Hey y'all.  Veteran biker but newb to the rally circuit.  Changing that for the coming season.  Planning on hitting Daytona and Sturgis at the least.  Anyone know of other rallies that I shouldn't miss?  Also, I'm looking for peeps to meet at or en-route to the rally.  I'm riding from Atlanta GA to give you an idea of where I'd be coming from.

Also any input about what to expect / etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks;

GR
'12 FLTRX
Atlanta GA

Just go and have fun. Be careful in Daytona and don't drink and ride. That's all I got 'cuz I don't go anywhere for the rallys anymore. I go just for the ride. 1974 was the last time I was at Daytona Bike Week. If you want a beautiful ride through a beautiful state try Laconia Bike Week. If you can find a scenic ride to Sturgis let me know. I've been there over a dozen times and from Ohio, it's pretty much open prairie but fun nonetheless. Montana, Wyoming, the Black Hills..........very cool.

Peace

Well I haven't been to Daytona since 1983, so I can't help you much there. Sturgis on the other hand I can give you a little insight....

Sturgis has something for just about everyone, unless you don't like crowds... because EVERYWHERE you go for 100 miles in any direction is packed.

There are a few ways to do Sturgis... Some people get a hotel or some type of lodging outside of town and ride in during the day to take in the vendors, bars and all the other stuff going on down town. If you're outside of town the good thing is when you do day rides like Rushmore, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, etc its pretty easy to get on the road.

For me personally I have seen down town enough and really go to the rally to hang out with friends and have a good time. I prefer to stay at one of the large campgrounds (Buffalo Chip, Glencoe, Broken Spoke, etc) where they have entertainment right there at the campground and you don't have to leave if you don't want to. Those places can get kind of wild and crazy though, so if that's what your looking for thats where you need to be.

Even Sturgis has gotten a little too big and too much of a hassle for my taste (probably something I'll only do every few years). I prefer the small to mid-sized (3,000-10,000 people), self-contained ol' school biker rallies where you can just hang out with friends, listen to music, drink beers and watch some wild contests and shows! If you're looking for a fun mid-sized rally in your area, you may want to check out the Angel City Rally this spring.

Good luck and have fun!!!

You might wanna also check out the Americade Rally up in NY state:
www.ridermagazine.com/2011/travel-features/americade-day-trip-to-lake-george-new-york/ />
Or, for something a little closer to your own stomping ground, here is a rememberance ride with the main start in Chattanooga although there are usually small group rides to the main ride.
www.trailoftears-remembrance.org/rideschedule.html />

New Orleans Bike Week and The Lone Star Rally in Galveston are the only 2 I have attended and both are a blast. Lone Star is alot bigger though. 500,000 attended this year

Wow. Thanks for all the great replies.

@Jimmyacorn Laconia looks awesome. June is a great time for long trips and it may mean tolerable weather up there heheh. We'll definitely have to check that one out. Amusing that you mentioned 1974...before I sold my dad a Honda when I moved to Harley's, last time he'd ridden was 1974...but I digress.

@Lucky I'd heard that Daytona and Sturgis are both crowded as all get out. We're going to try to make Biketoberfest down there, as well. I've heard some great things about that...especially since it's a little less crowded than Bike Week down there. Sturgis I've heard (and can see from the pictures) is pretty much universally crowded. Worth experiencing though. Our thoughts were to stay right in the thick of it first time we go, since we've never been and it's all new and oo-ah. Angel City sounds totally fun...but we'll be out of the country through April. We'll have to schedule that one for 2013.

@SolarBill Americade sounds fun. I think we have June free...we'll have to put that one on the schedule. I've heard of the trail of tears...never knew much about it. Will have to check that one out. Pretty convenient location wise, so can't argue there.

@Kingbiscuit Oh we will DEFINITELY have to hit Lone Star...those are my true home stomping grounds. Born and raised in Austin and been to Galveston a number of times. New Orleans would be pretty fun too...will have to read up on that one more.

Thanks for all the great info, y'all. Much appreciated.

Laconia is one of the big three and is pretty, but if ya get a wet week geeze I think I was up there in 98 and I think the sunshine was 4 hours out 6 days. I think the smaller ones are neat, like the Great Smoke out, Big Mountian Run, Little Sturgis and even Little Sturgis. There are so many to choose from it just depends on what your looking of for in a rally. Some are about how much ya can drink, how often your flashed, how bad ya look sitting on main street, some are about gather with interests, gypsy tours are fun, some are about the bike, some speed, you get the drift. So think long and hard what ya want to do then well do then. Ah Del MarVA, that's a nice one in the fall. have a great one "T'