MRA WESTERN RALLY 2004

Welcome to the Planning Report Page for the MRA Western Rally, 2004. The Rally will be held during the third week of July, (19th - 23rd) and will encompass both the Lake Tahoe area and Yosemite National Park. I will try to keep this page updated as often as possible during the planning stage of the Rally. Since I am not a "computer geek", posting on this page will not be available. If you need to give me info, you can e-mail me: doval@directcon.net or you can post on the MRA EZ-Board under "Magna Riders Association" or under "General" and I will see that the info gets transferred to this page.

ATTENDANCE:

As of June 1, we have a little over a dozen confirmations of attendees. If you have not already done so, please e-mail me or call Cycle-istiC at 1-866-342-9253 and give the expected number of people with you, and your arrival and departure dates. (Some people have indicated that they will not be able to stay for the entire week.)

We expect that most people will be arriving at Lake Tahoe on Sunday, the 18th, so we would like to have an informal "get-together" at the Super 8 Motel on Sunday evening. On Friday night, the 23rd, we will have our closing awards dinner.

LODGING:

In order to secure nice lodging at good pricing, we have made arrangements with 2 motels, one in South Lake Tahoe, and one in Mariposa. Both will offer us reduced "group" pricing, but only if we can book a minimum of 15 rooms, which we hope will not be a problem.

In South Lake Tahoe, we will be staying at the Super 8 Motel, 3000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (Hwy 50), 1-800-237-8882 which is a very nice motel, with good sized rooms and all the amenities, surrounded by a variety of eating establishments. You will have to call and make your own reservations (DEADLINE recently extended to June 20) and identify yourself as a Magna Riders Rally attendee, and give them the code C G M R R, in order to assure receiving the group rate. See phone number above.

Rates: Priced by bed, regardless of number of people

1 king: reg. $59 , Group Rate $45

2 double: reg. $79, Group Rate $60

Website: http://www.super8tahoe.com

E-mail: super8@sierra.net

In Mariposa, we will be staying at the Miners Inn Motel, at the intersection of Hwy 49 North and Hwy 140 North, at, believe it or not, the North end of Mariposa. You will need to make your own reservations at 1-888-646-2244 and identify yourself as a Magna Riders Rally attendee. (Again, DEADLINE recently extended to June 20).

Rates: Priced by number of people per room

1-2 people $63 plus tax

3-4 people $74 plus tax (These rates represent 20% grp. disc.)

Website: http://www.yosemite-rooms.com

E-mail: minersinn@yosemite-rooms.com

RIDES:

We plan to have 2 days of riding in the Lake Tahoe area, one of which, on Monday, will consist of the lake perimeter (fantastic ride and views), taking Hwy 89 North along the West side of the Lake across North end of the Lake. Then we will take Hwy 431 over Mount Rose, across Hwy 395 and East for a loop including lunch at historic Virginia City. The second ride, on Tuesday, will be a loop South and West from the Lake. We will start by going East on Hwy 207 over Kingsbury Grade and Daggett Pass, to Hwy 88, then South and West past Caples Lake and Silver Lake to Mormon Immigrant Trail, Past Jenkinson Lake/Sly Park to Pollock Pines for lunch, then East on Hwy 50 back to Lake Tahoe.

Wednesday will be the transition day, leaving Lake Tahoe in the morning, going South on Hwy 89 through Markleeville to Hwy 4, then West over Ebbetts Pass (8730 ft) with a stop at Calaveras Big Trees State Park for a look at the Giant Redwoods. After lunch, probably in Angels Camp, we will go South on Hwy 49 to Mariposa where we will spend Wednesday and Thursday nights. Thursday we'll tour Yosemite National Park. THIS IS A "DON'T MISS"!

On Friday, we transition back to Lake Tahoe, going North on Hwy 49 from Mariposa to Sonora, East on Hwy 108 over Sonora Pass (9624 ft) then North on Hwy 395 to Hwy 89, over Monitor Pass (8314 ft) and back to the Lake.

Back in the Tahoe area, we will have our "farewell/awards dinner" on Friday evening. Again, more details to follow.