '49er and RA
rally chairman Greg Gibson took on three of our rally schedule
favorites that offered a variety for participants in the GS Tour,
English Trials and Poker Run. The Poker Run was offered free this
year for the first time in ages to provide an opportunity for rally
goers to meet up with others at various stops along the roads to the
south of the Quincy. Thanks again, Greg, for your time and efforts in
creating three such challenging and entertaining '49er events.
Thanks as well to ALL the committee chairpeople, club members
and volunteers who contributed their time and energy to making the
'49er successful.
This year's field events were based around the Slow Race and
Asphalt Trials. Charles Petrie brought this event to the '49er for the
first time last year to whet our appetites with the challenge of riding
and spectating an MSF-like course in a more accessible location than
the grandstand arena. This year, we awarded rally plaques for
Asphalt Trials and Slow Race achievement.
Many of you had the opportunity to meet with Mike Clements in
his first year as manager of the Plumas County Fairgrounds. On staff
at our first Quincy '49er, Mike continued his role as gracious host
with the "Can Do" attitude! Also new to the fairgrounds was the new
restroom and bandstand in the beer garden. Weeks of wet weather
before the rally challenged Mike in the completion of these two
additions, so you may have noticed that they both continued to
improve as the rally progressed!
As with the Asphalt Trials, the Sawmill Tours appeared on our
schedule for their second year. Arranged by Mary Hubbard and
guided by Quincy resident John Burns, these tours provided an
informative insight into a business whose technological advances are
leading it to become the largest sawmill in North America.
Sadly, we suffered the first loss from our very midst. Fierce and
energetic competitor Rich Hood passed away in the company of his
friends only minutes after winning the Slow Race and finishing the
event in a flourish of balance and control with his good friend CJ
Gilzean. May we all carry with us a bit of his enthusiasm and skill in
riding the bikes we enjoy.
One final first to this year's '49er was the sharing of the Rally
Chair. Bruce and I were able to split up the job to apply our unique
skills to the different tasks involved in putting on the rally. Working
with my good friend certainly added to my enjoyment of the job.
And it also offered a couple of different contacts for questions that
hopefully doubled everyone's likelihood of getting the answers they
needed!
Remember that all rally goers who attended the '49er on their
BMW are now members of the BMW Club of Northern California
through the end of June, 1996. Paying your dues for the coming year
will continue your membership and perhaps offer you the
opportunity to test your creative genious in the 1997 '49er!
--Pat Gardner
'49er Rally Co-Chairman
'49er Rally Award Winners
Asphalt Trials
First Place -- Kim Proctor
Second Place -- Rob Richert
Concours d'Elegance
K Models 1985-1996 -- Bruce Buxton
Twins Models 1983-1996 -- Steve Hursh
Classic Twins 1970-1982 -- Flo Bedrosian
Sidecars -- Jim Benge
People's Choice -- Raphael Bertolus
English Trials
First Place -- CJ Gilzean
Second Place -- Kim Proctor
Fun Run
10K First (M) -- Bruce Hilger (44:34)
10K First( F)-- Whitney Stephenson (52:31)
5K First ( M) -- Bill Crum (21:31)
5K First (F) -- Jo Ann Glover (28:47)
Poker Run
First Prize ($100) -- Jack Kight (4 Q)
Second Prize ($50) -- Terri Rhoades (4 J)
10 Add'l Prizes (T-Shirts) -- (Full Houses)
Gerry O'Callaghan
Lillian Trujillo
Kika Hutchings
Diana Miller
Kahle Slick
Gary Stofer
Chris Kiely
David Swanson
Scot Marburger
John Caramagno
Slow Race
First Place -- Rich Hood (R100GS)
Second Place -- CJ Gilzean (R100GS)
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California, 1996. All rights reserved.