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2001
ICOA Ladies Choice Rally
Report
By Dennis McCartney |
The second annual Ladies
Choice Rally was held in
Johnstown, PA on May 18,
19 and 20, 2001. Our first
choice of Cooperstown, NY
would seem to be a nice place
to visit but is also very
popular. So popular that
rooms are booked a year in
advance and are a little
pricey for our tastes so
it was on to the ladies second
choice of Johnstown, PA.
It was selected because it
has interesting places to
visit including a Frank Lloyd
Wright House called Fallingwater
nearby. Our friends Chris
and Diane Chollak (not CBX
Owners but they attend a
lot of rallies with us) have
relatives, Jim and Barb Sells
that live in Johnstown who
were a big help in getting
our plans organized.
Susan and I arrived Friday
afternoon with Jack and Nancy
Gutshall at the Holiday Inn
Express just outside of Johnstown.
We were greeted in the parking
lot by fellow ICOA member
Jim Burris of Houston, Texas
who had heard the club was
having a rally in town and
happened to be there on a
business/pleasure trip. Although
Jim had to catch a flight
out that afternoon, meeting
with us gave him a chance
to learn more about the club.
He had a lot of technical
questions that Jack and I
did our best to answer. Mickey
and Mim Cohen and Bill and
Mela Hertling joined us at
that point. After a late
lunch the Chollaks, Bill
and Gene Brockman and Jeff
and Debbie Davis joined us
for the first of our rally
events. For those of you
that haven’t heard
of Johnstown, PA it has an
interesting history which
is why the ladies chose it.
Johnstown is located in a
valley surrounded by mountains
and at the confluence of
two rivers. Picture a city
in a hole with two rivers
pouring into it.
What do think is going to
happen? You guessed it. Floods
and lots of them. In 1889
the first major flood occurred
and it killed over two thousand
people. Our visit Friday
afternoon was to the National
Park Service Memorial (www.nps.gov/jofl)
to the Great Johnstown Flood
of 1889. The Memorial is
just outside of town and
features a graphic film describing
the history of Johnstown
and the events that led to
the great flood. It describes
in some detail the damage
and loss of life the flood
caused. Turns out the Great
Flood was caused by man but
to thoroughly understand
what happened you’ll
have to visit the web site
listed above.
Dinner Friday was at a popular spot in town called the Surf & Turf
where we were given a private dining room. The Surf & Turf
may be a great local spot but when it comes to accommodating strangers
it left a lot to be desired. The service was terribly slow but
at least the private room gave us a chance to talk before our meal
came. Good food finally so the evening was not a total loss.
After an early start Saturday
morning we were off to Fallingwater.
This is a home about an hour
south of Johnstown designed
and built by Frank Lloyd
Wright for the wealthy Kaufman
family of Pittsburgh as a “weekend
retreat”. Its now owned
by the Western PA Conservancy
who maintain it and give
tours. Check out (http://www.wpconline.org/fallingwaterhome.htm)
for more info. Aren’t
web sites great? A couple
of years ago I’d have
had to spend a paragraph
telling you about Fallingwater.
Now I can focus on telling
you that the ride over on
Route 281 was super. 281
had very little traffic and
some great twisty roads.
The Fallingwater tour took
about 1-1/2 hrs after which
it was off to lunch at Rosensteels
Restaurant for a nice meal
featuring “Mile High
Club Sandwiches” which
was appropriate because we
were near Mount Davis the
highest point in PA. Rosensteels
was actually our second choice
after we found Clems Smokehouse
near Fallingwater closed
for “renovations”.
After lunch it was a ride
over Mount Davis and a quick
ride back up to Johnstown.
Along the way we went past
the seven giant electric
generating wind turbines
in Myersdale. Fascinating!
We intended to get back
to Johnstown in time to ride
the famous Johnstown Inclined
Plane and get some photos
of the CBX’s on the
plane. The Inclined Plane
was built in 1892 as a means
for the Johnstown citizens
to escape future floods.
It is the steepest vehicular
incline in the world and
is maintained in immaculate
condition. Check out www.inclinedplane.com
for more info. We were however
too late and had to settle
for dinner at the restaurant
at the top of the Plane.
The restaurant offered us
a terrific view of the city
of Johnstown at the expense
of a very mediocre meal.
A grand total of eight CBX owners and their wives attended the
rally and were accompanied by six guests. A nice small crowd of
21 altogether.
Long Distance Award: Gary & Cindy
Kornstein of Kitchner, Ontario,
Canada
2nd Place to Jeff & Debbie Davis of Columbus, Ohio.
Honorable mention: Jim Burris of Houston, Texas.
Injury Report: None.
One minor tipover. The participants
have asked to remain
anonymous.
Incident Report: Gene
Brockman had an unfortunate
run in with a local Volvo
driver at one of his fuel stops. Nothing more serious than
some comments about each others ancestry……
Treasurers Report: No
money collected because no
insurance waivers to sign.
Riders Comments: “Dennis
displayed questionable leadership
skills. Too many
missed exits and didn’t leave on time for dinner on Friday,
Fallingwater on Saturday and dinner for Saturday night.”
Other comments were more favorable including lots of
satisfied ride participants.
Dennis’ Comments: Can’t
please all the people all
the time!
Dennis
Remember: Four wheels move
the body, two wheels move
the soul......
Member ICOA-International
CBX Owners Association
Member HSTA-Honda Sport Touring Association
Member Turbo Motorcycle Owners Club
Member Honda Riders Club of America
Member IXXRA-International XX Riders Association
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