The Official Thread for the May 2013 Boxerworks Rally

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I've just come back from the Big Cedar RV park (about 0.4 miles as the crow flies and 0.5 miles by road). The Big Cedar RV park is under new ownership so I went there to make sure that they still welcomed people to come take a shower in their bath house. They do. The price may have gone up. It's $5 now, but if you find yourself too dirty to stand yourself I reckon it would be well worth it.

I didn't think to ask specifically if their cottages were full, but I suspect they are. The last I heard there were only about 4 cottages there, but then that may be old news. The phone number there is (918) 525-2367. The website is:

http://www.bigcedarrvpark.com

My anticipation is building.


Ken

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I checked to see if the Queen Wilhimena Lodge on the Talimena Drive is finished rebuilding yet. No, was the answer I got. The planned completion date is supposed to be Oct this year. Too bad, since that's a nice place to take a break when traversing the Talimena Scenic Drive. Everything is open except the lodge though, for whatever that might be worth.


Ken

[dwerbil]

Thanks Ken, for the info. Guess we'll do our customary Saturday scenic ride and lunch at the Lodge buffet.

Here's the local forecast coming up for this week's forum rally. Come rain or shine, I'll be there for sure....

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weathe ... n=USOK0521

[Ken in Oklahoma]

. . . Guess we'll do our customary Saturday scenic ride and lunch at the Lodge buffet. . .

Whoa Randy!!! Major miscommunication. The whole Queen Wilhimena lodge building is closed up. No lunches there.

I will have lunch fixins here though. Build your own sandwich, pick you choice of chips etc, wash it all down with a beer or soft drink. No one will go hungry.

Or if y'all find a spot in Mena where you'd like to lunch, that's fine too. The lodge was (and will again be) good because the whole gaggle can gather together and cackle. (Bit of a mixed metaphor there, but it rolls off the tongue better. Gather together and honk just doesn't work.)



Ken

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I've just come back from the Big Cedar RV park (about 0.4 miles as the crow flies and 0.5 miles by road). The Big Cedar RV park is under new ownership so I went there to make sure that they still welcomed people to come take a shower in their bath house. They do. The price may have gone up. It's $5 now, but if you find yourself too dirty to stand yourself I reckon it would be well worth it. . . .

I neglected to mention that my outdoor solar shower setup is no longer available. I had a problem with my Direct TV service which could only be corrected by installing a new dish (which would look at 3 sattelines not one). Even though the programming I wanted only needed to look at the one satellite, Direct TV policy wouldn't let them put up a semi-functional setup. As those who have been here know, I have a lot of trees, and it turned out that there were only a couple possible locations for the new dish. The one that I really needed to use required cutting down the trees where the shower was. So the shower came down.

Sigh!


Ken

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I have bought a Netscape WIFI unit. I also have bought a new lap top which I have yet to fire up. So is Steve in Golden (or somebody) can get these two things playing you all will have communication with civilization and not have to spend all your time BSing with live people.

And I will have a WiFi setup!

On thing that I'm concerned about is having the associated stuff, such as cables, that will be needed. So if y'all can advise me I'll get those things as well.

FYI my internet sourse is a SLOW DSL one. I gauge speed by how long it takes You Tube videos to play. Most hesitate regularly for buffering. Occasionally I will stumble on one that doesn't. I didn't choose the fastest DSL option due to my only occasional "need" for online video. So I think that is the reason for the slowness, but I guess it could have to do with the bandwith that my internet service buys. Dunno.

I also bought a Roku 2 XD box for streaming video which I have yet to set up. So if that is of interest it's available. You just have to set it up.

If it's important I figure that my DSL service is about 50 feet away from the area in my shop where most of the "computing" would likely be done. The "parachute" area (see Dwerbil's pics) is probably 100 feet, give or take, from the DSL service.



Ken

[Deleted User 287]

Ken - you can use sites like this to test your speed: http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Chicago was my closest and fastest at 2.56 Mbps Download and .43 Mbps Upload. The upload speed for all cities was .43.
New York was really bad for me, coming in at less than 2 Mbps. Memphis was 2.56. L.A. was around 2.25.


This site makes you use a map to select the server location from which to test: http://www.speedtest.net/
But it makes you feel better! 2.73 Mbps Download to Chicago, with the same old .43 upload speed.

[ME 109]

Wowsers that's slow! I have 4.15 mbps download speed and that is slow. In town they have about 20 mbps.
I'm way out on the end of the string tho'. Maybe I need a new tin can.

[Steve in Golden]

I'm psyched!

I'm getting the bike ready, here is a photo of it in the driveway yesterday - a "test pack". Even on the big 'ol R1200GS it's a struggle to get all my camping and other gear loaded on it. As far as camping goes, it's like backpacking - can't carry very much. Where are am I going to put the cooler full of beer?

I have bought a Netscape WIFI unit. I also have bought a new lap top which I have yet to fire up. So is Steve in Golden (or somebody) can get these two things playing you all will have communication with civilization and not have to spend all your time BSing with live people.

Should be pretty straightforward getting the wi-fi setup. I hope to bring my laptop but am not sure if I will have enough room - it's amazing how quickly the limited cargo space on a MC fills up when you are camping along the way. I might have to actually talk to real live people! Unless I spring for a tablet...

[Ken in Oklahoma]

. . . Where are am I going to put the cooler full of beer? . . .

Steve, I'm laying in a stock of beer in a cooler. The beer will be an assortment of domestic brews including some lites. I took that approach simply because of the problem you're having right now. So it would be up to you if you want to pack beer, for example some brews that you particularly enjoy and want others to enjoy as well.

My own estimate is that 12 to 18 people will be drinking beer. Right now I'm thinking in terms of about 8 cases of beer. If I find I'm running short I'll make an emergency beer run. IIRC that's about how much beer I had on past rallies, and I expect this rally to have a bit fewer people. But in direct answer to your question I'll have at least a small cooler that you can put your beer in all by itself. (I'm guessing that it will hold a couple 6 packs.) And of course I live only(?) 30 miles from civilization so on one of my forays I could easily pick up a styrofoam cooler.

For information to anybody who may not have attended a rally here, I will also have coolers set up for the beer, soft drinks, canned tea, and water that I'll also be laying in.

Ken